Grant Adcox was born January 2, 1950. His father,
Heb Adcock, operated a car dealership in Dayton, Tennessee.
Adcox made his NASCAR debut in 1974 driving the #41 Chevrolet
owned by his father in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Carolina
500 at Rockingham. In his first outing in the Winston Cup
Series, Adcox finished 18th. He made 3 other Cup Series starts
that year, crashing out of one and losing engines in the other
two events.In 1975, Adcox competed in 11 Winston Cup Series
events. In 10 of the events, he drove his Adcox-Kirby #41
Chevrolet finishing an impressive 7th in the Winston 500 at
Talladega. He also drove the #38 Varner Realty Chevrolet owned
by Tom Williams in the Talladega 500.
In 1976, Adcox made another 11 Winston Cup starts in his
Adcox-Kirby #41 Chevrolet. He recorded a 7th place finish in the
Carolina 500 at Rockingham and in the Rebel 500 at Darlington.
In 1977, Adcox made 6 starts in the Winston Cup Series. His
#41 Chevrolet carried sponsorship from Krystal. Three blown
engines and electrical problems put him out of 4 of the six
events and his best finish was a 15th place showing at
Talladega.
In 1978, Krystal sponsored Adcox and the #41 Chevrolet in 14
Winston Cup events. It proved to be Adcox’s finest season in
Winston Cup competition. He finished 7th in the Atlanta 500, 6th
in the Music City USA 420 at Nashville Fairgrounds, and 5th in
the Winston 500 at Talladega.
In 1979, Adcox was once again sponsorless in the Winston Cup
Series. He entered 6 events in his #41 running a Chevrolet in 2
events, an Oldsmobile in 3, and a Buick in his final event of
the year. He finished 11th in the World 600 at Charlotte and
qualified 4th for the Firecracker 400, but a failed engine
dropped him to 33rd in the event.
It was 1983 before Adcox reappeared on the Winston Cup
circuit running in the Talladega 500 but a crash on the first
lap of the event eliminated him from the event. Adcox returned
for the 1984 Talladega 500 but an engine failure dropped him out
of the event. In 1985, Adcox drove his father’s #29 Chevrolet
without sponsorship in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 at Daytona and
in the Talladega 500. His best finish was a 22nd place showing.
In 1986, Adcox drove his father’s #29 Chevrolet to a 26th place
finish in the Firecracker 400. In the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Adcox
was enjoying some success as he set a record in the series by
winning four superspeedway races.
Adcox reappeared in the Winston Cup Series in 1989 entering 3
events driving his father’s #22 Chevrolet with Bumper to Bumper
Auto Parts sponsorship. He recorded a 13th place finish in the
Pepsi 400. He also made his Busch Series debut in the #41
Oldsmobile sponsored by his family’s Adcox Chevrolet dealership
in the AC-Delco 200 at Rockingham finishing 18th.
On November 19, 1989 during the NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Adcox crashed in
turn 2 on lap 198 and died from his injuries. He was 39 years
old.
Although his success in NASCAR was slim due to lack of
sponsorship and limited funds, Adcox definitely made his name in
the ARCA series. Over his career in ARCA, he had two wins at
Atlanta, 5 wins and 2 poles at Talladega. The ARCA Series has
honored his memory by naming the series’ sportsmanship award,
the Grant Adcox Sportsmanship Award. North Georgia Speedway near
Dalton, Georgia annually holds the Grant Adcox Memorial Dirt
Track World Championship in his honor.
