Ted Musgrave
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| Born: | December 18, 1955 (age 51) | |
| Birthplace: |  Waukegan Illinois |
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| Awards: | 2005 Craftsman Truck Series Champion | |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Statistics | ||
| 2006 NCTS Position: | 6th | |
| Best NCTS Position: | 1st - 2005 - (Craftsman Truck Series) | |
| First Race: | 1995 GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 200 (Phoenix) | |
| First Win: | 2001 Florida Dodge Dealers 400K (Miami) | |
| Last Win: | 2005 Dodge Ram Tough 200 (St. Louis) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 16 | 101 | 12 |
| All stats current as of March 26, 2007. | ||
Ted Musgrave was born on December 18, 1955 in Waukegan, Illinois . He drives the #9 Team ASE Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Germain Racing.
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[edit] Pre-NASCAR
Musgrave fell in love with racing as his father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest. Despite getting a late start in his driving career (he began when he was 18), he became well known on the short tracks of Wisconsin. In 1987 he went national to the American Speed Association (ASA) series and became the rookie of the year, finishing fifth in points. Although oringally from Illinois Ted ran short tracks in Wisconsin residing in Grand Marsh, Wisconsin until 1987 when he moved to Franklin, Wisconsin.
[edit] Winston Cup Career
In 1990, Musgrave was called upon by Winston Cup team owner Ray DeWitt to replace Rich Vogler, who had been killed at a wreck at Salem Speedway. Musgrave had four starts in Cup that year, his best finish being a 22nd at the Checker Auto Parts 500. From 1991 to 1993 he raced the #55 for the DeWitt/Ulrich team. He was runner-up to Bobby Hamilton for Rookie of the Year in 1991 and had twelve top-ten finishes. In 1994, he was hired by Jack Roush to race for Roush Racing in the #16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird. In his first season, Musgrave had three poles, and finished fifteenth in points. Musgrave's best points finish came in 1995, when he finished 7th. In 1998, Musgrave got full sponsorship from Primestar, and was 18th in points when he was suddenly replaced by rookie Kevin Lepage, to the shock of many. There was even some speculation that Musgrave's teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Burton regularly got better equipment than Musgrave and teammates Johnny Benson and Chad Little. Still, Musgrave filled out the year by doing by running part-time for Bud Moore Engineering and Bill Elliott Racing, as well as doing substitute duty for Travis Carter and Jasper Motorsports. He ended up missing only one race that year.
In 1999, Musgrave was signed by Butch Mock Motorsports to run the #75 Remington Arms Ford. Musgrave struggled mightily however, and only put together two top-ten finishes before finally quitting the team after the Pennzoil 400.
He began 2000 without a ride, but soon caught on with Joe Bessey Motorsports filling in for the injured Geoffrey Bodine, and ran five races with that team. After a one-race return to the #15, Musgrave finished the year with Team SABCO, driving the #01 for Kenny Irwin Jr., who had died in a practice accident at New Hampshire International Speedway. Musgrave has run seven Cup races since then, six of them with Ultra Motorsports and one for Petty Enterprises.
[edit] Craftsman Truck Series
Musgrave made his Craftsman Truck Series debut in 1995 at the GM Goodwrench/Delco Battery 200, driving the #61 Ford F-150 for Jack Roush. He started and finished in fourth place. He ran two more races the next year for Roush's #99 truck, and finished fifth at Phoenix. He did not run trucks again until 2001, when he signed to drive the #1 Mopar Dodge Ram for Ultra Motorsports. He won three of out the first five races that year, and had eighteen top-ten finishes, but was unable to catch Jack Sprague for the title. The next two seasons, he had three wins apiece and finished third in both season's points. During the 2003 season, Musgrave announced he had been battling bladder cancer while racing. Ironically, his wife Debi has been diagnosed with leukemia since 2000. Musgrave appeared to be in position to win the Truck championship that year, but in the season-ending Ford 200, Musgrave was penalized for jumping a restart, and surrendered the championship to fellowe Wisconsinite Travis Kvapil.
In 2005, Musgrave won just one race, but he was able to claim the Craftsman Truck Series title. Musgrave moved on to Germain Racing's #9 Toyota for 2006 with sponsorship from Team ASE after Ultra Motorsports closed the doors following the 2005 season. Musgrave finished sixth in points in 2006.
In 2006, he was chosen to drive in the International Race Of Champions for the first time. He is the only driver representing the Craftsman Truck Series for the 2006 season.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Bobby Hamilton |
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Todd Bodine |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champions |
|---|
| Skinner • Hornaday • Sprague • Hornaday • Sprague • Biffle • Sprague • Bliss • Kvapil • Hamilton • Musgrave • Bodine |
