Charlie Glotzbach
| Charles "Charlie" Glotzbach | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Glotzbach, picture taken in 1969 | |||||||
| Born |
June 19, 1938 Edwardsville, Indiana, U.S.A. | ||||||
| Awards | 1964 ARCA Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 124 race(s) run over 15 year(s) | |||||||
| Best finish | 19th – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series season | ||||||
| Last race | 1992 DieHard 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
| First win | 1968 National 500 (Charlotte Motor Speedway) | ||||||
| Last win | 1971 Volunteer 500 (Bristol) | ||||||
| |||||||
Charles "Charlie" Glotzbach (born June 19, 1938 in Edwardsville, Indiana) is a former ARCA and was a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. Charlie holds one of the oldest race records in NASCAR. He has the record for fastest pace at Bristol Motor Speedway for a NASCAR race. He was also known as "The Chargin' Comet" and "Chargin' Charlie".
Bristol race record
In 1971 Glotzbach won the caution-free Volunteer 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in a record pace that still stands. The race was completed with an average speed of 101.074 mph (two hours, 38 minutes) at the .533-mile track. Glotzbach required relief during the middle of the race from Friday Hassler. The track is known for a high number of cautions.
NASCAR history
His first NASCAR Winston Cup race was in 1960. While never running a full Winston Cup schedule, he ran a partial schedule every year from 1967 to 1975. The most he ran in a single year was in 1968, when he raced in 22 of 48 events. In 1969 he finished second in the Daytona 500 after being passed on the last lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough.
In late 1969, Glotzbach received broken ribs and was shot twice during an altercation with a former employee of his race team, Nichols Engineering. He returned the next season and continued to run competitively with one of the bullets still in his shoulder. (ABC Wide World of Sports Broadcast, 1970 Daytona 500.)
Glotzbach set a World Record of 199.466 mph in September 1969 at Talladega, driving the Chrysler Engineering #88 Dodge Charger Daytona. The car was the pole winner, but Glotzbach, along with most other drivers, sat out the race due to a tire boycott.
His last NASCAR Winston Cup race was in 1992, a season when he competed in seven events. He has four wins and 12 poles in NASCAR.
Other racing
Glotzbach was named the 1964 ARCA series Rookie of the Year. He also attempted to qualify for the 1969 and 1970 Indianapolis 500 races, but failed to qualify for both.
Glotzbach now runs a truck sales business named "Charlie's Truck Sales" in Sellersburg, Indiana.
In a charity legends race on March 20, 2010, Glotzbach was involved in a horrifying crash at Bristol Motor Speedway. He T-boned the drivers' side of Larry Pearson at near full speed after Pearson spun. Both drivers were injured, but none are life threatening.[1]