Nord Krauskopf

Nord Krauskopf

Mr. and Mrs. Nord Krauskopf at the K&K Insurance offices. They managed and marketed a benevolent fund for NASCAR drivers before, during, and after his ownership career.
Born Fort Wayne, Indiana
Died 1994
Residence Fort Wayne, Indiana[1]
Nationality  United States
Occupation NASCAR team owner/businessman
Known for One of the first NASCAR Cup Series owners to become a millionaire
Spouse(s) Theodora[1]

Nord Krauskopf was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race car owner whose career spanned from 1966 to 1977.[2] He was the owner of K&K Insurance and a part of the business since its foundation in 1952.[3] This was a position that he kept in the corporate world while having a second career in the motorsports industry as a car owner. This dual role lasted until the 1970s when he left the NASCAR circuit to focus on running his insurance company.[4] His team would field mostly Dodge Chargers and Dodge Daytonas to the Cup Series races.[5]

Career

He was known for employing veteran NASCAR drivers like Bobby Allison, Charlie Glotzbach, Bobby Isaac, Sam McQuagg, and Dave Marcis.[2] Krauskopf has seen his drivers participate in 345 races with 43 victories (first victory at the 1968 Columbia 200 - last victory at the 1976 Dixie 500), 171 finishes in the "top five," and 214 finishes in the "top ten.[2]" These drivers also managed to lead 15,705 laps out of 90,001 while finishing 12th place on average.[2] Krauskopf also become one of the first millionaires in NASCAR history by collecting a grand total of $1,225,994 in his 12-year career ($4,845,402.98 when adjusted for inflation) while his employees drove 91,890.6 miles (147,883.6 km) of racing action.[2] He would also see his drivers go to the pole position 69 times.[2] A major part of Krauskopf's career would be Bobby Isaac's championship victory during the 1970 NASCAR Winston Cup Season.[6]

The constant changes of NASCAR in the 1970s would render Krauskopf's team uncompetitive, and mid-way thru the 1976 race season he put his racing team and its assets (shops, cars, etc.) on the market and then sold it to coal mining magnate Jim Stacy.[7] As a result, he would constantly be at odds with NASCAR officials.[7] Krauskopf would eventually sell his ownership share in the original company during the early 1990s.[7] He died in 1994.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Residence/wife of Nord Krauskopf". Rough Notes. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Nord Krauskopf career information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
  3. ↑ "Career of Nord Krauskopf (1966–67)". Freewebs. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  4. ↑ "Company history - K&K Insurance". K&K Insurance. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  5. ↑ "Bobby Isaac and the K&K Insurance NASCAR Chargers". Street Legal TV. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  6. ↑ "Legends of NASCAR (Bobby Isaac in 1970)". Legends of NASCAR. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "The End of Nord Krauskopf's Career and his Death". Freewebs. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
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