View source for Jerry Cook

{{Short description|American racing driver (born 1943)}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name              = Jerry Cook
| image             = 
| caption           = 
| nationality       = {{flag|United States|label=American}}
| birth_name        = <!-- Only if different from name -->
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1943|6|20}}
| birth_place       = [[Lockport (city), New York|Lockport, New York]]
| death_date        = 
| death_place       = 
| first year        = 1956
| retired           = 1982
| related to        = 
| last series       = [[NASCAR Modified Tour]]
| years active      = 1968–1982
| teams             = 
| starts            = 
| wins              = 341
| poles             = 
| best finish       = 1st
| year              = 1971–72, 1974–77
| prev series       = [[NASCAR Winston Cup Series]]<br>[[Modified racing#Small block modifieds|Modified-Sportsman]]
| prev series years = [[1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series|1973]]<br>1956-1967
| titles            = [[NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour|NASCAR National Modified Champion]]<br>All Star Stock Car Racing League Champion
| title years       = 1971,'72,'74<br>'75,'76,'77<br> 1972
| awards            = NMPA Hall of Fame<br />[[Saratoga Automobile Museum|NYSSCA Hall of Fame]]<br />[[NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers]]<br />[[International Motorsports Hall of Fame|IM Hall of Fame]]<br />[[Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame|NDM Hall of Fame]]<br />[[NASCAR Hall of Fame]]
| award years       = 1989<br />1993<br />1998<br />2009<br />2011<br />2016
}}
'''Jerry Cook''' (born June 20, 1943) is a [[NASCAR]] [[modified racing|modified]] championship race car driver.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jerry Cook biography |url=http://www.empaonline.org/jerry%20cook%20bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019201542/http://www.empaonline.org/jerry%20cook%20bio.html |archive-date=19 October 2013 |access-date=7 April 2012 |publisher=Eastern Motorsport Press Association |df=}}</ref>  He began racing at the age of 13 and won the track championship at [[Utica-Rome Speedway]] in 1969.

==Racing career==
Jerry Cook built his first modified in 1956 to compete at [[Ransomville Speedway]] in Western New York, naming Cam Gagliardi as his driver. In 1959 he built a car for [[Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] driver [[Ken Meahl]].  It was number 38 and that became Cook's career number. In 1962 Meahl totaled two cars, and Cook decided that if he had to fix them he might as well drive them. In 1963, at age 18, he started racing and won his first main event that year at Utica-Rome.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boyd |first=Lew |last2=Fusco |first2=Andy |date=May 11, 2011 |title=Jerry Cook Named to Dirt Hall of Fame Class of 2011 |url=https://dirtcar.com/dirtcar-ne/pro-stocks/jerry-cook-named-to-dirt-hall-of-fame-class-of-2011/ |access-date=June 25, 2025 |work=DIRTcar}}</ref>

Cook eventually went to become a six-time champion in the [[NASCAR]] [[Whelen Modified Tour|Modified]] series (1971–72, 1974–77). His rivalry with fellow Rome, New York driver [[Richie Evans]] is legendary. He retired after the 1982 season with 342 wins.<ref name="Mod Top 10">[http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/official/top_ten/09/12/top10_modified/index.html NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10 list at nascar.com]</ref> He stayed with the sport, and helped shape the series.<ref name="NASCAR-Jerry Cook-2015" />

In 1973, he attempted to qualify for the [[1973 Daytona 500|Daytona 500]] in a No. 07 [[Chevrolet]]. In his [[Daytona 500 Qualifying Race]], he spun on lap 44 and finished 25th, failing to make the 500.<ref>{{cite news |last=Verigan |first=Bill |date=February 16, 1973 |title=The Establishment Loses a Race |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31801779/ |accessdate=May 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |location=New York NY |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 16, 1973 |title=Thursday's Results |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31801823/ |accessdate=May 21, 2019 |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |location=FL |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

==NASCAR administration==
Cook served as the Whelen Modified Series' director when it began in 1985, and retired as NASCAR's Competition Administrator in 2015.<ref name="NASCAR-Jerry Cook-2015">{{cite web |date=May 20, 2015 |title=Jerry Cook One of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers |url=https://www.nascarhall.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/jerry-cook |accessdate=June 24, 2025 |website=[[NASCAR Hall of Fame]] |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sturbin |first=John |date=January 25, 2016 |title=Legend Cook joins all-time greats in NASCAR HOF |url=https://www.romesentinel.com/news/city/rome/legend-cook-joins-all-time-greats-in-nascar-hof/article_9e5c2365-6168-5c4e-bc20-427c2a64f048.html |access-date=June 24, 2025 |work=[[Daily Sentinel (Rome, New York)|Daily Sentinel]] |location=Rome NY}}</ref>

==Awards==
*Inducted in the [[International Motorsports Hall of Fame]] in 2009
*In 1989, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
*Inducted into the [[Saratoga Automobile Museum|New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame]] in 1993<ref>{{cite news |date=August 21, 2014 |title=Jerry Cook to appear at Devils Bowl |url=https://www.rutlandherald.com/jerry-cook-to-appear-at-devil-s-bowl/article_ca4c860c-4a05-5962-a5e5-5d750c5bf425.html |access-date=October 4, 2023 |newspaper=[[Rutland Herald]] |location=VT}}</ref>
*As part of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1998, he was named one of [[NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers]].<ref name="NASCAR-Jerry Cook-2015" />
*NASCAR named him #3 on its NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10 list.<ref name = "Mod Top 10" />
*Inducted into the [[NASCAR Hall of Fame]] in 2016<ref name="NASCAR-Jerry Cook-2015" />
*Inducted in the [[Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame]] inducted in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last=Marquart |first=Chris |date=May 24, 2011 |title=Trio to be enshrined in Hall of Fame |url=https://www.fltimes.com/sports/trio-to-be-enshrined-in-dirtcar-hall-of-fame/article_681010bc-8620-11e0-bbfc-001cc4c002e0.html |accessdate=April 20, 2019 |website=[[Finger Lakes Times]] |publisher= |place=Geneva NY}}</ref>
*Named one of [[NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers]] (2023)

==Motorsports career results==
===NASCAR===
([[Template:NASCAR driver results legend|key]]) (<span style="font-size:85%">'''Bold'''&nbsp;– Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics''&nbsp;– Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. *&nbsp;– Most laps led.</span>)

====Winston Cup Series====
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
|-
! colspan=45| [[NASCAR Winston Cup Series]] results
|-
! Year
! Team
! No.
! Make
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
! 25
! 26
! 27
! 28
! {{Tooltip|NWCC|NASCAR Winston Cup classification}}
! Pts
! Ref
|-
! [[1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series|1973]]
!
! 07
! [[Chevrolet|Chevy]]
| [[Winston Western 500|RSD]]
| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| [[1973 Daytona 500|DAY]]<br /><small>DNQ</small>
| [[1973 Richmond 500|RCH]]
| [[Carolina 500|CAR]]
| [[Southeastern 500|BRI]]
| [[1973 Atlanta 500|ATL]]
| [[1973 Gwyn Staley 400|NWS]]
| [[1973 Rebel 500|DAR]]
| [[Virginia 500|MAR]]
| [[Winston 500 (Spring)|TAL]]
| [[Music City 420|NSV]]
| [[1973 World 600|CLT]]
| [[Mason-Dixon 500|DOV]]
| [[1973 Alamo 500|TWS]]
| [[1973 Tuborg 400|RSD]]
| [[Motor State 400|MCH]]
| [[1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400|DAY]]
| [[Volunteer 500|BRI]]
| [[1973 Dixie 500|ATL]]
| [[Talladega 500 (Fall Race)|TAL]]
| [[Nashville 420|NSV]]
| [[1973 Southern 500|DAR]]
| [[Capital City 500|RCH]]
| [[Delaware 500|DOV]]
| [[Wilkes 400|NWS]]
| [[Old Dominion 500|MAR]]
| [[1973 National 500|CLT]]
| [[1973 American 500|CAR]]
! NA
! -
! <ref>{{cite web |title=Jerry Cook – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results |url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/cookje02/1973/W |accessdate=May 21, 2019 |work=Racing-Reference |publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC}}</ref>
|}

=====Daytona 500=====
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Manufacturer
! Start
! Finish
|-
| [[1973 Daytona 500|1973]]
|
| [[Chevrolet]]
|align=center colspan=2 style="background:#FFCFCF;"| DNQ
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Racing-Reference driver|Jerry_Cook_(2)}}

{{2016 NASCAR HOF}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Jerry}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:NASCAR drivers]]
[[Category:People from Lockport, New York]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Rome, New York]]
[[Category:Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame]]


{{US-autoracing-bio-stub}}
{{NASCAR-bio-stub}}
[[Category:NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees]]