View source for Sam McQuagg

{{short description|American racing driver}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2009}}

{{Infobox NASCAR driver
|image=
|name           = Samuel "Sam" McQuagg
|birth_date      = {{birth date|1937|11|11}}
|birth_place     =  [[Columbus, Georgia|Columbus]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], U.S.
|death_date      = {{death date and age|2009|01|03|1937|11|11}}
|death_cause = [[Cancer]]
|Best_Cup_Pos   = 15th ([[1966 NASCAR Grand National Series|1966]])
|Cup_Wins       = 1
|Cup_Top_Tens   = 21
|Cup_Poles   = 0
|First_Cup_Race = 1962 untitled race <small>(Valdosta Speedway)</small>
|First_Cup_Win  = [[1966 Firecracker 400]] <small>([[Daytona International Speedway|Daytona]])</small>
|Last_Cup_Race  = [[1974 World 600]] <small>([[Charlotte Motor Speedway|Charlotte]])</small>
|awards         = 1965 [[NASCAR Rookie of the Year]]<br>Inducted in the [[Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame]]
|Years_In_Cup    = 8
|Total_Cup_Races = 62
}}

'''Samuel McQuagg''' (November 11, 1937 &ndash; January 3, 2009<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/01/03/smcquagg.obit/index.html?eref=/rss/news/headlines/cup|title=McQuagg, top rookie in '65, succumbs to cancer at 71 |date=2009-01-03|publisher=NASCAR.com|access-date=2009-01-04}}</ref>) was an American former [[NASCAR Rookie of the Year]] driver. He died of cancer on January 3, 2009, at the age of 71. He and his wife Joy had recently celebrated their 54th [[wedding anniversary]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090203004353/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/racing/01/03/mcquagg.obit.ap/index.html Former NASCAR Rookie of the Year Dies] SI.com, January 4, 2009</ref>

==Career==
Born in [[Columbus, Georgia]], McQuagg was named ''NASCAR Rookie of the Year'' in 1965 after achieving 5 top-10 finishes in 16 races. McQuagg was a major player in an incident in one of the wildest NASCAR races ever. McQuagg was leading the [[1965 Southern 500]] when [[Cale Yarborough]] tried to muscle past him for the lead. Yarborough flew over the guardrail, rolled around six times, and ended up at the end of the parking lot by a light post. Yarborough waved to the crowd as he walked back to the pits. A video clip of the wreck was used on [[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|ABC's Wide World of Sports]] for several years. The race was eventually won by 14 laps by [[Ned Jarrett]].

[[Dodge]] noticed his accomplishments in his small [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] team and hired him to their factory team. He was the first driver to use a spoiler. He used the spoiler to win the [[Firecracker 400]] at [[Daytona International Speedway]]; the flag from the Firecracker 400 now hangs on his grandson's wall. His [[Dodge Charger (B-body)|Dodge Charger]] was sponsored by a newlywed [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] couple. McQuagg was also the first driver to bring a motorhome into the Daytona garage area.

In 1967 he was hired to drive [[Cotton Owens]]' Dodge. He ran 14 races and had 3 top-5 finishes. On lap 81 of an event at Darlington, he tangled with another driver, went over the guardrail, and flipped numerous times before coming to a rest. The wrecks frustrated McQuagg, and he scaled back his schedule to mainly local tracks. He retired from racing to become a commercial pilot, which was a skill he had learned to travel quickly between races. His last start came in the 1974 [[Coca-Cola 600|World 600]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Racing-Reference driver|Sam_McQuagg}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060329172347/http://www.garhofa.com/driver-bio.php?id=54 McQuagg at Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051215171629/http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=81615&FS=HISTORY Dodge Then & Now 11-07-01]

{{NASCARROTY}}
{{Owens Racing}}
{{K&K Insurance Racing}}
{{Ellington Racing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuagg, Sam}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:NASCAR drivers]]
[[Category:NASCAR team owners]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:American commercial aviators]]