Former ARCA and NASCAR driver, Charles L. "Chargin Charlie" Glotzbach, the 1964 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year and one of the first drivers to transition from ARCA to success in the NASCAR Cup Series, passed away on Friday, April 23. He was 82.
Glotzbach, from Edwardsville, Indiana, made his name in racing on the short tracks of southern Indiana before stepping into the ARCA Menards Series. The first of Glotzbach's eight series victories came at the quarter-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway in 1964, with a weekend sweep at Austin Speed-o-Rama and Pan-American Speedway following in 1966. Glotzbach also won at Rockingham Speedway in 1973.
Glotzbach raced against ARCA champions Nelson Stacy and Benny Parsons, both of whom parlayed victories and championships on the ARCA platform to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1960s and 1970s. They pioneered the pathway from ARCA to NASCAR, commonly referred to as "driver development," to this day a key to ARCA's longevity as a home for career professional racers as well as upward mobility to NASCAR's National Series.
"That's how he got his name. He stood on the gas," A.J. Foyt once said of Glotzbach, who claimed to have lapped the Chrysler Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds at 243 mph in 1969 driving the Dodge development "mule" VIN # DC-093, the "original" 1969 Dodge Daytona being prepared and modified by Chrysler engineers along with Ray Nichels Engineering.
After a decade-plus hiatus from the series, Glotzbach returned in the late 1980s to run superspeedway events, most notably with owner Floyd Garrett.
Garrett teamed with Cup Series owner Richard Childress to field cars crew chiefed by Cecil Gordon for Glotzbach at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.
Glotzbach's 1969 season was among his most eventful. He lost the Daytona 500 by a car-length, passed on the final lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough. Months later, Glotzbach, driving the car that Ray Nichels had entered as being owned by himself but was infact really the Chrysler Engineering development "mule" , a blue 1969 Dodge Daytona (VIN# DC-093) and given the car #88 , set a world qualifying record for the opening race at Talladega Superspeedway at 199.466 mph on Sept. 10, 1969
"It was the biggest thrill of my career. It almost takes your breath away," Glotzbach told the press after exiting his Chrysler Corporation /"Ray Nichels"-owned Dodge. A day later, he posted an unofficial lap of 199.827 mph in practice, but a group of drivers boycotted the race after the tires failed to hold up under the high-speed conditions and Glotzbach was among those who withdrew.
He returned for the 1970 season, but only after recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered the previous November after a disagreement with a former employee. He won twice and secured four poles as the manufacturers' arms race for horsepower and aerodynamic advantages reached its peak as track sizes grew.
Glotzbach's final Cup Series victory in 1971 set a record that still stands. Glotzbach driving for Hall of Fame driver and car owner, Junior Johnson, exited his No. 3 Chevrolet on a searing July day at Bristol Motor Speedway on the 351st lap, and relief driver Friday Hassler handled it the rest of way in a rare caution-free event. The 101.074 mph average speed is still a 500-lap benchmark for the .533-mile Tennessee track.
Another historic victory for Glotzbach came in 1970 when he won the Yankee 400 at Michigan International Speedway in another 1969 Dodge Daytona, #99. That was the first-ever Cup race to use carburetor restrictor plates.
Though the bulk of his driving career was complete by the mid-1970s, Glotzbach continued racing — even with gaps of several years in his Cup Series tenure. Most notably, he returned for a seven-race Cup stint with car owner Junie Donlavey, the last of those appearances coming at age 54. Two years later, he was among the 43 drivers who failed to qualify for the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Glotzbach won four ARCA Menards Series races after turning 50. One of his last driving appearances came back at Bristol in 2010 in an exhibition race for racing legends, but ended in multiple injuries after a crash that also seriously hurt Larry Pearson. He later made a full recovery.
Glotzbach never ran more than half the races in a given NASCAR season, but his career record of 50 top-10 finishes in 124 starts was admirable, especially in an era when attrition ran high.
"I'm proud to have run in NASCAR," Glotzbach told the (Jeffersonville, Ind.) News and Tribune in 2011. "I was proud just to do it, but I'm also proud of the races I won. Plus I had a good percentage of finishing in the top five or top 10 of the races I ran."
Glotzbach returned to ARCA victory lane twice in 1990, earning the first of three victories at Talladega and winning the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added Talladega wins in 1991 and 1992, and in qualifying for his final win became the last ARCA driver to record a 200-plus mph qualifying lap at 201.456 mph.
Glotzbach's NASCAR Cup Series career spanned 18 seasons, and he earned four career wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan and Bristol for car owners Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels and Richard Howard. Glotzbach also recorded 12 career Cup poles at Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Michigan, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. In his dominant win at Bristol in 1971, when he led 411 of the race's 500 laps, Glotzbach's 101.074 mph average still stands as the Cup Series track record at Bristol.
Although he had been retired from driving for many years, Glotzbach was a familiar presence at tracks in southern Indiana. He was a regular visitor to the Bill Kimmel Racing shop in Sellersburg, Indiana, and was the Grand Marshall for the 2018 ARCA Throwback race at Salem Speedway.
Charlie was found dead in his home at Jeffersonville, IN on April 23, 2021.
Glotzbach, from Edwardsville, Indiana, made his name in racing on the short tracks of southern Indiana before stepping into the ARCA Menards Series. The first of Glotzbach's eight series victories came at the quarter-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway in 1964, with a weekend sweep at Austin Speed-o-Rama and Pan-American Speedway following in 1966. Glotzbach also won at Rockingham Speedway in 1973.
Glotzbach raced against ARCA champions Nelson Stacy and Benny Parsons, both of whom parlayed victories and championships on the ARCA platform to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1960s and 1970s. They pioneered the pathway from ARCA to NASCAR, commonly referred to as "driver development," to this day a key to ARCA's longevity as a home for career professional racers as well as upward mobility to NASCAR's National Series.
"That's how he got his name. He stood on the gas," A.J. Foyt once said of Glotzbach, who claimed to have lapped the Chrysler Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds at 243 mph in 1969 driving the Dodge development "mule" VIN # DC-093, the "original" 1969 Dodge Daytona being prepared and modified by Chrysler engineers along with Ray Nichels Engineering.
After a decade-plus hiatus from the series, Glotzbach returned in the late 1980s to run superspeedway events, most notably with owner Floyd Garrett.
Garrett teamed with Cup Series owner Richard Childress to field cars crew chiefed by Cecil Gordon for Glotzbach at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.
Glotzbach's 1969 season was among his most eventful. He lost the Daytona 500 by a car-length, passed on the final lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough. Months later, Glotzbach, driving the car that Ray Nichels had entered as being owned by himself but was infact really the Chrysler Engineering development "mule" , a blue 1969 Dodge Daytona (VIN# DC-093) and given the car #88 , set a world qualifying record for the opening race at Talladega Superspeedway at 199.466 mph on Sept. 10, 1969
"It was the biggest thrill of my career. It almost takes your breath away," Glotzbach told the press after exiting his Chrysler Corporation /"Ray Nichels"-owned Dodge. A day later, he posted an unofficial lap of 199.827 mph in practice, but a group of drivers boycotted the race after the tires failed to hold up under the high-speed conditions and Glotzbach was among those who withdrew.
He returned for the 1970 season, but only after recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered the previous November after a disagreement with a former employee. He won twice and secured four poles as the manufacturers' arms race for horsepower and aerodynamic advantages reached its peak as track sizes grew.
Glotzbach's final Cup Series victory in 1971 set a record that still stands. Glotzbach driving for Hall of Fame driver and car owner, Junior Johnson, exited his No. 3 Chevrolet on a searing July day at Bristol Motor Speedway on the 351st lap, and relief driver Friday Hassler handled it the rest of way in a rare caution-free event. The 101.074 mph average speed is still a 500-lap benchmark for the .533-mile Tennessee track.
Another historic victory for Glotzbach came in 1970 when he won the Yankee 400 at Michigan International Speedway in another 1969 Dodge Daytona, #99. That was the first-ever Cup race to use carburetor restrictor plates.
Though the bulk of his driving career was complete by the mid-1970s, Glotzbach continued racing — even with gaps of several years in his Cup Series tenure. Most notably, he returned for a seven-race Cup stint with car owner Junie Donlavey, the last of those appearances coming at age 54. Two years later, he was among the 43 drivers who failed to qualify for the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Glotzbach won four ARCA Menards Series races after turning 50. One of his last driving appearances came back at Bristol in 2010 in an exhibition race for racing legends, but ended in multiple injuries after a crash that also seriously hurt Larry Pearson. He later made a full recovery.
Glotzbach never ran more than half the races in a given NASCAR season, but his career record of 50 top-10 finishes in 124 starts was admirable, especially in an era when attrition ran high.
"I'm proud to have run in NASCAR," Glotzbach told the (Jeffersonville, Ind.) News and Tribune in 2011. "I was proud just to do it, but I'm also proud of the races I won. Plus I had a good percentage of finishing in the top five or top 10 of the races I ran."
Glotzbach returned to ARCA victory lane twice in 1990, earning the first of three victories at Talladega and winning the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added Talladega wins in 1991 and 1992, and in qualifying for his final win became the last ARCA driver to record a 200-plus mph qualifying lap at 201.456 mph.
Glotzbach's NASCAR Cup Series career spanned 18 seasons, and he earned four career wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan and Bristol for car owners Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels and Richard Howard. Glotzbach also recorded 12 career Cup poles at Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Michigan, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. In his dominant win at Bristol in 1971, when he led 411 of the race's 500 laps, Glotzbach's 101.074 mph average still stands as the Cup Series track record at Bristol.
Although he had been retired from driving for many years, Glotzbach was a familiar presence at tracks in southern Indiana. He was a regular visitor to the Bill Kimmel Racing shop in Sellersburg, Indiana, and was the Grand Marshall for the 2018 ARCA Throwback race at Salem Speedway.
Charlie was found dead in his home at Jeffersonville, IN on April 23, 2021.
Former ARCA and NASCAR driver, Charles L. "Chargin Charlie" Glotzbach, the 1964 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year and one of the first drivers to transition from ARCA to success in the NASCAR Cup Series, passed away on Friday, April 23. He was 82.
Glotzbach, from Edwardsville, Indiana, made his name in racing on the short tracks of southern Indiana before stepping into the ARCA Menards Series. The first of Glotzbach's eight series victories came at the quarter-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway in 1964, with a weekend sweep at Austin Speed-o-Rama and Pan-American Speedway following in 1966. Glotzbach also won at Rockingham Speedway in 1973.
Glotzbach raced against ARCA champions Nelson Stacy and Benny Parsons, both of whom parlayed victories and championships on the ARCA platform to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1960s and 1970s. They pioneered the pathway from ARCA to NASCAR, commonly referred to as "driver development," to this day a key to ARCA's longevity as a home for career professional racers as well as upward mobility to NASCAR's National Series.
"That's how he got his name. He stood on the gas," A.J. Foyt once said of Glotzbach, who claimed to have lapped the Chrysler Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds at 243 mph in 1969 driving the Dodge development "mule" VIN # DC-093, the "original" 1969 Dodge Daytona being prepared and modified by Chrysler engineers along with Ray Nichels Engineering.
After a decade-plus hiatus from the series, Glotzbach returned in the late 1980s to run superspeedway events, most notably with owner Floyd Garrett.
Garrett teamed with Cup Series owner Richard Childress to field cars crew chiefed by Cecil Gordon for Glotzbach at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.
Glotzbach's 1969 season was among his most eventful. He lost the Daytona 500 by a car-length, passed on the final lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough. Months later, Glotzbach, driving the car that Ray Nichels had entered as being owned by himself but was infact really the Chrysler Engineering development "mule" , a blue 1969 Dodge Daytona (VIN# DC-093) and given the car #88 , set a world qualifying record for the opening race at Talladega Superspeedway at 199.466 mph on Sept. 10, 1969
"It was the biggest thrill of my career. It almost takes your breath away," Glotzbach told the press after exiting his Chrysler Corporation /"Ray Nichels"-owned Dodge. A day later, he posted an unofficial lap of 199.827 mph in practice, but a group of drivers boycotted the race after the tires failed to hold up under the high-speed conditions and Glotzbach was among those who withdrew.
He returned for the 1970 season, but only after recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered the previous November after a disagreement with a former employee. He won twice and secured four poles as the manufacturers' arms race for horsepower and aerodynamic advantages reached its peak as track sizes grew.
Glotzbach's final Cup Series victory in 1971 set a record that still stands. Glotzbach driving for Hall of Fame driver and car owner, Junior Johnson, exited his No. 3 Chevrolet on a searing July day at Bristol Motor Speedway on the 351st lap, and relief driver Friday Hassler handled it the rest of way in a rare caution-free event. The 101.074 mph average speed is still a 500-lap benchmark for the .533-mile Tennessee track.
Another historic victory for Glotzbach came in 1970 when he won the Yankee 400 at Michigan International Speedway in another 1969 Dodge Daytona, #99. That was the first-ever Cup race to use carburetor restrictor plates.
Though the bulk of his driving career was complete by the mid-1970s, Glotzbach continued racing — even with gaps of several years in his Cup Series tenure. Most notably, he returned for a seven-race Cup stint with car owner Junie Donlavey, the last of those appearances coming at age 54. Two years later, he was among the 43 drivers who failed to qualify for the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Glotzbach won four ARCA Menards Series races after turning 50. One of his last driving appearances came back at Bristol in 2010 in an exhibition race for racing legends, but ended in multiple injuries after a crash that also seriously hurt Larry Pearson. He later made a full recovery.
Glotzbach never ran more than half the races in a given NASCAR season, but his career record of 50 top-10 finishes in 124 starts was admirable, especially in an era when attrition ran high.
"I'm proud to have run in NASCAR," Glotzbach told the (Jeffersonville, Ind.) News and Tribune in 2011. "I was proud just to do it, but I'm also proud of the races I won. Plus I had a good percentage of finishing in the top five or top 10 of the races I ran."
Glotzbach returned to ARCA victory lane twice in 1990, earning the first of three victories at Talladega and winning the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added Talladega wins in 1991 and 1992, and in qualifying for his final win became the last ARCA driver to record a 200-plus mph qualifying lap at 201.456 mph.
Glotzbach's NASCAR Cup Series career spanned 18 seasons, and he earned four career wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan and Bristol for car owners Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels and Richard Howard. Glotzbach also recorded 12 career Cup poles at Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Michigan, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. In his dominant win at Bristol in 1971, when he led 411 of the race's 500 laps, Glotzbach's 101.074 mph average still stands as the Cup Series track record at Bristol.
Although he had been retired from driving for many years, Glotzbach was a familiar presence at tracks in southern Indiana. He was a regular visitor to the Bill Kimmel Racing shop in Sellersburg, Indiana, and was the Grand Marshall for the 2018 ARCA Throwback race at Salem Speedway.
Charlie was found dead in his home at Jeffersonville, IN on April 23, 2021.
Glotzbach, from Edwardsville, Indiana, made his name in racing on the short tracks of southern Indiana before stepping into the ARCA Menards Series. The first of Glotzbach's eight series victories came at the quarter-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway in 1964, with a weekend sweep at Austin Speed-o-Rama and Pan-American Speedway following in 1966. Glotzbach also won at Rockingham Speedway in 1973.
Glotzbach raced against ARCA champions Nelson Stacy and Benny Parsons, both of whom parlayed victories and championships on the ARCA platform to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1960s and 1970s. They pioneered the pathway from ARCA to NASCAR, commonly referred to as "driver development," to this day a key to ARCA's longevity as a home for career professional racers as well as upward mobility to NASCAR's National Series.
"That's how he got his name. He stood on the gas," A.J. Foyt once said of Glotzbach, who claimed to have lapped the Chrysler Chelsea (Mich.) Proving Grounds at 243 mph in 1969 driving the Dodge development "mule" VIN # DC-093, the "original" 1969 Dodge Daytona being prepared and modified by Chrysler engineers along with Ray Nichels Engineering.
After a decade-plus hiatus from the series, Glotzbach returned in the late 1980s to run superspeedway events, most notably with owner Floyd Garrett.
Garrett teamed with Cup Series owner Richard Childress to field cars crew chiefed by Cecil Gordon for Glotzbach at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.
Glotzbach's 1969 season was among his most eventful. He lost the Daytona 500 by a car-length, passed on the final lap by LeeRoy Yarbrough. Months later, Glotzbach, driving the car that Ray Nichels had entered as being owned by himself but was infact really the Chrysler Engineering development "mule" , a blue 1969 Dodge Daytona (VIN# DC-093) and given the car #88 , set a world qualifying record for the opening race at Talladega Superspeedway at 199.466 mph on Sept. 10, 1969
"It was the biggest thrill of my career. It almost takes your breath away," Glotzbach told the press after exiting his Chrysler Corporation /"Ray Nichels"-owned Dodge. A day later, he posted an unofficial lap of 199.827 mph in practice, but a group of drivers boycotted the race after the tires failed to hold up under the high-speed conditions and Glotzbach was among those who withdrew.
He returned for the 1970 season, but only after recovering from two gunshot wounds suffered the previous November after a disagreement with a former employee. He won twice and secured four poles as the manufacturers' arms race for horsepower and aerodynamic advantages reached its peak as track sizes grew.
Glotzbach's final Cup Series victory in 1971 set a record that still stands. Glotzbach driving for Hall of Fame driver and car owner, Junior Johnson, exited his No. 3 Chevrolet on a searing July day at Bristol Motor Speedway on the 351st lap, and relief driver Friday Hassler handled it the rest of way in a rare caution-free event. The 101.074 mph average speed is still a 500-lap benchmark for the .533-mile Tennessee track.
Another historic victory for Glotzbach came in 1970 when he won the Yankee 400 at Michigan International Speedway in another 1969 Dodge Daytona, #99. That was the first-ever Cup race to use carburetor restrictor plates.
Though the bulk of his driving career was complete by the mid-1970s, Glotzbach continued racing — even with gaps of several years in his Cup Series tenure. Most notably, he returned for a seven-race Cup stint with car owner Junie Donlavey, the last of those appearances coming at age 54. Two years later, he was among the 43 drivers who failed to qualify for the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
Glotzbach won four ARCA Menards Series races after turning 50. One of his last driving appearances came back at Bristol in 2010 in an exhibition race for racing legends, but ended in multiple injuries after a crash that also seriously hurt Larry Pearson. He later made a full recovery.
Glotzbach never ran more than half the races in a given NASCAR season, but his career record of 50 top-10 finishes in 124 starts was admirable, especially in an era when attrition ran high.
"I'm proud to have run in NASCAR," Glotzbach told the (Jeffersonville, Ind.) News and Tribune in 2011. "I was proud just to do it, but I'm also proud of the races I won. Plus I had a good percentage of finishing in the top five or top 10 of the races I ran."
Glotzbach returned to ARCA victory lane twice in 1990, earning the first of three victories at Talladega and winning the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added Talladega wins in 1991 and 1992, and in qualifying for his final win became the last ARCA driver to record a 200-plus mph qualifying lap at 201.456 mph.
Glotzbach's NASCAR Cup Series career spanned 18 seasons, and he earned four career wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan and Bristol for car owners Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels and Richard Howard. Glotzbach also recorded 12 career Cup poles at Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Michigan, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. In his dominant win at Bristol in 1971, when he led 411 of the race's 500 laps, Glotzbach's 101.074 mph average still stands as the Cup Series track record at Bristol.
Although he had been retired from driving for many years, Glotzbach was a familiar presence at tracks in southern Indiana. He was a regular visitor to the Bill Kimmel Racing shop in Sellersburg, Indiana, and was the Grand Marshall for the 2018 ARCA Throwback race at Salem Speedway.
Charlie was found dead in his home at Jeffersonville, IN on April 23, 2021.
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