Kirk Shelmerdine is a NASCAR driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.
Crew Chief
In 1982 he joined Richard Childress Racing to become the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt had 46 wins, 142 Top 5 finishes, and 246 Top 10 finishes enroute to four championships with Kirk. The pit crew won four consecutive Pit Crew Titles over the next eight years. His accomplishments include being the youngest crew chief to win a NASCAR race, and the youngest crew chief to win a Winston Cup Title. In 1992, he announced he was retiring from his crew chief duties, and embarked on a racing career on his own to pursue his dream of being a driver.
Driving Career Begins
He started running in the ARCA series in 1993 where he has three career wins. He has since run in all the top levels in NASCAR. Shelmerdine has run a total of two Craftsman Truck Series races with a best finish of 17th at Bristol in 1995. He has also run 12 Busch Series races with a best finish of 17th in 1994 at Daytona for Levin Racing.
Cup Driving Career
Shelmerdine's Nextel Cup career actually started in 1981 in a race at College Station