Wikipedia

Ron Gautsche

Ron Gautsche (July 6, 1935 – August 22, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and crew chief. He primarily competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series, racing in the series between 1971 and 1984.

Ron Gautsche
BornJuly 6, 1935
Truckee, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 22, 2024(2024-08-22) (aged 89)
NASCAR Cup Series career
5 races run over 2 years
Best finish87th (1972)
First race1971 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Last race1972 Miller High Life 500 (Ontario)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series West career
131 races run over 10 years
Best finish4th (1974)
First race1971 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Last race1984 Suncrest Motorhomes 200 (Mesa Marin)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 71 1
Statistics up to date as of May 20, 2026.

Racing career

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Before racing in NASCAR, Gautsche began his career on a dirt track near Reno before moving to modifieds.[1] He simultaneously made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series and NASCAR Winston West Series in the 1971 Motor Trend 500 at Riverside International Raceway, finishing nineteenth. He ran a total of seventeen races across the twenty-six race West Series season, scoring five top-tens.[2] Gautsche also made two more Cup starts, coming in the other combination races at Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside.[3] Gautsche ran a majority of the West schedule in 1972, scoring twelve top-ten finishes in twenty-seven starts.[4] He also made his final Winston Cup starts, finishing thirty-fifth in both and failing to qualify for his final attempt.[5] Gautsche competed full-time in the West Series in 1973, again scoring twelve top-tens.[6] He finished sixth in the standings. On September 2, 1973, Gautsche was competing in the West Series race at Evergreen Speedway when he veered out of control, apparently hitting an oil slick, and slid into the track's infield, where forty-two year old Samuel "Pat" Pattison, a NASCAR track steward from Long Beach, was assisting the injured George Jefferson, crew chief for Harry Jefferson, who had been struck by Ron Eaton.[7] Gautsche struck Pattison, sending him approximately sixty feet into the air; Pattison was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital.[7] Gautsche's best season came in 1974, where, across twenty-five starts, he scored a career-high nineteen top-tens and seven top-fives, including a career-best second, finishing fourth in the final points standings.[1][8] In 1975, Gautsche ran eleven races, finishing top-ten in eight of them.[9] Gautsche began competing for Don Guy Racing rather than his own team in 1976,[1] scoring five top-tens in ten races.[10] He continued competing for the team in 1977, scoring six top-tens across eleven races.[11] In 1978, Gautsche ran five races for Guy and one for Gene Thonesen, scoring three top-tens and his first and only career pole.[12] Gautsche competed in the Rose Classic at All American Speedway in 1979, finishing fifteenth.[13] After not competing in the West Series in 1979, Gautsche competed in two races for his team in 1980, although he failed to start at Laguna Seca Raceway.[14] His final start came in 1984, where he finished ninth at Mesa Marin Raceway;[1] he made his final attempt in the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway, where he failed to qualify.[15]

Team ownership

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Gautsche owned Gautsche Racing with his wife Shirnell, where he ran a majority of the races in his career.[1] The team also fielded drivers such as Ross Kusah, Neil Bonnett, and J. C. Danielsen. The team competed with Danielsen in the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500, an exhibition race at the Calder Park Thunderdome in Australia, where he finished in ninth.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

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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 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 NWCSC Pts Ref
1971 Gautsche Racing 82 Ford RSD
19		 DAY DAY DAY ONT
49		 RCH CAR HCY BRI ATL CLB GPS SMR NWS MAR DAR SBO TAL ASH KPT CLT DOV MCH RSD
25		 HOU GPS DAY BRI AST ISP TRN NSV ATL BGS ONA MCH TAL CLB HCY DAR MAR CLT DOV CAR MGR RCH NWS TWS NA NA [3]
1972 RSD
35		 DAY RCH 87th 332.75 [5]
82W ONT
35		 CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV MCH RSD
DNQ		 TWS DAY BRI TRN ATL TAL MCH NSV DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR TWS

Winston West Series

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NASCAR Winston West 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 29 30 NWWSC Pts Ref
1971 Gautsche Racing 82 Ford RSD
19		 ONT
49		 OSS SJS
21		 CRS S99
7		 ASP RSD
25		 SAL
12		 SPS
7		 SKA
17		 USP
17		 POR
21		 LSP MED DCS CRS
15		 OSS
17		 SGS BKS
18		 CSP
10		 EVG
25		 IFS
8		 YAK
9		 SGB TWS 12th 690 [2]
1972 RSD
35		 SJS
6		 S99
22		 SMN
22		 TCR
14		 YAK
18		 EVG MED
7		 POR
9		 MER
11		 SPS
13		 LSP
12		 WSP
5		 SKA
8		 RAS
6		 CRS
8		 OSS SGS
9		 CSP
14		 BKS
11		 EVG
5		 USP
10		 YAK
15		 POR
9		 ASP
17		 WCR
12		 SMN
9		 10th 2074 [4]
82W ONT
35		 RSD
DNQ
82 Chevy IFS
13
1973 Ford AMP
6		 MAD
14		 S99
9		 AUR
8		 KFS
9		 CBS
9		 USP
11		 POR
14		 SPS
10		 WER
6		 SGS
5		 CAJ
10		 OSS
13		 CSP
8		 BKS
11		 LAG
10		 EVG
15		 WSP
10		 POR
19		 AMP
11		 6th 1503.75 [6]
Chevy YAK
16
1974 Ford RSD AMP
2		 S99
5		 MSP
4		 COR
9		 SBP
6		 ASP
5		 RSD WER
3		 WSP
5		 SPS
6		 STA
7		 USP
14		 POR
9		 MED
6		 EUG
10		 CBS
5		 CAJ
14		 CRS
6		 ASP
13		 AMP
8		 CSP
7		 EVG
19		 YAK
15		 POR
9		 SGB
8		 ASP
11		 ONT 4th 1837.75 [8]
1975 Chevy RSD LAG
8		 MSP
10		 ASP
6		 RSD ASP USP
10		 POR
11		 EVG SMS CSP
6		 ASP
6		 EVG
4		 YAK
11		 POR
24		 MSP ONT 10th 743.25 [9]
Ford CRS
5
1976 Don Guy Racing 57 Chevy RSD RSD EVG
9		 WSP
5		 USP
12		 POR
13		 SHA
10		 SGS
11		 EVG
10		 YAK
11		 POR
23		 LAG
7		 ONT 8th 653.5 [10]
1977 RSD LAG
7		 ONT SJS
12		 MMR
9		 ASP
3		 RSD SGS YAK EVG
20		 WSP USP
12		 POR
15		 AAS
7		 CRS
8		 ASP
5		 SHA
11		 POR ONT PHO 12th 741.75 [11]
1978 RSD AAS
13		 S99
19		 SHA
7		 PET
2		 ASP
5		 SON SHA CBS YAK OSS ONT PHO 20th 243 [12]
Thonesen Racing 77 MMR
17		 RSD IFS YAK WSP LSP EVG POR CRS
1980 Gautsche Racing 82 Buick RSD ONT S99 RSD LAG
28		 EVG POR
22		 SON MMR ONT PHO NA 29 [14]
1984 Gautsche Racing 82 Buick RSD YAK SIR POR EVG SHA WSR SON MMR
9		 RSD PHO
DNQ		 33rd 42 [15]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Delforge, Vincent (August 25, 2024). "NASCAR West Series: Tribute to Ron Gautsche". Kickin' the Tires. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1971 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1972 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1973 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Pat Pattison". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1974 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1975 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1976 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1977 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1978 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Ron Gautsche – Rose Classic Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1980 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Ron Gautsche – 1984 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.
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