NASCAR Cup Series

Longtime NASCAR team owner Junie Donlavey honored at RIR

Published Sep. 5, 2014 12:30 p.m. ET

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For more than 50 years, Junie Donlavey was a staple in the NASCAR garage, and this weekend at Richmond International Raceway the longtime car owner is being honored in a number of ways.

The Richmond, Va., native began his racing career in 1950 and had a total of 67 drivers pilot his famous No. 90 car until he left racing for good in 2002.

Donlavey scored the lone win of his career in 1981 at Dover International Speedway with Jody Ridley driving. Ridley, Ken Schrader and Bill Dennis all won NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors while driving for Donlavey.

Donlavey, who died on June 9 at the age of 90, is being remember this weekend in two very special ways. Circle Sport has changed its number from the typical No. 33 to Donlavey's No. 90 with a retro Truxmore-inspired paint scheme on David Stremme's car.

"When Junie passed away in June, we worked closely with NASCAR and the Donlavey family to make this tribute car possible by changing our familiar number 33 to Junie's signature 90 for the fall race at Richmond," said team owner Joe Falk. "Junie was a mentor of mine from the time I was competing in NASCAR all the way through my involvement in team ownership, and I always dreamed of one day driving his No. 90 -- a list that reads like a Who's Who of NASCAR. I'm just glad we're able to pay tribute to Junie and his family in front of the hometown crowd by showcasing the retro paint scheme this weekend and having some of his family in attendance on Saturday. Junie was one of the true pioneers of the sport of NASCAR, and I like to think we're building our team the same way he did over 60 years ago."

Along with the car's retro paint scheme, the rear deck lid also includes a list of each of the 67 drivers who drove for Donlavey over the years, including the likes of Joe Weatherly, Tiny Lund, Speedy Thompson, Bobby Isaac, Fred Lorenzen, David Pearson, Harry Gant, Bud More, Jody Ridley, Buck Baker, Dick Trickle, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Benny Parsons, Morgan Shepherd, Ernie Irvan, Buddy Baker, Hut Stricklin, Hermie Sadler and more.

In addition to Circle Sport honoring Donlavey with the special paint scheme and number change, Richmond International Raceway has also named its Sprint Cup Series garage the Junie Donlavey Garage.

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