The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, better known as NASCAR, has over time become one of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world. There are several reasons for this, and one of them can be attributed to the contributions of racing enthusiasts, which include those of the legendary American professional stock car racing crew chief, engine builder, car designer, and driver who is popularly known as “Smokey.” Notably, Yunick’s foray into motorsports officially started in the ‘50s, and it spanned several decades before he eventually retired from the sport.
During his career, Yunick held several notable positions in the automotive industry that included running Chevrolet’s unofficial factory race team as well as heading Ford and Pontiac’s NASCAR projects. Also, and rather remarkably, Yunick featured prominently in both the design and testing of the Chevrolet Small-Block engine. In 1962, the American became the first team owner to win the Daytona 500 twice, having won it for the first time in 1961. Nonetheless, there's a lot more to this incredibly talented automotive fabrication genius, NASCAR's legendary Smokey Yunick.
10 Has Ukrainian Heritage
Having grown up on a farm in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, we could deduce that Yunick had quite busy childhood. Born on the 25th of May 1923, Yunick’s parents are Ukrainian immigrants whose source of livelihood was majorly farming. Unfortunately, at the age of just 16, Yunick lost his dad.
This event put the responsibility of tending the farm majorly on Yunick, and it led to him dropping out of school. However, this would also give him ample time to hone his mechanical skills.
9 A Great Mechanic
Dropping out of school to look after the family’s farm gave Yunick a rare opportunity to further explore his amazing talent of mechanics. While at the farm, Yunick once constructed a tractor from the ruins of a car. As a young boy, he also built and raced several motorcycles in his spare time, getting his nickname (Smokey) from one of his motorcycles which notoriously produced much smoke.
Among other ventures, Yunick ran "Smokey's Best Damn Garage in Town" at Daytona Beach, Florida, where he repaired trucks till 1987.
8 Flew Planes
During the war and even during peacetime, from 1940 until 1973, American men were conscripted to fill vacancies in the United States Armed Forces that couldn’t be filled voluntarily. This, or the love for the military and aviation, led Smokey Yunick to join the American Army Air Corps in 1941 during the war.
While in the Army, Yunick flew a B-17 Flying Fortress called “Smokey and his Firemen” over Europe in missions that are said to be more than 50. Also, Yunick served with the 97th Bombardment Group of the 15th Air Force in Italy.
7 Serial Inventor
Yunick is an acclaimed innovator with several inventions to his name. Specifically, the versatile American engineer has more than nine US patents to his name. On June 8, 1976, Yunick filed for a patent for the Pressure Vent. Notably, a pressure vent is deployed in internal combustion engines to prevent loss of lubricants during rapid acceleration, deceleration, or sharp cornering.
The invention was approved for a patent on January 17, 1978. Other Yunick patents include fuel conditioning apparatus and method, oil change system and method, as well as an internal combustion engine among others.
6 An Author
While he was better known for his exploits in mechanics, Yunick also made great strides as a writer and author. In the 1960s and 1970s, his column “Say, Smokey” was a regular feature in “Popular Science” magazine.
In the column, Yunick responded to letters sent by readers who have mechanical issues they’ll love to solve and others who needed answers to technical automotive questions that border on performance. In 1984, he published Smokey’s Power Secrets and later wrote for “Circle Track” magazine in 2001.
5 Portrayed In A Movie
Being portrayed in a movie isn’t a small feat. It’s an honor that is often reserved for extremely popular and highly significant people such as presidents, sports personalities, legendary athletes, music stars, and the likes. Also, people who extremely famous for the wrong reasons, like Hitler, have often been portrayed as villains in movies such as The Great Dictator, thereby increasing the movie’s appeal.
Remarkably, in 2017, Disney/Pixar released Cars 3, an animation movie that features a character known as “Smokey” voiced by Chris Cooper, and based on Smokey Yunick.
4 A Multiple Motorsports Hall Of Famer
Yunick’s contributions to the progress and development of motorsports in America are unprecedented. While he was deeply involved in NASCAR in its formative years and probably more affiliated with the event, Yunick however also featured prominently in other motorsports activities.
Hence, for his enormous contributions to the sport, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000. Amazingly, Yunick is a member of more than 30 Halls of Fame within the United States and the rest of the world.
3 NASCAR Mechanic Of The Year
Yunick had a glorious start as a NASCAR mechanic back in the day. With an excellent reputation of mechanical prowess known all over the town, Yunick was swiftly invited by Marshall Teague, a local stock car race team owner, to join his team.
With almost no knowledge of stock car racing, Yunick prepared a Hudson Hornet for driver Herb Thomas, who coasted to victory at the second running of the Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina. This was just the beginning, as Yunick would later win the NASCAR mechanic of the year, twice.
2 A Performance Modification Genius
Yunick built a plethora of race-winning cars. He was reputed for his mastery of gray areas in the fabrication of race cars, and this ultimately earned him great win ratios in competitions. Notably, one of Yunick’s most popular exploits was on his 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle that was driven by Curtis Turner.
The car’s blistering pace during tests caused several stirs, and it was indeed inspected on suspicion of aerodynamic enhancement. It was then discovered that Yunick had craftily altered the exterior. This, among several other stunts, earned Yunick numerous NASCAR wins.
1 Diagnosed With Leukemia
Yunick undoubtedly remains one of the most celebrated mechanics ever in the history of car racing, a revered status which he attained courtesy of his amazing automotive repairs wizardry. However, Yunick left the sport in 1970 after he was continuously overruled by NASCAR owner Bill France Sr. on his campaign for safety.
He ventured into writing and several other adventures thereafter. Unfortunately, Yunick was diagnosed with Leukemia later in his life, eventually succumbing to the disease on May 9, 2001, at his home, after one year of battling the disease. He was 77.