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.

Before racing in NASCAR, Gautsche began his career on a dirt track near Reno before moving to modifieds. 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 17 races across the 26 race West Series season, scoring five top-tens. Gautsche also made two more Cup starts, coming in the other combination races at Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside. Gautsche ran a majority of the West schedule in 1972, scoring 12 top-ten finishes in 27 starts. He also made his final Winston Cup starts, finishing 35th in both and failing to qualify for his final attempt. Gautsche competed full-time in the West Series in 1973, again scoring 12 top-tens. 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 42 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. Gautsche struck Pattison, sending him approximately sixty feet into the air; Pattison was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital. 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. In 1975, Gautsche ran eleven races, finishing top-ten in eight of them. Gautsche began competing for Don Guy Racing rather than his own team in 1976, scoring five top-tens in ten races. He continued competing for the team in 1977, scoring six top-tens across 11 races. In 1978, Gautsche ran five races for Guy and one for Gene Thonesen, scoring three top-tens and his first and only career pole. Gautsche competed in the Rose Classic at All American Speedway in 1979, finishing fifteenth. 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. His final start came in 1984, where he finished ninth at Mesa Marin Raceway; he made his final attempt in the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway, where he failed to qualify.

Gautsche owned Gautsche Racing with his wife Shirnell, where he ran a majority of the races in his career. 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.

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