Jerry Oliver

Jerry Oliver (January 18, 1944 – January 1, 2004) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and NASCAR Winston West Series between 1966 and 1975.

Racing career Oliver began racing go-karts at a young age. He made a start in the USAC Stock Car Series in 1965 at Hanford Motor Speedway, finishing twenty-third. Oliver simultaneously made his NASCAR Grand National Series and NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Division debut in a combination race at Riverside International Raceway in 1966, finishing 20th due to gear shift issues; although this was his lone Grand National start of the season, he scored six top-tens across ten further Pacific Coast Late Model starts. Oliver competed in eight Pacific Coast Late Model races in 1967, scoring five top-tens, including a best of fourth at Capital Speedway. In the combination race at Riverside, Oliver finished in 11th. His only NASCAR start of 1968 came in the combination race at Riverside, where he finished 28th due to differential issues. He also made his SCCA Trans-American Championship at Riverside, finishing seventh in class and ninth overall. Oliver ran at least 14 Pacific Coast Late Model races in 1969, but would only finish inside the top-ten in three of them, failing to finish most races due to various issues. In the combination race at Riverside, he finished 31st due to transmission issues. He competed in a Trans-American Championship race at Sonoma Raceway, finishing 12th in class and 13th overall. Oliver ran his only full-time NASCAR season in 1970 in the renamed Grand National West, scoring 12 top-tens in nineteen races. He finished a career-high third in the standings. In the first Riverside combination race, Oliver scored his first Grand National Series top-ten with a ninth place result, while he finished 22nd in the second Riverside race due to engine issues. He also made three Trans-American Championship races, coming at Laguna Seca Raceway, Pacific Raceways, and Riverside, with a best finish of 11th at Laguna Seca. Oliver ran only three races in the renamed Winston West Series in 1971, scoring a best finish of fifth, which doubled as his first and only top-five in the renamed Winston Cup Series. He made his final Trans-American Championship start at Riverside, finishing 18th. Oliver made his final Winston Cup start in 1972, where he finished 22nd at Riverside; in his final attempt at Ontario Motor Speedway, he failed to qualify. He also failed to qualify for a Winston West race at Saugus Speedway. He next competed in NASCAR in 1974, where he competed in four Winston West races, scoring his final top-ten at Stockton 99 Speedway. Oliver made his final start in 1975 at Laguna Seca, where after starting fourth, he finished 22nd due to transmission issues.

Personal life Oliver grew up in Walnut Creek, California, where he attended Las Lomas High School. He worked with his father, Don, of Oliver & Son Cement Contractors, which was established by his grandfather in 1916. Oliver took over the business as a third generation owner when his father retired. Oliver had three children and four grandchildren.

Motorsports career results