“Suitcase Jake” Elder: Remembering a Legendary NASCAR Crew Chief

J.C. "Jake" Elder, a former crew chief in the Cup Series, died Wednesday in Statesville, North Carolina at the age of 73. He was known as "Suitcase Jake" because he could never settle down with one organization for very long. He is generally considered by the NASCAR community as one of the greatest crew chiefs of all-time. He won two championships with David Pearson and helped mold some of NASCAR’s legends, including Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, and Benny Parsons. If you want to take a look back at the grassroots of NASCAR, Jake Elder is a great place to begin. He was born on November 22, 1936, and his education ended around the third grade. Elder never learned to read and write, but his knowledge of cars was almost unrivaled. He bega...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - Motorsports
Article is property of BleacherReport.com