Remembering Jake Elder
AKA Suitcase Jake
November 22, 1936 — February 24, 2010
J.C. Elder was born in Statesville, North Carolina on Nov 22, 1936 to Dewey Lee and Mable Mae Sprinkle Elder. Although Jake only had a third grade education and could not read or write proficiently, he would go on to become one of the most successful crew chiefs in NASCAR's history.
Elder began his forty year NASCAR career as a fabricator with Petty Enterprises in 1959. He would eventually go on to became the lead mechanic, and then a crew chief. During his career, Elder worked with some of the most successful drivers of the time, including Lee Petty, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, Fred Lorenzen, Mario Andretti, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Davey Allison, Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace and others.
Elder became known as "Suitcase Jake" because he could never settle down at any one organization for a long period of time, hopping from one organization to the next. When he would get mad, he would simply pickup his tools, leave and go work elsewhere.
Jake would oftentimes work on a car and say, "OK, now it's right. Here, you go drive it, and don't come back in complaining to me, because I got the car fixed. You go learn how to drive it."
Elder was the crew chief on David Pearson's championship winning car for Holman Moody in 1968 and 1969. He helped Dale Earnhardt become NASCAR's Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 1979, and helped Earnhardt get his first Cup Series victory that same year. He also was Mario Andretti's crew chief when Andretti won the 1967 Daytona 500. Later he would help Darrell Waltrip get for his first and last Cup Series victories.
After Elder suffered a stroke, retired NASCAR legends decided to form the "Suitcase Jake Commemorative Fund" for Elder. These retired drivers raced in an event on July 18, 2008 at Music City Motorplex, in Nashville, Tennessee, to benefit Jake.
Upon his death NASCAR released a statement "He was one the first crew chiefs in NASCAR to achieve celebrity status with our fans. He was a pioneer in that regard, and his celebrity was well deserved. He was truly one of the greatest crew chiefs of all time, winning two championships with David Pearson. Our sport has lost one of its legends."
"He was one of the true pioneers and classic personalities of our sport," said Winston Kelley, executive director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Elder had been in failing health ever since suffering a stroke in 2006 and a bout with pneumonia in 2008. On Feb 24, 2010, J.C. Elder passed away from natural causes at the age of 73.
Jake will always be remembered and he will be greatly missed.
