Charlie Glotzbach
Charlie Glotzbach (ARCA Racing)

Former ARCA, NASCAR Driver Charlie Glotzbach Dies At Age 82

www.arcaracing.com April 24, 2021

“Chargin'” Charlie Glotzbach, the 1964 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year and one of the first drivers to transition from ARCA to success in the NASCAR Cup Series, passed away on Friday, April 23. He was 82.

Glotzbach, from Edwardsville, Indiana, made his name in racing on the short tracks of southern Indiana before stepping into the ARCA Menards Series. The first of Glotzbach’s eight series victories came at the quarter-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway in 1964, with a weekend sweep at Austin Speed-o-Rama and Pan-American Speedway following in 1966. Glotzbach also won at Rockingham Speedway in 1973.

Glotzbach raced against ARCA champions Nelson Stacy and Benny Parsons, both of whom parlayed victories and championships on the ARCA platform to victories in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 1960s and 1970s. They pioneered the pathway from ARCA to NASCAR, commonly referred to as “driver development,” to this day a key to ARCA’s longevity as a home for career professional racers as well as upward mobility to NASCAR’s National Series.

After a decade-plus hiatus from the series, Glotzbach returned in the late 1980s to run superspeedway events, most notably with owner Floyd Garrett.

Garrett teamed with Cup Series owner Richard Childress to field cars crew chiefed by Cecil Gordon for Glotzbach at Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.

Glotzbach returned to ARCA victory lane twice in 1990, earning the first of three victories at Talladega and winning the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He added Talladega wins in 1991 and 1992, and in qualifying for his final win became the last ARCA driver to record a 200-plus mph qualifying lap at 201.456 mph.

Glotzbach’s NASCAR Cup Series career spanned 18 seasons, and he earned four career wins at Charlotte, Daytona, Michigan and Bristol for car owners Cotton Owens, Ray Nichels and Richard Howard. Glotzbach also recorded 12 career Cup poles at Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Michigan, North Wilkesboro and Rockingham. In his dominant win at Bristol in 1971, when he led 411 of the race’s 500 laps, Glotzbach’s 101.074 mph average still stands as the Cup Series track record at Bristol.

Although he had been retired from driving for many years, Glotzbach was a familiar presence at tracks in southern Indiana. He was a regular visitor to the Bill Kimmel Racing shop in Sellersburg, Indiana, and was the Grand Marshall for the 2018 ARCA Throwback race at Salem Speedway.