Concord,NC — Catching Up With….

Jimmy Boyd
Woodland, California


Jimmy Boyd won a lot of races from coast-to-coast during his career, but the one that sticks out most was his one and only Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory, which came at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas on March 18, 1978. After all, it was the inaugural A-Feature event for the newly formed series and he bested an all-star field to pick up the $2,000 win, driving for Hall of Famer Kenny Woodruff.

Boyd wound up competing in nine World of Outlaws events during the inaugural 1978 campaign, picking up Top-10 finishes in seven of those races, including a fourth-place performance in World of Outlaws debut at Eldora Speedway on April 16, which was the second stop of the season for the series. He went to Eldora as the series championship point leader.

Boyd would finish third at West Capital Raceway in his home state of California later that season with the World of Outlaws, and scored back-to-back fourth place runs at the Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in Washington. He wrapped the season up with Top-10 finishes at Manzanita Speedway in the Western World and in the Pacific Coast Open at Ascot Park Speedway, both in non-wing World of Outlaws events, which were common during the series first couple seasons.



Over the next few years, Boyd would compete in a handful of World of Outlaws races, mainly on the West Coast, recording strong runs in the first Gold Cup Race of Champions held at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico in 1980. He also ran strong with the series at Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont, California.

Tracks currently on the World of Outlaws schedule that Boyd won at during his career include: the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania, the legendary Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, Eagle Raceway in Nebraska, and 34 Raceway in Iowa.

In addition to his success on the West Coast, Boyd also was victorious during his career at East Windsor Speedway in New Jersey, Midwest Speedway in Lincoln, Nebraska and Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania.

In his home state of California, Boyd earned triumphs at: Bakersfield Speedway, Baylands Raceway Park, Calistoga Speedway, Dixon Fairgrounds, Pleasanton Fairgrounds, Petaluma Speedway, Santa Maria Speedway, Shasta Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunder Park Speedway and West Capital Raceway.

Boyd first climbed into a sprint car in 1967, finishing second in an event at Calistoga Speedway in his home state. His last race in a sprint car came four decades later in 1984 at Baylands Raceway Park also in California, where he finished fourth.

Boyd recently attended the 55th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions for the World of Outlaws at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California and resides just outside of Sacramento in Woodland, California.

Thoughts on the inaugural World of Outlaws event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway:

“I remember winning it most. All the good guys were there. It was the first race of the year, and we weren’t even planning on going there actually. We had our car ready early in the year and they had a race down there and we went over there. Once we got down there and saw who was there, it was a ‘Who’s Who’ of sprint car racing. It made it a really big deal to win. We took to the track pretty good and were pretty fast. I am very proud of that. It’s probably the best win I ever had, anywhere.”

Thoughts on the inaugural World of Outlaws season:

“After the first race, we were leading the points and the next race was at Eldora (Speedway). Earl Baltes gave us $500 to come up there to race. We stopped in Kansas City along the way to race. Ted (Johnson) was traveling with us there and stayed in the same hotel room we did. We were all in the same boat back then. We didn’t have much money. We went to Eldora and ran pretty good up there. We couldn’t run the whole World of Outlaws series, we were just a local deal. We ran a few races that first season, but that’s all.”


Thoughts on the drivers he competed against in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s:

“There was a lot or really great drivers back then. We raced against Wolfie (Doug Wolfgang), Rick Ferkel and (Steve) Kinser. Wolfie was a very outspoken guy, but also a very neat guy. I am glad I got to race against those guys.”

Thoughts on sprint car racing 30 years ago:

“It was fun knowing you could compete against them. You would read stories about them and then you would go back and see them and race against them. That was a lot of fun.”
“There was no way you could do it for a living back then. You definitely did it for the love of the sport. It was just fun back then. We went out and raced whenever we wanted and wherever we wanted. If there was a race in Iowa or Kansas, we just went to it. Then they organized it and it just kind of took off from there.”

Thoughts on his career as a driver that worked on his own car:

“I was definitely a hands-on guy. I would get up in the morning and work on the car all day. I washed it and helped the mechanic and did everything that needed to be done. It was only the mechanic and myself. I was definitely hands-on and I wish I could have been more the other way. I would get up in the morning and work on the car all day and I would be tired by the end of the day. It’s just what I loved doing and that’s what I did. I think it really help me drive better. It helped me to set up a car better by working on it. I knew how the thing ticked.”

Thoughts on drivers he competed against in the inaugural World of Outlaws event still racing today:

“It is surprising that they are still out here. Those guys were a lot younger than me back then though. I was kind of old when I raced against them. I remember when Sammy (Swindell) was just a little snot-nosed kid when he started running with us. Steve (Kinser) had just started then too. They are still going and that is great.”

Thoughts on his life in racing:

“I would definitely do it again. That was probably the most fun time of my life. Financially now I wish I would have done something different, but I wouldn’t change a thing. The experience and the fun I had you couldn’t match that with anything anywhere else.”