Since Smokey Yunick passed away in 2001, there’s an entire generation of gearheads who never got a chance to see and hear him speak. Today we fix that. Here’s one of the great personalities in motorsports telling it like it is.
The video below is from a talk Smokey gave to the Daytona Beach Oceanside Rotary Club, speaking to his own friends and neighbors from his years as a popular Daytona businessman. So sorry, no great engineering secrets are revealed here. This is merely a glimpse into the personality of one of the great characters in American motorsports.
Since his remarks here are in polite company, Smokey is considerably less profane than he could be in this setting, but he’s every bit as down home and laid back. For more of the singular Yunick perspective on things, you’ll want to read his three-part autobiography, Best Damn Garage in Town (see our review and a link to order the book here). Meanwhile, enjoy the video—it’s pure Smokey.
Smokey was a tremendous individual. I don’t believe anyone will ever compare to what he was in those past days. The man was absolutely brilliant. That ‘Ole Boy country charm’ that he had fooled a lot of folks. I met Smokey in 1990 at the Circle Track Trade Show when I asked him to autograph one of his books. I still have it. He was in a booth across the isle from our booth and , yes, I kept sneaking over there when he wasn’t busy and chatted with him. I really admired that man. RIP Smokey.
I wish that I could have meet Smokey. I have some of his personal Model cars and posters. I got them thru Steve Tate, a friend of Smokeys