Harry Hyde (January 17, 1925 – May 13, 1996) was an American crew chief in NASCAR stock car racing from the 1960s through the 1980s, winning 56 races and 88 pole positions.

The team was very successful in 1986. Richmond won seven races and finished third in points behind legends Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip.

Richmond, who was noted for womanizing, was diagnosed with AIDS during 1987 and missed most of the season with illness which he explained to the public as pneumonia. Richmond returned to the track in the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono. Driving like a man on a mission, he overcame a shifter problem to put the Folgers No. 25 Chevrolet back into victory lane. The very next week he outclassed the field in the Budweiser 400 at Riverside, bringing home his final Winston Cup victory. Jimmy Means drove Richmond's Folgers Chevrolet in the Oakwood Homes 500 at Charlotte, but the No. 25 was reversed to No. 52, which was Jimmy's normal car number. He crashed on lap 20, finishing 40th. Car owner Rick Hendrick drove the Folgers No. 25 in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside, not fairing much better. He left the race on lap 75 with transmission trouble, finishing 33rd.

Ken Schrader became the driver for the No. 25 team in 1988, but Hendrick had become a three car operation, and Hyde sometimes felt ignored. He left after the season to become crew chief for Stavola Brothers Racing where he worked through the first half of the 1991 season, before moving to Chad Little's No. 19 Bullseye BBQ/Tyson Foods Ford.

Hyde had 48 career victories. His forte was setting up cars for specific tracks. His race shop is still part of the Hendrick Motorsports facility, and a road within the complex is known as Hyde's Way.

Hyde died in 1996 of a heart attack brought on by a blood clot, and was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004.

Teams, numbers, drivers

  • K&K Insurance, No. 71, Gordon Johncock (1965), Earl Balmer (1965–1966), Bobby Isaac (1967–1972), Buddy Baker (1972–1974), Dave Marcis (1974–1976)
  • Jim Stacy, No. 5: Neil Bonnett, No. 6: Ferrel Harris (1977–1978)
  • Russ Togs No. 30, Tighe Scott (1979–1980)
  • All Star Racing, No. 5, Geoff Bodine (1984)
  • Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Geoff Bodine (1985), No. 25, Tim Richmond (1986–1987), Benny Parsons (1987), Rick Hendrick (1987), Ken Schrader (1988)
  • Stavola Brothers, No. 8, Bobby Hillin Jr. (1989–1990), Rick Wilson (1991)
  • Chad Little, No. 19 Chad Little (1991)
  • Greg Sacks, Hut Stricklin, Dave Marcis, No. 41 Larry Hedrick Motorsports (1992)

References

  • Hall of Fame site
  • Speedway Media site
  • Hyde interview on racing with Richmond
  • Hendrick Motorsports article
  • IMDb biography for Harry Hyde