Jerry Bowers
| Jerry Bowers | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jerrel Ross Bowers August 6, 1956 Nampa, Idaho, U.S. |
| Died | January 8, 2021 (aged 64) Meridian, Idaho, U.S. |
| Statistics current as of April 8, 2025. | |
Jerrel Ross "Jerry" Bowers (August 6, 1956 – January 8, 2021) was an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour, and NASCAR Winston Northwest Tour.[1] Bowers was inducted into the Western Idaho Racing Hall of Fame in 2002.[2]
Racing career
NASCAR Winston West Series
Bowers first competed in the NASCAR Winston West Series in 1980, running a race at Mesa Marin Raceway. He finished 24th after engine troubles took him out of the race after only 15 laps.[3] He would not return to the series until the 1989 season, running the first six standalone races and scoring a best finish of 2nd; he crashed out of the race at Evergreen Speedway and withdrew from the following race at Mesa Marin.[4] He returned for the season opening race of 1990, finishing 4th.[5] He ran two races in 1991, scoring a top ten in both events.[6]
NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour
Bowers ran 15 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour races between 1987 and 1992, winning a race at Silver State Raceway in 1988.[7]
NASCAR Winston Northwest Tour
Bowers competed in 32 NASCAR Winston Northwest Tour races between 1986 and 1992,[8] including the full 1987 season, where he won a race at Tri-City Raceway and finished 2nd in the final points standings.[9] He was the 1987 Rookie of the Year.
Other racing
Bowers was a three time winner of the Billy Crow Memorial 50, a late model race at Meridian Speedway.[10] Bowers was a multi-time late model champion at the track.[11] In 1985, Bowers won the track championship at Yakima Speedway, winning 16 of 22 races and also finishing 3rd in the NASCAR Weekly Series Pacific Coast regional standings.[12] He also won the Apple Cup at the track that year.[13] Bowers competed in an ASA National Tour race in 1988, where he scored a top ten.[12] He ran the Copper World Classic three times, finishing 2nd in 1988.[14] He ran the NASCAR Australian Exhibition at Calder Park Thunderdrome in 1990, finishing 22nd.[15] Bowers ran two Rocky Mountain Challenge Series races in 2004, finishing 7th and 15th.[16]
Personal life
Bowers was born in Nampa, Idaho in 1956. He attended school in Meridian, Idaho from kindergarten through high school, graduating from Meridian High School in 1974.[17] Bowers was an Eagle Scout. Growing up, he also worked at his family's service station, Don Meridian's Shell. His father Don and brothers Ken and Larry were also racecar drivers.[18] Bowers married his high school sweetheart Melodie Ellis in 1977. He was hired as a diesel mechanic for G&B Redi-Mix of Nampa in 1979, where he would stay employed for 40 years.[17] Bowers and his wife had their first child, a daughter named Amber, in 1981. Bowers had two grandchildren. Bowers later remarried to Kimberly Mitch in 2004, and they built a cabin in Donnelly, Idaho. Bowers enjoyed snowmobiling and boating on Cascade Lake.
Death
Bowers died on January 8, 2021, in Meridian, Idaho. A celebration of his life was held at Meridian Speedway later in the year.[17]
Motorsport career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston West Series
| NASCAR Winston West Series results | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | NWWC | Pts | Ref |
| 1980 | Jerry Bowers | 28 | Pontiac | RSD | ONT | S99 | RSD | LAG | EVG | POR | SON | MMR 24 |
ONT | PHO | N/A | 0 | [3] |
| 1989 | John Kieper | 98 | Chevrolet | MAD 6 |
MMR 9 |
RAS 5 |
SON | POR 2 |
TCR 3 |
EVG 12 |
MMR Wth |
SGS | SON | PHO | 12th | 920 | [4] |
| 1990 | MMR 4 |
SON | SGS | POR | EVG | RAS | TCR | MMR | PHO | 34th | 165 | [5] | |||||
| 1991 | NorCal Motorsports | 5 | Ford | EVG | MMR | SON | SGS | POR | EVG 6 |
SSS 7 |
MMR | PHO | 29th | 296 | [6] | ||
References
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – Driver Statistics". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Western Idaho Racing Hall of Fame". Idaho Historical Racing Society. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Jerry Bowers – 1980 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Jerry Bowers – 1989 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Jerry Bowers – 1990 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Jerry Bowers – 1991 NASCAR Winston West Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – NASCAR Southwest Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – NASCAR Northwest Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – 1987 NASCAR Winston Northwest Tour Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Memorial Race". Meridian Speedway. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ↑ "Track profile: Meridian Speedway". NASCAR.com. April 7, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Jerry Bowers – Driver Statistics". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – Apple Cup Event Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – Copper World Classic Event Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – NASCAR Australian Exhibition Event Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Jerry Bowers – 2004 Rocky Mountain Challenge Series Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Jerrel Bowers Obituary (1956 - 2021) - Meridian, ID". Legacy.com. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ↑ Giffin, Ray (April 21, 1985). "Jerry Bowers positive about racing career". The Idaho Statesman. p. 19. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
External links
- Jerry Bowers driver statistics at Racing-Reference
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