NASCAR Hall of Fame 5th Class Finalist - Jerry Cook, Driver

Jerry Cook (Credit ISC Archives/Getty Images)

(b. 6/20/43)

Hometown: Rome, N.Y.

Competed: 1963-82

Starts: 1,474

Wins: 342

Poles: 26

Jerry Cook made his name in modifieds, winning six NASCAR Modified championships, four coming consecutively from 1974-77. All the while, he was vying with another driver from his hometown of Rome, N.Y., nine-time champion Richie Evans, for supremacy in NASCAR’s open-wheel realm. The rivalry was home-grown – and intense.

Modified racing is NASCAR's oldest form of competition – modifieds were the staple of the very first NASCAR season in 1948. Cook has said the cars’ appeal was based on that history and the fact that the racing is unique within NASCAR.

After retiring from racing in 1982, Cook stayed with the sport and helped shape the series that is known today as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Cook served as the series’ director when it began in 1985 and remains with NASCAR as competition administrator.

In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.