The Story of Mike Potter (1949-2022)

Mike Potter is a name that may not come to the minds of many NASCAR fans, but the favorite son of Johnson City, Tennessee enjoyed a lengthy part-time career in the Winston Cup Series. The son of longtime NASAR team owner Jess Potter, Mike served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam and worked as a truck driver before he got into racing. He favored some of the series’ most difficult tracks, including Bristol and Darlington, but was most determined to start the Daytona 500. The pursuit of this dream led to the greatest moment of his career. MUSIC “Crops” - Telecasted CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro / Jess Potter 3:11 - Mike Potter 7:49 - Journeyman 8:11 - Darlington 9:24 - Chasing Daytona 10:11 - The 1992 Daytona 500 16:08 - Putting together a season 17:08 - Returning in 1993 17:35 - Reuniting with Means 18:27 - The car endures 19:39 - Conclusion VIDEO    • Playlist   SPECIAL THANKS *Bryan Hallman, BRH Racing Archives *Aaron Creed, Super Cup Stock Car Series PR Coordinator *Thomas Williams, for his photos and contacting Mike *Jay Coker, for sharing his photos from Woody Delbridge *Dave Sports, for his footage from SpeedWeeks 1992 ARTICLES *Beard, Brock. “5/21/83: Mike Potter and family share deep ties with NASCAR and native Tennessee,” LASTCAR.info, April 20, 2017. *Bobo, Jeff. “Moonshine sparked 50 years in NASCAR for Potter family,” Times News (Kingsport, Tennessee), August 20, 2007. *Bruce, Kenny. “JC’s Potter has dream come true,” Kingsport Times-News, February 16, 1992. *Higgins, Tom. “NASCAR Officials hope Elena won’t dampen race spirits,” The Charlotte Observer, September 1, 1985. *Higgins, Tom. “Twin 125s may be especially frantic,” The Charlotte Observer, February 11, 1988. *Lipps, Pete. “Racing Day,” Letter to Editor, Johnson City Press, March 22, 1992. *Lipps, Pete. “Support Potter,” Letter to Editor, Johnson City Press, February 25, 1992. *Pierce, Robert. “Local driver trying to break into NASCAR racing,” Johnson City Press, March 28, 1980. *Smyth, Jimmy. “Field set for today’s Southeastern 500,” Johnson City Press, April 1, 1979. *“Super Cup Continues Ties to Stock Car Racing’s Roots While Looking Ahead to Next Series Race at CNB Bank Raceway Park,” SuperCupStockCarSeries.com, June 23, 2014. UNCREDITED ARTICLES “1992 Daytona drive profiles,” Austin American-Statesman, February 16, 1992. “Daytona 500 Speeds,” The Tampa Tribune, February 11, 1990. “Daytona 500 Qualifying,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, February 12, 1992. “Earnhardt, rain claim Southern 500,” Clarion-Ledger, September 7, 1987. “Hooters 500 Speeds,” Star Tribune, November 14, 1992. “Hot Waltrip steams past competition,” The Charlotte Observer, August 23, 1981. “Mike Potter hoping for GN career,” Kingsport Times-News, March 26, 1981. “Richard Petty loses to the rain; Parsons loses best run in wreck,” The Charlotte Observer, September 7, 1987. OTHER SOURCES *Danny Casteel *eBay *Facebook – Mike Potter’s page *Getty Images / RacingOne *Racing-reference.info