Since we noted the passing of well-known former NASCAR team owner Junie Donleavy, should also note that Charles "Hoss" Ellington passed away May 31, age 79.
Running a part-time schedule throughout the 1970s and '80s while owning and operating his insulation company full-time, Hoss' cars won five Grand National/Cup races, four with Donnie Allison (not counting a Daytona 500 Thursday qualifier) and one with David Pearson (the last wins for both in the series, I believe), and AJ Foyt, Gordon Johncock, Charlie Glotzbach, Davey Allison, Sterlin Marlin, Buddy Baker, Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett were among those taking the seat for Hoss. Donnie Allison was in Hoss' car when he had the infamous last-lap wreck/fistfight with Cale Yarborough in the 1979 Daytona 500.
Ellington also was, um, more creative interpreters of the NASCAR rulebook, running afoul of inspectors on more than a few occasions. After Glotzbach took fast time qualifying for the fall 1973 race at Charlotte, they found a very intricate spring-and-slider-loaded carburetor that, with a pull of a wire by Glotzbach, could open the hole bigger than the legal limit. IIRC, that carb ended up in a racing hall of fame somewhere. Also, with Marlin driving at Daytona in 1986, he had a dry ice device that would cool the fuel lines on their way from the fuel pump to the carb, supposedly bumping the horsepower by 20 or more.
Hoss also seems to have been one of those good ol', let's-have-fun racers of an earlier NASCAR era. True or no, one story I read long ago was that Donnie Allison began figuring it was time to leave the team when he was a lap away from pitting, looked out the window as he came down the stretch and saw Hoss and crew sitting back, munching fried chicken. Allison also noted Hoss gave Yarborough a ride home after the '79 500 when Cale's plane was snowed in.
So, along with Junie, another link to NASCAR's past has left us. As the Nascar.com site's story is headlined, Ellington was a "colorful character." RIP, Hoss.
