# Ron Gautsche

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**Ron Gautsche** (July 6, 1935 – August 22, 2024) was an American professional [stock car racing](/source/Stock_car_racing) driver, team owner, and crew chief. He primarily competed in the [NASCAR Winston West Series](/source/ARCA_Menards_Series_West), racing in the series between 1971 and 1984.

## Racing career

Before racing in NASCAR, Gautsche began his career on a dirt track near [Reno](/source/Reno,_Nevada) before moving to [modifieds](/source/Modified_racing).[1] He simultaneously made his [NASCAR Winston Cup Series](/source/NASCAR_Cup_Series) and [NASCAR Winston West Series](/source/ARCA_Menards_Series_West) in the [1971 Motor Trend 500](/source/1971_Motor_Trend_500) at [Riverside International Raceway](/source/Riverside_International_Raceway), finishing nineteenth. He ran a total of seventeen races across the twenty-six race [West Series season](/source/1971_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), scoring five top-tens.[2] Gautsche also made two more Cup starts, coming in the other combination races at [Ontario Motor Speedway](/source/Ontario_Motor_Speedway) and Riverside.[3] Gautsche ran a majority of the West schedule in [1972](/source/1972_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), scoring twelve top-ten finishes in twenty-seven starts.[4] He also made his final Winston Cup starts, finishing thirty-fifth in both and failing to qualify for his final attempt.[5] Gautsche competed full-time in the West Series in [1973](/source/1973_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), again scoring twelve top-tens.[6] He finished sixth in the standings. On September 2, 1973, Gautsche was competing in the West Series race at [Evergreen Speedway](/source/Evergreen_Speedway) when he veered out of control, apparently hitting an oil slick, and slid into the track's infield, where forty-two year old Samuel "Pat" Pattison, a NASCAR track steward from [Long Beach](/source/Long_Beach,_California), was assisting the injured George Jefferson, crew chief for [Harry Jefferson](/source/Harry_Jefferson_(racing_driver)), who had been struck by [Ron Eaton](/source/Ron_Eaton).[7] Gautsche struck Pattison, sending him approximately sixty feet into the air; Pattison was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital.[7] Gautsche's best season came in [1974](/source/1974_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), where, across twenty-five starts, he scored a career-high nineteen top-tens and seven top-fives, including a career-best second, finishing fourth in the final points standings.[1][8] In [1975](/source/1975_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), Gautsche ran eleven races, finishing top-ten in eight of them.[9] Gautsche began competing for Don Guy Racing rather than his own team in [1976](/source/1976_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series),[1] scoring five top-tens in ten races.[10] He continued competing for the team in [1977](/source/1977_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), scoring six top-tens across eleven races.[11] In [1978](/source/1978_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), Gautsche ran five races for Guy and one for Gene Thonesen, scoring three top-tens and his first and only career [pole](/source/Pole_position).[12] Gautsche competed in the Rose Classic at [All American Speedway](/source/All_American_Speedway) in 1979, finishing fifteenth.[13] After not competing in the West Series in [1979](/source/1979_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), Gautsche competed in two races for his team in [1980](/source/1980_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), although he failed to start at [Laguna Seca Raceway](/source/Laguna_Seca).[14] His final start came in [1984](/source/1984_NASCAR_Winston_West_Series), where he finished ninth at [Mesa Marin Raceway](/source/Mesa_Marin_Raceway);[1] he made his final attempt in the season finale at [Phoenix International Raceway](/source/Phoenix_Raceway), where he failed to qualify.[15]

## Team ownership

Gautsche owned [Gautsche Racing](/source/Gautsche_Racing) with his wife Shirnell, where he ran a majority of the races in his career.[1] The team also fielded drivers such as Ross Kusah, [Neil Bonnett](/source/Neil_Bonnett), and [J. C. Danielsen](/source/Jim_Danielsen). The team competed with Danielsen in the [1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500](/source/1988_Goodyear_NASCAR_500), an exhibition race at the [Calder Park Thunderdome](/source/Calder_Park_Raceway) in [Australia](/source/Australia).

## References

1. Delforge, Vincent (August 25, 2024). ["NASCAR West Series: Tribute to Ron Gautsche"](https://kickinthetires.net/nascar/nascar-west-series-tribute-to-ron-gautsche/). *Kickin' the Tires*. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1971 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1971/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1971/W). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1972 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1972/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1972/W). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1973 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1973/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Pat Pattison"](http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=3275). *Motorsport Memorial*. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1974 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1974/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1975 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1975/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1976 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1976/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1977 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1977/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1978 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1978/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – Rose Classic Results"](https://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/Ron_Gautsche/Results/Rose_Classic). *The Third Turn*. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1980 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

1. ["Ron Gautsche – 1984 NASCAR Winston West Series Results"](https://www.racing-reference.info/driver-season-stats/gautsro01/1984/P). *Racing-Reference*. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 20, 2026.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ron Gautsche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Gautsche) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Gautsche?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.