J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010)[1] was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief.
[4] Stories circulate that Elder grabbed Waltrip by his driver's suit to tell him how to race the car.
After Earnhardt won his first race, Elder said to him "Stick with me, kid, and we’ll win diamonds as big as horse turds".
One day at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Elder was disappointed with his perception that other teams were illegally soaking their tires to gain additional speed.
[5] In May 2008, Rusty Wallace talked about his experiences with Elder early in his career: Jake was old-old school.
If your old car wasn't running right, and you were confused, you'd want to call Jake and say, ‘Hey, can you come bail me out?'
[5] Retired NASCAR legends decided to form the "Suitcase Jake Commemorative Fund" for Elder.
These retired drivers raced in an event on July 18, 2008, at Music City Motorplex to benefit Elder.
[7] Elder died on February 24, 2010, of natural causes while at Autumn Care of Statesville, North Carolina.