Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.
In 1992, he announced he was retiring from his crew chief duties, and embarked on a racing career on his own to pursue his dream of being a driver.
Shelmerdine has run a total of two Craftsman Truck Series races with a best finish of 17th at Bristol in 1995.
Shelmerdine's NASCAR Winston Cup Series career actually started in 1981 in a race at College Station (Texas World Speedway, where owner/driver James Hylton brought out a 2nd car (No.
He started his own Cup team in 2002 and ran races at Talladega, Loudon and Pocono, but he was primarily a "field filler" driver.
His performance gained media attention as he said if he did not qualify, he'd sell his race team because he was extremely low on money.
On December 22, 2006, the Federal Election Commission sent an "admonishment letter" to Shelmerdine as a response to him for running with a Bush/Cheney decal on his car in 2004.
Shelmerdine used Tom Hubert for road courses and New England staple Ted Christopher for Loudon.
It was announced on August 26, 2010, that on September 14, 2010, the assets of Kirk Shelmerdine Racing were to be sold at Public Auction at the team's basis in Welcome, North Carolina.
Shelmerdine stated the reason for the closure is lack of sponsorship and technology provided for independent teams.