Ask Jimmy Spencer his opinion on any topic, and you’ll get a straight answer. That’s for certain. In this interview with Stock Car Racing, Spencer talks about his straightforward approach to Winston Cup racing and why he feels the need to speak out.
SCR: You have the reputation of speaking your mind. Is that something that has always defined Jimmy Spencer, even when you were growing up, for example?
Spencer: Yeah, you know, I got in trouble in school for it too, once in a while. I always raised my hand but said some stuff I probably shouldn’t have said. As I was growing up, I never wanted to work for anybody. I always wanted to work for myself. My whole life I’ve been that way. What really started it was I started out working at a hamburger joint for a buck an hour. I was doing real good and was the head cook, trying to extend the menu. All at once the guy in charge hires this lady and she didn’t know half of what I knew. I mean, I was only a 16-year-old kid, but I told him off. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to be able to work for a person that had position, that I would be better off doing it myself. I was only 16 years old, but I’m still doing it that way, and I’m in my forties now.
SCR: Were your parents outspoken?
Spencer: No, not really. I don’t know where I get it from. I don’t want to say it’s outspoken. A lot of it goes back to my father-in-law. My father-in-law always asked your opinion. He’s dead now, but he was a very smart person. One thing I learned from him, if you said something about a football game or whatever we were doing around the house, and said “I don’t like that,” he would want you to explain why. You always had to give him the floor, and you always got your opportunity, too. At the end of the conversation, it was never a problem if you were right. He would agree with you. Maybe that’s what started it all more than anything.
SCR: Are there drivers today who are afraid to speak out?
Spencer: I think there are a lot of drivers afraid to say stuff. You get them off to the side — I’m not going to mention names because it’s not fair to them — and they talk to me about a lot of things. I know when you get them by themselves they’re a great bunch of guys. I have a lot of fun with them, and they have a lot of opinions, but they just are sort of afraid to say anything because a lot of them feel like nothing can be done. A lot of them feel like, “Well, NASCAR is going to do what they want to do anyway,” or “This guy is going to do what he wants to do anyway.” That to me, I can’t handle that. If you’re going to do it a particular way, at least let me explain my side to you. If you’re building a new home and ask my opinion, I would tell you my opinion of what I like or don’t like. If you ask me my opinion I’m not going to say, “Oh, I really like that” when I really don’t. There’s a tremendous amount of people who could be more honest. That’s what it is, being more honest. There are a lot of drivers who would like to speak their mind, but they’re afraid.
SCR: Is part of it pressure from sponsors to put on a good face?
Spencer: Oh, I don’t know. I got into trouble one time while being sponsored by McDonald’s, and the CEO of the company called and told me I did a great job and that he wouldn’t have handled it any different. When you get that kind of response from the CEO of a company, I think you’re doing your job right. Naturally, I got crucified by the press for it. I wasn’t worried about the press or worried about what happened that day as much as I just retaliated. I know I was wrong in what I did, but yet it was a situation where one lie started to lead to another.
SCR: Are there drivers out there you admire because they are willing to speak out and willing to take a stand?
Spencer: I like Tony Stewart. Tony speaks his mind. Sometimes Tony says some stuff, immature stuff, that Tony will learn, eventually, you don’t say. Yet I think Tony is still a great guy. A guy who wins races and says what’s on his mind is what the sport needs. Our sport was really brought to the forefront when TV came into the picture. I’m not denying that. And there are some things that don’t need to be said publicly. I agree with that. But there are also times to speak your mind. If somebody spins you out and it’s blatant to the point you know they did it, don’t say, “Ah, it’s just racing.” That’s the poorest excuse you can give to the audience. The fans and people watching on TV, the media, they all need answers. You’re not going to get put in a cell for what you say.
SCR: Who is your hero in racing, whether it be someone retired, active or deceased?
Spencer: I have a bunch of them. I don’t have one single hero. My dad, naturally, is one. Watching my dad and my uncles work on those race cars got me involved in this sport. I watched my dad win many, many races, and I wanted to do that because my dad did it. As far as a hero in this sport, as far as whom I liked a lot, I always liked Cale Yarborough, and I always liked Bobby Allison. They always seemed to give everything they had.
SCR: You’re known as a driver willing to trade a little paint. Nonetheless, have we seen a little more finesse from Jimmy Spencer in recent years?
Spencer: I guess it’s called experience, as Darrell Waltrip would say. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do when you have to do it. The sport over the years has changed a tremendous amount. Right now, in today’s day and time, you can’t take a 10th-place car and win the race with it. The driver can’t do that any more. Years ago when I was racing Modifieds, you didn’t have to have the best car; you could drive the thing to the front and win the race. When Dale Earnhardt was in his prime, back in the ’80s when they had the bias-ply tires, Earnhardt didn’t have the most horsepower, didn’t have the best car, but he had the will. He wanted to win as bad as anybody, maybe a little bit more. I wish that I could have raced in that era with him. In today’s era, you have to have a car that handles so perfect, and you have to have a situation where if everything is right you can win. If not, then you have to do the best you can with it.
SCR: What are your thoughts on the “Jimmy Spencer doesn’t forget” comment after the spring Busch Series race at Talladega and how the media, television in particular, seems to have fun with those types of comments?
Spencer: It’s funny. My whole problem with that was I was supposed to get help from somebody. Everybody thought it was Mike McLaughlin but it wasn’t Mike McLaughlin. It was actually somebody else who was supposed to help me and they didn’t. What bothered me about the whole deal was that the guy never even tried. He never even tried to better himself. He was satisfied with where he finished. That bothered me more than anything. Why I said I don’t forget is that, throughout my whole career, when somebody does me wrong, I remember it. That was what I meant more than anything. I just said I don’t forget. I don’t understand why it was blown up like it was, but it was. I think it’s funny that they’re using it. And I don’t forget. I remember who did it to me, but I’m not going to say. They’ll need a favor down the track and I won’t forget it. I won’t return the favor to them.
SCR: You make no bones about the fact you enjoy working with flowers around your house. Are some people surprised to learn that? Do you ever get teased about it?
Spencer: A lot of people do until they come to my house and realize, “Wow, Jimmy’s got such a nice yard.” I love the outside of a house. It’s the first thing a person sees. In a race shop, a house, or wherever, the first thing they see is the outside. It’s sort of like a lot of people judge people by what’s on the outside. I wear casual blue jeans and a T-shirt most of the time. That’s the way I am, a happy-go-lucky guy. A house is no different. When you drive by a person’s house you can tell if a guy takes care of his yard, if it looks nice, and that just goes with the guy taking pride in what he’s doing.
SCR: How did you get started working with flowers?
Spencer: I think it was mainly from driving by neighborhoods as a young man growing up and saying, “Boy, I would like to have a place like that.” As you grow older you mature and you go to the Lowe’s stores, the Home Depots and you see the flowers all the time. Then I picked up a magazine one day and saw an article on how to fix up your house with your lawn and garden. It just went from there. About 10 or 12 years ago we were going to sell the house we lived in, and I decided to plant some shrubbery and put some pine nuggets around. When we were done I couldn’t believe how much nicer the house looked, and I believe it helped sell it. Then it just started going from there, and I started helping with my friends’ houses, my sister’s, and others. It gives me something to do. I love to go out there. The phone doesn’t ring, and I just mess around in the yard.
SCR: Did you compete in any stick and ball sports growing up?
Spencer: Just high school football. I played football, loved it and actually quit playing high school football to race.
SCR: What position did you play?
Spencer: On defense, I played linebacker. I probably wasn’t as quick on my feet as some of the other kids, but I liked it, so the coach let me play it. On offense, I played guard.
SCR: You’ve stated that Pete Rose is your favorite athlete. What do you admire about him?
Spencer: Every time I ever watched Pete Rose in a ballgame he was there to hit a home run, to do whatever it took for the team to win. He was a team player, without a question. He gave everything he had.
SCR: You’ve driven for some of the sport’s legends, including Junior Johnson and Bobby Allison. Isn’t your style, both on and off the track, a throwback to their era?
Spencer: Oh yeah, I’m definitely from the old school of racing, really. There are not a lot of drivers today who can take a race car and build it from scratch. When I did my first race car I did it that way. Rusty Wallace can, Alan Kulwicki was probably the best one at it and, naturally, Dale Earnhardt could have done it. A lot of guys today can’t do that. Yeah, it would have been nice to race with those guys. I never got the opportunity, but it would have been neat, without a question.