Charlie Glotzbach

19/6/1938

Record updated 19-Jun-07

They called him "Chargin' Charlie," and he stormed out of the southern Indiana short tracks to challenge Richard Petty, David Pearson and other NASCAR stars in the late 1960s.

Born in Edwardsville, Indiana, Glotzbach never reached the stardom of the likes of Richard Petty and David Pearson, but in 124 NASCAR races he finished in the top 10 in 50 of them. His record includes 12 pole positions, four wins, eight seconds, five thirds, eighteen fourths and three fifths.

Glotzbach began racing at tracks around Jeffersonville, Indiana, including the high-banked Salem Speedway. He became noted for his speed and skill on the pavement.

His first NASCAR Winston Cup race was in 1960 and he raced in the series again in 1961.

In 1964 Glotzbach was named the ARCA series Rookie of the Year, but it wasn't until he returned to NASCAR in 1967, after an absence of six years, that he began to make a name for himself. Driving the K and K Dodge, he took a fourth at Atlanta that year and earned the nickname 'Chargin' Charlie'.

While he never ran a full NASCAR Winston Cup schedule, he raced part-time every year from 1967 to 1975. The most NASCAR Winston Cup races he ran in a year was in 1968 when he ran 22 of a possible 48.

Glotzbach was always one of the race favorites at places like Darlington, Charlotte and even Daytona, where he won a 125-mile qualifying race in 1970 and finished fourth behind surprise winner Pete Hamilton, Pearson and Bobby Allison. In 1972 he chased Foyt across the line in second.

In 1968, Glotzbach won the second Charlotte race from the pole, in 1970 he took the checkered flag in the second Michigan race, also from the pole, and in 1971 he showed he could handle the short tracks by winning the Volunteer 500 race at Bristol Motor Speedway, a track known for a high number of cautions, at a record pace. The race was run without a single caution at an average speed of 101.074 mph for two hours and 38 minutes. Glotzbach, driving a Chevrolet for Junior Johnson, even required relief during the race from Raymond Hassler.

He occasionally drove for Hoss Ellington between 1973 and 1976 and for Dick Bahre in 1981. He drove for Junie Donlavey as late as 1992, running 12 races for him that year. He was also running ARCA races at the time on superspeedways.

Glotzbach even came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his prime and tested a Gene White Firestone Indy-style car. He made two attempts to qualify for the Indy 500 but failed in both 1969 and 1970.

Glotzbach now runs a truck sales business named "Charlie's Truck Sales" in Louisville, Kentucky.



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