Delwin "D.J." Smith (1925-2008) (Photo courtesy of NASCAR)

Delwin "D.J." Smith, father of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pioneer Jimmy Smith, died May 12 in Temecula, Calif. where he resided for the past 15 years. Smith was 83.

D.J. was born on January 6, 1925 in Crookston, Neb.  He served in the Navy, was stationed in San Francisco and later settled in Southern California.  He married and had three children:  Joan, Jimmy and Wendell Smith.

D.J. became involved with auto racing in the late 1950s promoting all types of racing and later became a car owner.  After retiring, he began his second career with his sons at Ultra Wheel Company and devoted 100 percent of his time to Ultra Motorsports which fielded cars in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the then NASCAR Winston Cup Series. 

D.J. developed relationships with many of the NASCAR greats such as Tiny Lund, A.J. Foyt, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Parnelli Jones and Junior Johnson, to name a few.

His son, Jimmy, was one of four off-road racing owners who came to NASCAR in 1994 with the concept of racing pickup trucks on paved ovals and road courses. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debuted the following year and currently is in its 14th season. In 2005, Smith's team won both owner and driver championships fielding Dodges driven by Ted Musgrave.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 19 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 4471 Lincoln Ave., Cypress CA 90630, telephone 800-204-3131.

Donations can be made to Victory Junction in memory of D.J. Smith, 4500 Adams Way, Randleman, NC 27317. Please request Victory Junction to send donation cards to: The Smith Family, 75 Linda Isle, Newport Beach, CA 92660

SOURCE: NASCAR Communications