Oldest NASCAR Driver Hershel McGriff Races at 90 Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

90-Year-Old Becomes Oldest NASCAR Racer

Hershel McGriff creates history

Hershel McGriff at a NASCAR Camping World Series West event in 2009. He says getting into a race car wasn't the scariest part of his most recent race. Steve Dykes/Getty Images for NASCAR Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. NASCAR has no maximum age rule, but drivers do have to pass a physical. Not a problem for McGriff. Following a , he was medically cleared to race. Oddly enough, McGriff was apparently more nervous about playing the national anthem on his trombone before the event than he was driving on the track. “Instead of racing young kids at 120 miles per hour, he’s more nervous about playing his trombone,” Tucson Speedway President John Lashley told the Arizona Daily Star. “He’s just wound different than you and me.” McGriff’s career stretches back all the way to 1950 when he won the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico, the first victory of his career. Between 1954 and 2002, he racked up 27 wins in 233 tries. In 1989, he became the oldest driver to win a major NASCAR series race at age 61. In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. He's continued to race on and off since retiring in 2002 at the age of 74. “I’ve had a great life. I wouldn’t backtrack for anything. I have family that’s with me and behind me, so it’s great,” McGriff told the Tucson Star. Also proving that age is just a number is Tom Watson who, at 68, became the Contest last month. The event also featured fellow legends Jack Nicklaus, 78, and Gary Player, 82. The previous record holder was Sam Snead, who nabbed the crown at age 62 in 1974. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS