|| *Comments on Jerry Nadeau:* View the most recent comment <#51> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Clayton posted: 08.25.2008 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jerry Nadeau. I am proud to be the first poster!! His career was unfortually cut short WAY to early into his carrer. He was a pretty good driver and his win at Atlanta was pretty awesome. He almost brought the Petty's to victory lane at Sonoma in 2002 before his rear end gave out. He was fired that year from Hendrick, but I think bad luck really played into his lack of success there and I think Hendrick pulled the trigger too quickly!! Would like to see what he would of done, if not for that accident at Richmond. He had a pretty promissing career ahead of him! 2. DaleJrFan17 posted: 10.19.2008 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was born in Danbury just like him :D And unfourtunatley I never got to see him race (my first race was the richmond race he was injured in :-( ) 3. Red posted: 08.06.2009 - 8:56 am Rate this comment: (5) (0) Jerry was my favorite driver until his career was cut short by life-threatening head/brain injuries. He had so much potential and had so many great runs derailed by bad luck. Just off the top of my head, here are some races he easily could have won: 2000 Coke 600 - Was the fastest car on the track for much of the race, leading 115 laps before his engine expired, finished 38th 2000 Watkins Glen - Started 25th because quals were rained out and flew through the field all the way to 2nd place before being sidelined by mechanical troubles, finished 38th 2000 Dover Fall - Led 38 laps before getting taken out in a wreck not of his doing, finished 33rd 2000 Charlotte Fall - Probably the best car that day, leading 30 laps, then fell back on a pit stop before getting slammed into the wall by someone else's reckless driving, finished 36th 2001 Dover Spring - Had the fastest car in both practices before getting taken out on lap 2 in a wreck started by another driver, finished 38th 2001 Sonoma - Was a top 5 car all day until a mysterious mechanical problem caused him to stall on the track and lose a lap; after he got the car refired he was the fastest car on the track, but stuck a lap down, finished 31st 2001 Chicago - Ran in the top 3 the whole race, leading 29 laps, before a piece of debris punctured an oil line and caused the subsequent engine failure, finished 37th 2001 Atlanta Fall - Drove from 41st starting spot to the front, took the white flag as the leader only to run out of gas and lose another sure win 2002 Sonoma - Leading, and pulling away in the late stages of the race, only to have a rear end gear break with three laps to go, finished 34th 2003 Daytona 500 - Started 42nd and drove into the top five before getting blocked in his pit box and losing about 25 positions; before he could make up the spots he lost, the race was called for rain, finished 28th 2003 Richmond - Career ends in a near fatal crash; the SAFER barriers were installed one week after his crash. Just tragic. Also, if there was a Big One at Daytona or Dega, he was ALWAYS right in the middle of it. I hope the poor guy is at least happy now with his new wife... 4. Anonymous posted: 11.02.2009 - 6:12 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Great post Red, I myself was also a Jerry fan for years.. Back before he was even in NASCAR. He had so much potential and with his new ride at the time (01 Army car) only good things were going to come of it. He, and Steve Park had so so much potential and if not for some of the worst luck in the sport both these guys would have double digit wins in NASCAR Cup racing I believe. I've always held this slim hope that maybe one day Jerry would return to NASCAR but I just don't think it is going to happen. Regardless, I will always be a Nadeau fan for the rest of my life.. And will always wonder what could have been. 5. Anonymous posted: 12.09.2009 - 4:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jerry FTW! 6. Darrell posted: 12.12.2009 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correct day of birth: September 9, 1970 7. mcmurray26 posted: 01.03.2010 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I miss Jerry I hope he comes back. 8. luigistarted06 posted: 01.12.2010 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) He really was sort of the heart break kid. As Red said, there are several races he could have easily won had something not gone wrong that was out of his control. And there are 2 races he should have won no matter what. That being the 02 Sonoma, and 01 fall Atlanta race. And he was actually leading the 01 Atlanta spring race with about 10 laps to go before he fell off. I only wish he had won a few more before his accident, considering how many he really should have won...only 1 feels like a bit of an injustice 9. Billy Kingsley posted: 01.18.2010 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great post, Red! For Jerry's five 1995 Busch races, the #15 Buss Fuses car was owned by T & G Racing, which was owned by Greg Pollex and Tim Weiss. The info is from the back of the post/hero/autograph card issued in 1995. 10. John Bowman posted: 03.30.2010 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) i miss you jerry 11. I am better than all of you posted: 05.03.2010 - 9:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (7) If he was so good maybe he could have goteen a Top 10 in points! Due to the fact he was horrible at point I think he's overrated. He was quite mediocre to tell the truth. I feel bad for his wreck though. 12. Madison posted: 07.23.2010 - 2:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #11 Look at post 3. There were many races that could easily have been his but bad luck has gotten in his path. 13. Anonymous posted: 09.21.2010 - 5:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) #11 your a douche and know nothing about Jerry Nadeau, or NASCAR, or anything. Tool 14. rw posted: 11.17.2010 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All I can say is Joe Nemechek and him have the worst luck in all of Nascar. :( 15. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.07.2011 - 2:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) By far the unluckiest driver I've seemed to watch in Cup. I'd have never guessed that Atlanta 2000 would be his only Cup win at the time, but every time he'd been in contention to win a race before and after that day, he always had something happen to him, like having issues with the motor (Chicagoland 2001), running out of gas (Atlanta 2001) or having a transmission break (Sonoma 2002). Those three races I feel should have been sure wins for him. And then there was his career-ending crash at Richmond in '03. After the way people were talking at the time, I'm glad he survived and is still involved with racing, in terms of mentoring young drivers. His days as a driver in NASCAR are over. 16. Pete posted: 03.12.2011 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, he always did seem to have bad luck. I liked him because he was an underdog. Another race to add to the "Could've Won" pile is the 1998 Sonoma race. He won the pole but then went on the grass going for a pass the first lap and messed up his car. All in all he was a fun driver to watch and I wish he was still in there. 17. Pete posted: 03.12.2011 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm sorry he didn't win the pole he qualified 2nd. 18. I Love Japan posted: 03.27.2011 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) He was better than Brian Vickers in the #25. Jerry's luck was just awful. Seriously he had so much talent. If only he had would have had some good luck. 19. 1995z71 posted: 08.22.2011 - 12:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) It was ashame what happened to him n all, but I dont think he would have ever won again. Didnt do much in the 01. 20. Mike posted: 10.17.2011 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #19: And who exactly did? 21. Brandon posted: 06.29.2012 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor for Las Vegas and Spring Talladega 1999 should be WCW/NWO 22. James posted: 08.27.2012 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) guys, Nadeau was an average driver at best, he finished one spot better than Wally Dallenbach (who got canned too early) in the same car, 19 top 10s in 177 starts is quite poor. Although his career was cut short way too early, I dont see him being much of a contender. 23. Anonymous posted: 10.24.2012 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (4) (2) Other than the 25 he never had any good equipment. James your an idiot and the dude who posted the 19th comment, I'd smack the shit out of you right now if I could. He had 10, 10 WEASLY races in the 01 car. Mind you he had a helluva run at Daytona, helluva run at Darlington before bad luck in both. He also got 4th at Texas a few weeks before his wreck. Your just another ignorant moron who probably didn't start watching NASCAR before 2007. Jerry should have 10 or 11 wins at the least even before his wreck ended. God knows how good he would of been if he had not had his career ended. For the morons who say he was an AVERAGE driver, he drove for Melling in 1998 and 1999, a team that only had 2 top 10's in 2 seasons. Both by JERRY NADEAU. He drove for MB2 in 1999 for a few races and could have won a race or two. Mind you the 36 wasn't jackshit either. Even with Ernie Irvan! The 25 in 2000 he should of won 3 or 4 races, should of won both Charlotte races easily if it weren't for his Motors blowing up all the time in 2000. In 2001 he had a solid year, should of won Atlanta twice that year as well. 2002 the 25 sucked with Nadeau and Nemechek, in 2003 the 25 sucked as well! Hell the 25 has sucked since Tim Richmond drove the damn thing. Jerry did very well in that car. Way better than Casey Mears ever did in it, as good if not better than what Vickers did. And he had only 10 races in the BRAND. NEW. 01 team in 2003. It was a new team, new sponsor, new Pontiac model. Look at the facts before you idiots start rambling on about how average he was. Just looking at the stats doesn't do anything 24. 12345Dude posted: 10.27.2012 - 8:32 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) An amazing and really depressing article on Jerry Nadaeu at ESPN by Marty Smith. http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8547110/nascar-door-door-jerry-nadeau-road-back-never-ending&campaign=link&source=JAYSKI 25. b4il3y posted: 12.16.2012 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Look at the races...look at his stats...he COULD'VE been good. Only time could've told..he won one race which is cool.. but look at the stats... 26. melling posted: 12.14.2013 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He did alot with Melling equpiment. He was their best driver since Bill Elliott left 27. b4il3y posted: 01.08.2014 - 9:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Personally, Hendrick gave up on him too quickly. 28. Debris posted: 03.22.2014 - 2:29 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) He's kind of like Ricky Craven and Steve Park. MUCH better than their stats show. 29. Harvickfan4Life posted: 05.02.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe he was the last driver to have a career ending crash in nascar 30. Chives5150 posted: 06.30.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) You also got to remember that his short stint at Hendrick in a "good car" was actually the 4th Hendrick car that no one paid any attention to. That team, along with Terry Labonte in the #5 (even though Terry had long since reached his peak), were almost always overlooked in favor of their poster boy Jeff Gordon and his protégé Jimmie Johnson. Jerry always seemed to get the short end of the stick when it came to his teams and equipment. 31. Scott25 posted: 02.15.2015 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) He was my favourite driver from when I got into NASCAR in 1999 till his crash and I still can't even comprehend how bad his luck was. He did blow motors constantly every time he seemed to have a potential race winning car and those two races he had it in the bag at Atlanta and Sonom were heartbreaking, especially since I was 11 and 12 when they happened and permanently jaded my perspective on racing. I remember Bristol in 2003 when Jerry was running 5th and Ryan Newman, who was a lap down, wrecked him on the straightaway for no reason, and I still haven't really forgiven him for that. I bumped into Jerry randomly in the parking lot at Rockingham when a street stock race was on a few years ago and had no idea what to say to him. I still consider him my racing hero, and he's the reason 25 will always be "my number". After Jerry's crash I moved on to Scott Riggs, who also had awful luck throughout his career although he wasn't nearly as talented as Jerry was, and now to Landon Cassill, who thankfully is still on the upswing in his career and has lots of years ahead of him. 32. Big Mac Fan posted: 10.19.2015 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Had the WORST luck of any driver in NASCAR history. 33. 88&4Fan posted: 10.20.2015 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Second worst. Steve Park. 34. Karl posted: 11.30.2015 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This guy really had a troubled career when it came to luck. If Elliott Sadler was unlucky when it came to proving himself, Jerry had trouble when it came to keeping his ride. He did get 1 win at Atlanta in 2000 and could have won that year's Brickyard 400 in my opinion. But other than that he always kept coming up short and just had horrible luck one way or another. 35. Anonymous posted: 02.18.2016 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Feel bad for him. Had great talent, just bad luck 36. mister83 posted: 03.24.2016 - 2:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wish he would have come back like he was supposed to in 2004 37. Xxplode posted: 02.25.2017 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who knows what he could have done? He was flat out dominating in races. If that 25 had been more reliable, there is no telling how many wins he could have had. I think he could have won many races with stable equipment and a good situation. I always liked him because I could see how full of talent he truly was. He deserved way more then just 1 win. 2001 Atlanta and 2002 Sonoma were particularly heartbreaking to watch. He even had bad luck in qualifying. He had the fastest time at Fall Charlotte in 2002 during the session before it started raining. Then they canceled it and went by points. Hendrick dumped him way too early. He just seemed cursed, he never had any chance against that luck. It's tragic how things turned out for him. He was a younger guy when he was driving too, so there's no telling how long he could have raced. I think it will forever be a mystery what his true ceiling was. But it was really high. 38. chuck posted: 04.09.2017 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nobody knows what would have happened. Being way older than most of you, I look at things a little more realistically than some would like. It is tragic when anyone suffers serious injury, but racing has never been completely safe. and hopefully never will be. The element of danger is what keeps the majority of fans out of race cars as I am a believer that if you want anything badly enough you can do it. There is always a way to get started in racing if you want it badly enough. There are a few organizations in NASCAR that are pretty much the litmus test of a driver's ability. Litmus is the paper that detects sugar in fluid for diabetic testing. Hendrick Motor Sports, Penske Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing are absolutely the top organizations for each manufacturer. That isn't to say that others can't rise to the top but in the long run, when everything is said and done, those three organizations and their affiliates will show the most success. If you look at HMS closely, you will see that the two cars that have always performed the best are the 24 and the 48. Even though the other cars have had good drivers, and T. Labonte even won a championship in the #5, none have performed as well. Jerry had his shot with HMS and unfortunately didn't perform. When you look at a 32 to 37 race schedule as it does vary, a top ten is just running in the front quarter of the race. Some fans look at a top 10 as being acceptable but in reality, for an organization like HMS who was in their prime during those years, it isn't. When your organization is supplying 12.5% of the field, just being in the top 25% is nothing to get excited about. If it was a small team, it would be different. It is terrible he got hurt but I just watched a youtube video about "what if" he never left HMS. It was beyond fiction, into the realm of fantasy. Well, I really hope he recovers enough to support his family but I really hope he doesn't attempt a comeback. When people have head injuries and attempt to come back, it usually ends badly. 39. Eric posted: 04.09.2017 - 9:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @38, Jerry recovered years ago. Remember Jerry's crash happened in 2003 at Richmond and he never considered a comeback. He helped David Gilliland win his only Busch series race win back in 2006. He was David's mentor. I know the Busch series is now called the Xfinity series, but that isn't the case in 2006. 40. Ak47 posted: 04.09.2017 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Where did Jerry even come from? He first showed up in Cup with just 5 Busch and 2 ARCA starts under his belt. 41. Ak47 posted: 04.09.2017 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) *7 Busch 42. Ak47 posted: 04.09.2017 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also he was truly horrendous his first 2 full seasons, it's a miracle he stuck around long enough to get a ride with Hendrick, where he performed admirably enough to hold the ride until early 2002, when his extreme inconsistency again caught up to him. His injury was a true shame, but I doubt he would have contributed much more in Cup anyway. Joe Nemechek in 2004 & 2005 certainly did more with the Army car than Jerry could have. 43. Eric posted: 04.09.2017 - 12:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AK47, He had a lengthy karting background with 10 championships. He started karting at the age of 4 and a half. He also was in the Skip Barber Pro series from 1991 to 1995. He even did Karting events in Russia on a Ice track in 1992. He raced in the 1992 12 hours of Sebring. In 1993 Jerry entered the European Formula Ford Festival, and being in the Firestone Firehawk series. Jerry didn't race a lot in the Busch series in and 1996 for a reason. Jerry in 1996 raced in Formula Opel European Union Series. Forumla Opel European Union series and that was a road racing series. 44. Canadianfan posted: 04.09.2017 - 12:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @40 Gerald "Jerry" Nadeau pre NASCAR career Go-Kart's 4.5 to 21 1988, 89, and 90 World Karting Association (WKA) Gold Cup championship 1991 WKA Grand National Championship 1991 Skip Barber Eastern Series Rookie of the Year 8 Wins 1991 $100,000 Barber Pro Series shoot-out winner 1992 12 Hours of Sebring co-driver 40th out of 48 DNF Differential 1993, 94, 95 Barber Saab/Dodge Pro Series 5 wins. 5th in points in 1993, and 94 1993 European Formula Ford Festival won qualifying race finished 2nd in semi-final 4th in final heat race 1995 IMSA Firestone Firehawk Endurance Championship 5 top 4 finishes 1996 Formula Opel European Union Series 6th in points 13 out of 17 races 5 top 5's and 9 top 10's 1996 Silver medal at National Cup VII at Donington for USA 45. ReWind posted: 04.09.2017 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He has a new homepage: https://www.jerrynadeau.com/ By the way, there he says he was born in 1969 (not 1970), and he should know, should he not? 46. Anthony posted: 04.11.2017 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jerry Nadeau was born in '69? Was it something that was on his birth certificate this whole time!? 47. Jerry nadeau posted: 05.22.2018 - 8:19 am Rate this comment: (33) (0) Very cool guys... I guess I am a little dumb... I never knew this was out there... so cool to read all the great messages out there and the support... it's amazing how much support you have when your out there doing what you love to do... I had a steering wheel in my hand since four when my father put me in a kart.... and I did a lot... how many got to race in St. Petersburg, Russia w karts on ice.. or the British Formula Ford Festival where they had like 150 badass formula drivers trying to make a 24 car field and yes I got 4th first time at Brands.. leading on white flag then punted... I got some stories... actually I've got great memories... were a modest family growing up in Danbury CT renting houses for like $300 and when my mother told my father to quit his shit in racing or I'm taking the kids that's when he stopped his habit in the mid 80's bought an old house and me, dad and some great friends helpers whatever we had for our own home in the late 80's... through the early years in life I saw the struggles and I'm pretty proud that I made it top whether it was F1, Nascar or Indy... I wanted to get somewhere and I did and yes it ended to soon for me but I'm alive and intact... 48 years and been spinning my wheels the last 15 years trying to see where I belong.... the lost of my pops in 07 was hard on me and still is but what do I do?... where do I go?... stay toon guys... The new Jerry Nadeau is coming out soon.. my career is over but I'm still here... my lovely wife snoring next to me.. my 3 year old not far away and my first Natalie she's 15... WHAT?.. 15... hate it that she did'?t get to see dad race.. hate it!! Anyway. Cheers. love you guys xo 48. RaceFanX posted: 10.22.2018 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Nadeau's performance in Europe single seaters actually earned him an offer to run Formula 3000 for 1997, at the time that was Formula 1's main feeder series. He turned it down to return to the United States and go all in on NASCAR...which paid off in his Cup ride later that year. 49. Wil posted: 05.12.2019 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Wow. I never knew that Jerry himself commented on his own page last year, that's pretty awesome. A lot of the comments clearly made him feel good. 50. UnderdogDriversFan posted: 06.30.2019 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even the Hendrick 25 was a piece of junk. Several times Jerry was in contention for a win only for some sort of mechanical issue to pop up. If Jerry had had better luck and better equipment, he'd have won a lot more. Still, he can say he's a Cup winner, so I'd call his career a success. 51. TheDewCrew posted: 10.05.2019 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YouTuber named Brock Beard did a video on Nadeau, and we he was his favorite driver, in a rundown of his NASCAR career Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSZoa1F0m0U ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: