By SEMA Editors
 Walter “Bud” Moore. Photo credit: NASCAR, Getty Images |
NASCAR Hall of Famer and World War II veteran Walter “Bud” Moore, 92, has passed away.
The South Carolina native won his first championship as Buck Baker’s crew chief in 1957. By 1961, Moore oversaw his own teams, and in 1962–1963, he was the champion car owner for Joe Weatherly. Moore won 63 races at the premier series level, fielding cars for drivers including Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Allison.
Prior to his success in auto racing, Moore served as a machine gunner assigned to the 90th Infantry Division, which landed on Utah Beach (France) on D-Day in June 1944. Awarded two Bronze Stars and five Purple Hearts, Moore sustained a gunshot and shrapnel wounds in combat.
In 2011, Moore was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.