Joe Cooksey Bio
Joe Cooksey (born June 11, 1966) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 86 Ford for Clubb Racing Inc. A long-time presence on short tracks and dirt ovals, Cooksey made his series debut in 1996 and built his career as an independent owner-driver, occasionally branching out into NASCAR national-series events.
Early Life and Background
Joe Cooksey was born on June 11, 1966, in Centralia, Illinois, in the heart of the American Midwest. Centralia sits within a region known for producing short-track racers, and Cooksey grew up surrounded by the dirt ovals and asphalt bullrings that dot the southern Illinois landscape. That local racing culture shaped his earliest interest in stock cars.
From a young age, Cooksey was drawn to the mechanical and competitive sides of racing, learning how to set up a car and how to read a race track well before he turned a lap in a major series. Those early years in Centralia gave him the foundation he would later lean on as a self-funded driver who owned and prepared many of his own cars.
Path to NASCAR
Cooksey’s first taste of national-level stock car competition came in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series in 1996, when he debuted at Salem Speedway in a No. 41 Chevrolet he owned himself. He quickly turned that opportunity into steady results, posting top-ten finishes in his rookie season and returning in 1997 and 1998 to establish himself as a regular contender on the ARCA circuit.
His consistent work in ARCA eventually opened the door to NASCAR’s national touring divisions. In 2001, Cooksey made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Gateway International Raceway, and the following year he stepped into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for a start at Gateway with Fauerbach Racing. While those national outings were limited, they confirmed that the Centralia, Illinois, driver could compete on bigger stages.
Joe Cooksey Career
Early Career (1996–1998)
Cooksey’s first ARCA season in 1996 was a learning year, with eight starts and four top-ten finishes, highlighted by a sixth-place run at Indianapolis Raceway Park. In 1997, he expanded to twelve races, mainly in his own No. 51 Chevrolet, and added four more top-tens with a best of seventh at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, ending the year twelfth in the standings.
The 1998 season showed real progress, as Cooksey ran eighteen of twenty-two races and cracked the top ten nine times, including a best finish of third at Winchester Speedway. That steady climb established him as a reliable ARCA competitor heading into the new millennium.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (1999–2000)
In 1999, Cooksey committed to the full ARCA schedule in his self-owned No. 51 entry. The year is best remembered for a wild moment in the Daytona opener, when Cooksey collided with the back of the pace car during a caution period, an incident that drew national attention but left Cooksey, pace car driver Jack Wallace, and ARCA official Buster Auton uninjured. Despite the early crash, he rebounded to record eleven top-tens and four top-fives, with a best finish of second at Flat Rock Speedway, and finished a career-best fourth in points.
In 2000, Cooksey partnered with car owner Don Fauerbach for a full-season run. He earned five top-tens, with a best of third at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack, and scored his first career ARCA pole position at DuQuoin on his way to a ninth-place finish in the standings. It would be the last time he attempted a complete ARCA schedule.
Limited Schedule and NASCAR Cameos (2001–2003)
From 2001 onward, Cooksey shifted to a part-time ARCA approach. In 2001, he ran nine ARCA races with five top-tens and made his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Gateway in a No. 73 Chevrolet, finishing 29th after brake trouble. He added two more Busch starts that year, at Indianapolis and Memphis Motorsports Park.
In 2002, Cooksey made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Gateway for Fauerbach in the No. 59 Chevrolet, finishing 23rd, and attempted a second truck race at Memphis but failed to qualify. On the ARCA side, he ran only three events that year, with top-fives in both dirt races at Springfield and DuQuoin. In 2003, he focused solely on ARCA, posting nine starts and a best finish of third at DuQuoin.
Later ARCA Years (2004–2022)
Cooksey continued as a part-time ARCA runner, driving for teams such as Hixson Motorsports and Darrell Basham, with regular visits to his favorite dirt tracks. In 2004, he earned five top-tens with Hixson, including a fifth at South Boston Speedway, and added a third-place run at Springfield in 2005. He focused on dirt events in 2006, 2007, and 2009, frequently returning to DuQuoin and Springfield.
After a multi-year break, Cooksey returned to ARCA competition in 2014 with Hixson at DuQuoin, finishing eighth, and continued to run selected dirt races in 2015 and 2018, posting top-tens at DuQuoin each time. His most recent ARCA start came in 2022 at DuQuoin, where he drove the No. 11 Toyota for Fast Track Racing and finished eighth.
Driving Style and Strengths
Cooksey built his reputation as a dependable short-track and dirt-track racer who could maximize equipment he often owned and prepared himself. His career-best results came on abrasive surfaces, including strong runs at Springfield, DuQuoin, and Winchester, where mechanical sympathy and tire management mattered as much as raw speed. He was also known for bringing cars home clean, which is reflected in his 57 ARCA top-ten finishes.
Notable Races and Milestones
His signature moment came in the 1999 ARCA opener at Daytona, when his collision with the pace car made national headlines. Other milestones include his first ARCA pole at DuQuoin in 2000, his NASCAR Busch Series debut at Gateway in 2001, his Craftsman Truck Series start at Gateway in 2002, and a return to national-level competition in 2022 with Fast Track Racing at DuQuoin.
Joe Cooksey Career Wins
Joe Cooksey’s career in stock car racing is defined less by victory lane and more by durability and consistency. Across more than two decades of ARCA competition, he became a regular presence in the top ten, earning 57 top-ten finishes and one pole position while typically running part-time schedules.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
Cooksey’s best ARCA season came in 1999, when he finished fourth in the overall standings while running every race. That year included a second-place finish at Flat Rock Speedway, the only documented runner-up result of his career. His first ARCA pole came at DuQuoin in 2000, and he added a best finish of third at Winchester in 1998 and at DuQuoin in 2003. His most recent ARCA start came in 2022 at DuQuoin with Fast Track Racing.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside of ARCA, Cooksey made three starts in the NASCAR Busch Series (2001) and one start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2002), all in the Midwest. Those national-series appearances, paired with a string of dirt-track top-fives at Springfield and DuQuoin, round out a versatile résumé built on short ovals.
Joe Cooksey Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Cooksey grew up in Centralia, Illinois, in a region with deep short-track racing roots. He built much of his early racing operation as a family-style effort, owning and preparing many of his own cars throughout his ARCA career.
Personal Life
Cooksey is an American by nationality and has long been associated with the Centralia, Illinois, area. Public details about his personal and family life outside of racing are limited, and the available verified sources focus primarily on his driving career.