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Joey Arrington |
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Joey ArringtonDate Of Birth: July 25, 1956Home Town: Rocky Mount, VA 
If there ever was a person who truly grew up at a
track, it was Joey Arrington. He watched his father
work on, and drive cars since the day he was born.
Mom Jeanette says she hardly remembers seeing her
son without a tool in his hand. A constant presence
at the tracks, he was often watching from the
shoulders of drivers, the likes of Curtis "Blizzard"
Turner. Maurice Petty peaked Joey's interest in
engine building, spent time answering his questions,
and gave him freedom to test his ideas in his shop
in Level Cross, North Carolina. "I think Joey used a
ladder to work on his first
engines
with Maurice", says Buddy.
By the time Joey graduated high school, in 1975, he was crew chief of Buddy's operation, and it was not just because he was family and came cheap. "Joey could get more out of an engine than anyone else I have ever met. He could also manage the team well, and I never saw him stop working on something until he fixed it good," recalls Buddy of his son. Building engines for his Dad until he retired in 1989, Arrington continued creating a reputation for himself. "I actually tried my hand at racing at one point," he laughs, "but my foot couldn't hold the pedal down or something." Joey raced in several NASCAR Cup races starting in 1974 at the age of 17 and ending in 1980. His best finishes were 12th at North Wilkesboro and 13th at Richmond. "Truth be known, I was just far better at making horsepower than racing cars so I stuck with what I knew I did best. My Dad was one of the last to race Dodges in NASCAR in those days and when he retired I stayed in contact with Dodge for the next few years. In 1991 they made the decision to go ARCA racing and that's pretty much when our relationship started. It wasn't too long before they added Trans-Am and things just kept on rolling along for the next couple of years. Then in 1995 the Dodge people decided that they wanted to go truck racing and they called me for some parts and a new relationship started. I worked with them for a couple of years and then decided to take some time off." Returning to the world he knew best, in 2000 Joey established Arrington Manufacturing, Inc. in Martinsville Virginia which did business as Arrington Engines. Joey built the engines that earned the 2004 and 2005 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufactures Award and Engine Builder Award, winning Championships with Ted Musgrave and the late Bobby Hamilton. In January 2011 the racing engine operation was separated from Arrington Manufacturing. Joey along with the engine shop relocated to Concord North Carolina which is in the vicinity of the top level NASCAR race teams. Joey established Race Engines Plus, LLC in the building on Weddington Road previously occupied by Gillett Evernham Motorsports. |