John Close Profile -

John Close (in car) is pictured here in 1959 with his father, Lou (far right), driver Les Petersen and their 1938 Chevrolet stock car.

John Close worked his first NASCAR race at Bristol, TN in 1986 – the same day Rusty Wallace scored his first career Cup victory. Since then, the Wisconsin native has staffed countless NASCAR events as a journalist, public relations specialist, marketing representative, team manager and raceday spotter.

Close has been involved in auto racing since the 1950s when he attended local events cheering on the stock cars built by his father, Louis Close. After growing up at the racetrack, Close earned an undergraduate degree in 1976 in Mass Communications/Journalism from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.

While in college, Close was a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and President of Intrafraternity Council on the UW-Oshkosh campus.

Upon graduation, Close renewed his ties to auto racing, this time on a professional basis as the Motorsports Writer for the Madison (WI.) Capital Times newspaper.

John Close is shown here interviewing A.J. Foyt during an event at The Milwaukee Mile in 1987.

Over the next decade, Close covered as many as 75 races annually including national events such as the Indianapolis 500. The knowledge Close gained in the newspaper and publishing business then landed him the Sports Editor position at the Daily Jefferson County Union, an Associated Press newspaper located in Fort Atkinson, WI. in 1989.

Close also branched out during this period contributing columns and event stories to several top national racing publications including Winston Cup Scene, Winston Cup Illustrated, Stock Car Racing and Circle Track Magazines.

John Close provided Media Services for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Terry Cook and HT Motorsports in 2007. Close was also the full-time raceday spotter for the veteran NASCAR driver and spotted select NASCAR Nationwide races for driver Richard Johns.

Close continued to advance though the racing community in the early 1990s assuming public relations/marketing positions at several Midwestern raceways. Included in that list was Rockford (IL.) Speedway, Slinger (WI) Superspeedway and Jefferson (WI) Speedway.

In 1994, Close moved to Charlotte, NC to assume public relations/marketing duties for driver Bobby Labonte and the Maxwell House Coffee NASCAR Winston Cup effort.

Close joined Richard Petty Motorsports for the 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. Initially hired as a Public Relations Specialist, Close also assumed Team Manager responsibilities and served as the team’s Raceday Spotter for driver Rich Bickle.

Since then, Close has spotted nearly 150 races in NASCAR Cup, Nationwide, Craftsman Truck and Camping World Series, ARCA, ASA and Hooters Pro Cup events. To date, Close has 10 career victories as a spotter, the most recent coming with driver Donny Lia in the Ohio 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on May 24, 2008. 

In 1994, John Close joined Cotter Communications to facilitate the Maxwell House Coffee NASCAR Winston Cup account.

In 1998, Close served as Content Coordinator at The Nashville Network’s (TNN) country.com motorsports website where he provided editorial components for the network’s then groundbreaking NASCAR Television/Internet webcasts.  

John Close, a noted NASCAR writer for more than 20 years, is shown here at a Barnes and Noble book signing for his latest work - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - From Desert Dust To Superspeedways.

Close was also responsible for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series media initiatives for Ultra Motorsports drivers Ted Musgrave and Jason Leffler; K-Automotive’s Terry Cook; and IWX driver Mike Bliss managing media for a total of seven NASCAR teams in 2002.

Close was promoted to Director of Operations for Motorsports Management Group in 2003 and facilitated both the NetZero NASCAR Winston Cup and the Power Stroke Diesel Engines Craftsman Truck Series media initiatives.

Later that year, Close decided to leave MMG making Close Finishes client base and www.closefinishes.com his sole professional focus.

As part of the Close Finishes initiative, Close has written two books – Tony Stewart –From Indy Phenom To NASCAR Superstar - and - The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - Desert Dust To Superspeedways. 

The Truck Series book - published and released by MBI Publishing in January, 2007 - is an officially licensed NASCAR product and is part of the NASCAR Library Collection.

Close Finishes is also a partner in the Career Media Coaching Seminars venture with veteran broadcaster Rick Benjamin and his Visoncast, Inc.company. NASCAR driver Tony Raines, NHRA Pro Stock star Dave Connolly and USAR Hooters Pro Cup driver Matt Hawkinsare just some of the drivers to take advantage of this course.  

In 2008, Close will facilitate a number of media/marketing/racing initiatives including those of NASCAR Camping World driver Richard Johns, up and coming USAR Hooters Pro Cup star Travis Miller, and Hooters Cup veteran championship contender Mark McFarland.

Close will continue to be a regular contributor to multiple national racing publications and Internet sites as well as post his weekly Close Calls column on www.closefinishes.com. He is a a regular guest every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time on 'Tradin' Paint,' a Sirius Satellite Radio program on Sirius NASCAR Channel 128.

Close and his wife, Gail, live in Charlotte, NC. They have a son, Sam, who works for Scott Clark Toyota in Charlotte.