Purvis

[zyoung25]

That's a very impressive win list. I have Bloomer and Moyer ahead of him, however had he stayed in dirt and raced for as long as them, he would be right there with them or ahead of them.

I can agree with that to an extent. I'm always amazed by the guys like him that just kinda showed up out of nowhere and kicked everyone's @ss, then moved on to bigger and better things and done well there too. The guy had natrual talent, which isn't something you much of now. Without a doubt if he would've stuck around, we wouldn't be seeing near as many 18/0 and 21's on the back these event shirts.

He was before my time, but I've done a ton of reading and research on the guy, he was a beast.

He made a short comeback around 2005 I think it was, in a crate. It didn't last very long though. His son Clay raced for a short time too, and I believe they had a crash in the hauler with the whole family in it, which destroyed everything, and burned Jeff up pretty bad. As far i know, neither have been in a car ever since then.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

IMO, the best I have ever seen.

[a25rjr]

I can agree with that to an extent. I'm always amazed by the guys like him that just kinda showed up out of nowhere and kicked everyone's @ss, then moved on to bigger and better things and done well there too. The guy had natrual talent, which isn't something you much of now. Without a doubt if he would've stuck around, we wouldn't be seeing near as many 18/0 and 21's on the back these event shirts.

He was before my time, but I've done a ton of reading and research on the guy, he was a beast.

He made a short comeback around 2005 I think it was, in a crate. It didn't last very long though. His son Clay raced for a short time too, and I believe they had a crash in the hauler with the whole family in it, which destroyed everything, and burned Jeff up pretty bad. As far i know, neither have been in a car ever since then.

It never hurts to have a loaded daddy-in-law either!

[ptown]

Saying he's the best ever is debatable but I'd surely love to see how he'd wheel today's version of the late model against the top Lucas drivers.

[weatherman85]

Nice little read on the i-65 incident and immediate aftermath.

http://www.genewasher.com/Jeff%20Purvis_3.htm

[CIRF]

We'll never know what sort of win record Jeff could have amassed had he remained racing the modern day generic dirt late models his whole career. Jeff is the only driver that comes from the modern day generic dirt late model division that got anything more that a mere sniff of Busch and Cup. He won several ARCA races in that divisions showcase events and he won a handful of Busch/Infinity Series races. Jeff actually led some Cup races back in the early 1990's and had several top 10's at Daytona in the Twin Qualifiers.

I was honored to have watched Jeff Purvis race many times back in his heyday and he was as good or better than anyone whoever drove a modern day generic DLM and that includes bloomy and Moyer.

[Mantis]

^ Agree

I can remember back in the days of the open haulers and watching to see if the Imperial 15 rolled into the pits. If it did......it was almost guaranteed show over for the rest of the field.

[james white]

All in a Rayburn,he was not a chassis hopper,we bought some steel from him the other day ,he sells metal,

[dirtdobber45]

We'll never know what sort of win record Jeff could have amassed had he remained racing the modern day generic dirt late models his whole career. Jeff is the only driver that comes from the modern day generic dirt late model division that got anything more that a mere sniff of Busch and Cup. He won several ARCA races in that divisions showcase events and he won a handful of Busch/Infinity Series races. Jeff actually led some Cup races back in the early 1990's and had several top 10's at Daytona in the Twin Qualifiers.I was honored to have watched Jeff Purvis race many times back in his heyday and he was as good or better than anyone whoever drove a modern day generic DLM and that includes bloomy and Moyer.

Well said. Ive always liked him. Good guy to talk to also. Never seemed out of touch with his fans. Loved the rivalry between him and Bloomer. Always a good show. Hate the bad luck he had.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

Does he still race? Says on Wikipedia he races crates at Golden Isles but I don't know how up to date that was

No. After the hauler wreck where him and his family were almost killed, he said that was it. And I don't blame him one bit. If he hadn't went to asphalt when he did, he most certainly would be right there with Moyer and Bloomer.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

All in a Rayburn,he was not a chassis hopper,we bought some steel from him the other day ,he sells metal,

He didn't stay in dirt real long, and at that time, Rayburn was thee car to be in. Now you have multiple choices that are all pretty good.

[jr1216]

I remember watching Jeff at brownstown back in the 80s. I was always amazed he could run that high groove an inch from going off the track. I believe he would be in the conversation with zero and moyer. I also believe those 2 may not have won some of the big races they did because purvis was running asphalt. One of the nicest drivers my family has talked to and my moms favorite by a mile.

[Pennsboro23]

I can agree with that to an extent. I'm always amazed by the guys like him that just kinda showed up out of nowhere and kicked everyone's @ss, then moved on to bigger and better things and done well there too. The guy had natrual talent, which isn't something you much of now. Without a doubt if he would've stuck around, we wouldn't be seeing near as many 18/0 and 21's on the back these event shirts.

He was before my time, but I've done a ton of reading and research on the guy, he was a beast.

He made a short comeback around 2005 I think it was, in a crate. It didn't last very long though. His son Clay raced for a short time too, and I believe they had a crash in the hauler with the whole family in it, which destroyed everything, and burned Jeff up pretty bad. As far i know, neither have been in a car ever since then.

I’m not denying his talent. At the end of the day it’s about statistics. We can’t put Purvis ahead of a 7 time Dream winner and a 6 time World 100 winner. Had he stayed in dirt racing, we could compare him to the greats, but all we can do is guess how great he would have been.

[grt74]

jeff made it to the top of stock car racing,the other two didn't, now who was the best out of the 3, the neck injury is what finished racing for him (and yes the hauler wreck reinjured it again)
i like all 3 of the guys, but jeff made it to the big show and got payed for it, he raced for gibbs, i guess he though he was pretty good too

[Pennsboro23]

jeff made it to the top of stock car racing,the other two didn't, now who was the best out of the 3, the neck injury is what finished racing for him (and yes the hauler wreck reinjured it again)
i like all 3 of the guys, but jeff made it to the big show and got payed for it, he raced for gibbs, i guess he though he was pretty good too

Does that make Tyler Re(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) better than the all time late model greats? We’re talking about the best late model resumes. Purvis’s isn’t better than Moyers or Bloomers. But it COULD have been. We will never know.

[Highside Hustler25]

I'm with you.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda ! Purvis was one of the greats in a late but he chose another path. His numbers are no where near Billy's or Scott's. I could throw some other names out there with better late model credentials but we'll just leave it at those two.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I'm with you.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda ! Purvis was one of the greats in a late but he chose another path. His numbers are no where near Billy's or Scott's. I could throw some other names out there with better late model credentials but we'll just leave it at those two.

Its all in how you look at it. What he did in a few years, most don't do in 30.

[dirtdobber45]

Thank you DD45

No problem bro. Always like to help

[dirtdobber45]

Scott use to try to show up every where Jeff was. He said if your gonna race race the best thats out there. Jeff made a smart move to go to asphalt. It was better money

[HoosierDirtFan]

Would be cool to see Bloomquist & Moyer threads like this one with all their career wins listed in order with: Date, Track, Location, Event, & Series (if it was a sanctioned race). I've seen on Bloomers website where the major wins are list. Would be cool if that were all career wins.