Cavin Councilor

Cavin Councilor
Born	Cavin Robert Councilor (1963-08-27)August 27, 1963 Flint, Michigan
Died	June 19, 2002(2002-06-19) (aged 38) Naples, Florida
ARCA Menards Series career
57 races run over 5 years
Best finish	9th (1999)
First race	1997 MediaOne 200 (Michigan)
Last race	2001 Memphis ARCA 150 (Memphis)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 10 0
Statistics current as of March 26, 2024.

Cavin Robert Councilor (born August 27, 1963 – June 19, 2002) was an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He had competed in the ARCA Re/Max Series from 1997 to 2001.

Racing career

In 1997, Councilor made his debut in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series at Michigan International Speedway, driving his self-owned No. 95 Ford, where he was running as high as second in the race before finishing 30th due to a crash that was the result of a broken axle. He then made one more ARCA start that year at Talladega Superspeedway, where he finished four laps down in fourteenth place. It was also during this year where he made select starts in the USAR Pro Cup Series, getting a best finish of fourteenth at Birmingham International Raceway. In 1998, he expanded his ARCA program, running in a majority of the races held that year with four top-tens with a best finish of seventh at Kil-Kare Speedway and Winchester Speedway.

In 1999, Councilor ran the full ARCA schedule, driving the No. 19 Chevrolet. Across the year, he earned one top-five and four top-ten finishes with a best finish of fifth at Winchester, where he started on the front row. He then ran all but two races the following year in 2000, getting two top-ten finishes at Kentucky Speedway and Berlin Raceway on his way to finish thirteenth in the final points standings.

In 2001, Councilor made only two starts, finishing 29th at Nashville Superspeedway due to a crash, and thirteenth at Memphis Motorsports Park, which proved to be his final start as a driver. Despite his driver career ending, he still remained in the now ARCA Re/Max Series as a team-owner, with multiple drivers piloting the No. 19, with Ed Berrier drive a majority of the races held that year, and taking a win at Chicagoland Speedway. He also fielded a NASCAR Busch Series entry for Berrier at Kansas Speedway, where Berrier finished in 43rd to due a crash ten laps into the race.

Personal life & death

Councilor graduated from Michigan State High School in 1981, where he was a cross-country champion, and attended Florida State University, receiving dual bachelor's degrees in both criminology and economics.

Death

On June 19, 2002, Councilor was flying a single-engine, propeller-driven Piper PA-46 alongside two other passengers in Naples, Florida, when the plane hit nose first just after taking off near the Collier County Humane Society. Councilor and the two passengers, Shawn Michael King and an unidentified second passenger, perished in the crash. Witnesses stated that they could hear the engine of the plane cutting out, while some stated that they saw the propeller of the plane stopped, which caused the plane to take a sudden and uncontrolled nose-low descent and make subsequent contact with the ground.

The investigation into the case concluded that the crash was likely the result of the pilot's failure to maintain air speed whilst maneuvering to land after the engine ceased operating, which resulted in the plane stalling, then taking an uncontrolled descent. They were not able to determine what caused the engine to fail. Toxicology reports also indicated that Councilor had diphenhydramine in his urine and blood.

Motorsports career results

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	ARMSC	Pts	Ref
1997	Cavin Councilor	95	Ford	DAY	ATL	SLM	CLT	CLT	POC	MCH	SBS	TOL	KIL	FRS	MIN	POC	MCH 30	DSF	GTW	SLM	WIN	CLT	TAL 14	ISF	ATL				N/A	0
1998		19	Chevy	DAY Wth	ATL 28	SLM 7	CLT 20	MEM 33			SBS 27	TOL	PPR 17					ATL 29	DSF	SLM 12	TEX DNQ	WIN 7	CLT 33	TAL DNQ	ATL 30				17th	2070
			Ford						MCH 40	POC				POC 27	KIL 7	FRS 10	ISF
1999			Chevy	DAY 25	ATL 8	SLM 16	AND 27	CLT 22	MCH 16	POC 15	TOL 17	SBS 18	BLN 7	POC 19	KIL 7	FRS 17	FLM 14	ISF 19	WIN 5	DSF 33	SLM 13	CLT 29	TAL 15	ATL 30					9th	4250
2000				DAY 15	SLM 15	AND 27	CLT 18	KIL 23	FRS 16	MCH 19	POC 35	TOL 17	KEN 9	BLN 9	POC 31	WIN 12	ISF 15	KEN	DSF 26	SLM 13	CLT 38	TAL 34	ATL						13th	2785
2001				DAY	NSH 29	WIN	SLM	GTY	KEN	CLT	KAN	MCH	POC	MEM 13	GLN	KEN	MCH	POC	NSH	ISF	CHI	DSF	SLM	TOL	BLN	CLT	TAL	ATL	166th	85

External links

• Cavin Councilor driver statistics at Racing-Reference