Tommy Houston

Tommy Houston (born January 29, 1945) is a retired NASCAR Busch Series driver. Over his career, Houston and Jack Ingram became known as the pair of journeymen drivers that helped that series grow throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

Tommy Houston
Born	(1945-01-29) January 29, 1945 (age 80) Hickory, North Carolina, U.S.
NASCAR Cup Series career
13 races run over 4 years
Best finish	48th (1980)
First race	1980 Richmond 400 (Richmond)
Last race	1985 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
417 races run over 15 years
Best finish	2nd (1989)
First race	1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	1996 AC Delco 200 (Rockingham)
First win	1982 Eastern 150 (Richmond)
Last win	1992 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 198 18
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	117th (1999)
First race	1999 The Orleans 250 (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
Statistics up to date as of February 26, 2007.

NASCAR Stock Car

Houston was born in Hickory, North Carolina, and was in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division, winning nearly 150 races before the series was formed into the Busch Series.

Busch Series career

Houston made the inaugural race of the Busch Series at the 1982 Daytona race. Driving the No. 27 Kings Inn Chevy for Mike Day, Houston started 23rd and finished the race in ninth position. The next week, Houston started fifteenth at the series' first ever short track race, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. From there, Houston moved solidly through the field and held off Bubba Nissen for the win. After problems at Bristol, Houston put together a run of five top-ten finishes. However, inconsistency through the year cost him. He did not finish the last three races as well as seven others. That cost him any shot at the title. At Hickory Speedway in August, however, Houston held off Tommy Ellis for his second career win, after starting fourth. All told, he finished fourth in the 1982 Busch Series points.

In 1983, Houston began running his No. 6 full-time. He was able to reduce his DNF count from ten to six. He had four more top-10 finishes. He won two races at Orange County Speedway, and one each at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Hickory. He also finished second three times. His sponsors over the years included Southern Biscuit Flour, Roses Stores, and, later, Red Devil Paints.

Houston snapped a fifty-race winless streak at his home track on Easter Sunday in 1992 after the death of his father the day before. Houston came from three laps down to overtake Bobby Labonte for the win. The USA Today headline read "Divine Intervention".

His family was very involved in his efforts. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 2008.^[1]

Personal life

Houston's son, Andy Houston, raced in all of the three major NASCAR series. Additionally, he is the uncle of Teresa Earnhardt, wife of Dale Earnhardt.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup 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	26	27	28	29	30	31	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1980	Junior Miller Racing	95	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH 17	CAR	ATL	BRI 15	DAR	NWS 31	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT 24	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT	48th	396	[2]
1981	Hamby Motorsports	17	Buick	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	NWS 20	DAR		TAL 12	NSV	DOV																				52nd	-	[3]
			Chevy									MAR 20									NSV 19	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR 12
			Olds													CLT DNQ	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY 27										NWS 11	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD
1982	Ulrich Racing	40	Buick	DAY	RCH 25	BRI	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	CLT	MAR	CAR	ATL	RSD		88th	88	[4]
1985	Houston Racing	32	Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR 36	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD				91st	55	[5]

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch 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	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1982	Mike Day	27	Chevy	DAY 9			MAR 9	DAR 9	HCY 4	SBO 6	CRW 4	RCH 20	LGY 14		HCY 5		ASH 12	HCY 7	SBO 15	CAR 33	CRW 23	SBO 5	HCY 1	LGY 4			HCY 3	RCH 4			HCY 15	MAR 32							4th	3827	[6]
		6	Pontiac		RCH 1											CLT 31
		7	Pontiac			BRI 28
	Mike Day	6	Chevy											DOV 6											IRP 3	BRI 10			MAR 3
			Olds																											CLT 32
1983				DAY 10		CAR 7	HCY 15																							DAR 8						CLT 21			3rd	4933	[7]
			Chevy		RCH 2			MAR 6	NWS 2	SBO 23	GPS 4	LGY 4	DOV 16	BRI 5	CLT 8	SBO 22	HCY 17	ROU 5	SBO 14	ROU 1	CRW 4	ROU 1	SBO 6	HCY 11	LGY 17	IRP 1	GPS 18	BRI 6	HCY 1		RCH 4	NWS 2	SBO 8	MAR 18	ROU 3		HCY 23	MAR 14
1984			Olds	DAY 30		CAR 5			DAR 6					DOV 5	CLT 41							IRP 21				DAR 34			CLT 20		CAR 5	MAR 10							3rd	4070	[8]
			Chevy		RCH 8		HCY 2	MAR 18		ROU 4	NSV 3	LGY 10	MLW 7			SBO 3	HCY 1*	ROU 2	SBO 3	ROU 2	HCY 7*		LGY 7	SBO 1	BRI 19		RCH 4	NWS 2		HCY 4
1985			Olds	DAY 24	CAR 5				DAR 4					SBO 11			IRP 2	SBO 4					DAR 24				CLT 14		CAR 2										4th	3936	[9]
			Chevy			HCY 5	BRI 4	MAR 4*		SBO 3*	LGY 10				HCY 8	ROU 9
			Buick									DOV 5	CLT 23						LGY 5	HCY 4	MLW 5*	BRI 18		RCH 7	NWS 4	ROU 4		HCY 1		MAR 4
1986	Steve Arndt			DAY 27	CAR 3	HCY 5	MAR 15	BRI 4	DAR 7	SBO 23	LGY 1*	JFC 25	DOV 23	CLT 28	SBO 2	HCY 1*	ROU 1*	IRP 24	SBO 7	RAL 23		SBO 18	HCY 26	LGY 5	ROU 14	BRI 24	DAR 9	RCH 3	DOV 2	MAR 1*		CLT 10	CAR 10	MAR 22					5th	4098	[10]
			Pontiac																		OXF 8										ROU 5
1987			Buick	DAY 36	HCY 3	MAR 7	DAR 37	BRI 9	LGY 2	SBO 23	CLT 6	DOV 15	IRP 20	ROU 16	JFC 21	OXF 20	SBO 3	HCY 10	RAL 31	LGY 4	ROU 26	BRI 8	JFC 14	DAR 5	RCH 4*	DOV 5	MAR 27	CLT 31	CAR 20	MAR 23									12th	3205	[11]
1988				DAY 11	HCY 2	CAR 36	MAR 11	DAR 16	BRI 7	LNG 4	NZH 19	SBO 5	NSV 7	CLT 25	DOV 20	ROU 1*	LAN 1*	LVL 17	MYB 3	OXF 38	SBO 3	HCY 1	LNG 4	IRP 2	ROU 6	BRI 8	DAR 11	RCH 33	DOV 37	MAR 9	CLT 11	CAR 5	MAR 9*						5th	3964	[12]
1989				DAY 11	CAR 5	MAR 2	HCY 21	DAR 15	BRI 10	NZH 19*	SBO 3	LAN 3*	NSV 16	CLT 7	DOV 32	ROU 2	LVL 1	VOL 12	MYB 23	SBO 1	HCY 5	DUB 7	IRP 3	ROU 2	BRI 10	DAR 17	RCH 7	DOV 13	MAR 1	CLT 39	CAR 5	MAR 24							2nd	3946	[13]
1990	Houston Racing			DAY 38	RCH 12	CAR 21	MAR 1	HCY 1*	DAR 7	BRI 27	LAN 12	SBO 6	NZH 9	HCY 2	CLT 34	DOV 6	ROU 18	VOL 1*	MYB 27	OXF 2	NHA 26	SBO 1	DUB 4	IRP 34	ROU 13	BRI 5	DAR 37	RCH 34	DOV 11	MAR 32	CLT 6	NHA 45	CAR 40	MAR 2					9th	3667	[14]
1991				DAY 16	RCH 13	CAR 12	MAR 8	VOL 2	HCY 16	DAR 36	BRI 21	LAN 6	SBO 11	NZH 8	CLT 7	DOV 30	ROU 7	HCY 23	MYB 19	GLN 11	OXF 2	NHA 13	SBO 3	DUB 5	IRP 5	ROU 16	BRI 14	DAR 26	RCH 19	DOV 10	CLT 21	NHA 17	CAR 25	MAR 27					8th	3777	[15]
1992			Olds	DAY 26			ATL 19															TAL 9			MCH 16						CLT 9								10th	3599	[16]
			Buick		CAR 26	RCH 35		MAR 14	DAR 10	BRI 29	HCY 1	LAN 14	DUB 25	NZH 14	CLT 19	DOV 13	ROU 13	MYB 8	GLN 18	VOL 14	NHA 10		IRP 3	ROU 28		NHA 7	BRI 20	DAR 24	RCH 24	DOV 11		MAR 10	CAR 21	HCY 10
1993			Ford	DAY 40	CAR 34	RCH 15	DAR 26	BRI 18	HCY 4	ROU 23	MAR 28		CLT 39	DOV 21	MYB 14		MLW 30	TAL 13	IRP 10	MCH 23		BRI 8	DAR 31	RCH DNQ	DOV 27	ROU 29	CLT 13	MAR 31	CAR 31	HCY 3	ATL 17								16th	2852	[17]
		0										NZH 27
		3														GLN 20
		61																			NHA 5
	Precision Products Racing	0	Olds																					RCH 4
1994	Houston Racing	6	Ford	DAY 33	CAR 35	RCH DNQ	ATL		DAR 42	HCY 5	BRI 2	ROU 25	NHA	NZH 13	CLT DNQ	DOV	MYB 22	GLN	MLW	SBO 29	TAL 33	HCY DNQ	IRP 2	MCH	BRI 25	DAR 30	RCH 39	DOV 35	CLT DNQ	MAR 9	CAR 42								28th	1658	[18]
	Rexrode Galiano Motorsports	1	Ford					MAR 16
1995	Houston Racing	6	Ford	DAY 35	CAR 28	RCH 7	ATL DNQ	NSV 22	DAR 18	BRI 26	HCY DNQ	NHA 42	NZH 11	CLT 21	DOV 38	MYB 12	GLN 30	MLW 13	TAL 16	SBO 14	IRP 5	MCH 36	BRI 7	DAR 37	RCH DNQ	DOV 34	CLT 30	CAR 41	HOM 42										21st	2069	[19]
1996				DAY DNQ	CAR DNQ	RCH DNQ	ATL 35	NSV 31	DAR DNQ	BRI 33	HCY DNQ	NZH 6	CLT DNQ	DOV 37	SBO 27	MYB 11	GLN 22	MLW 8	NHA 16	TAL DNQ	IRP 30	MCH 31	BRI DNQ	DAR 10	RCH 39	DOV 33	CLT 21	CAR 39	HOM DNQ										28th	1563	[20]
		0									HCY 31

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1999	Addington Racing	6	Chevy	HOM	PHO	EVG	MMR	MAR	MEM	PPR	I70	BRI	TEX	PIR	GLN	MLW	NSV	NZH	MCH	NHA	IRP	GTY	HPT	RCH	LVS 35	LVL	TEX	CAL	117th	58	[21]

Busch North Series

NASCAR Busch North 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	NBNSC	Pts
1987	Steve Arndt	6	Buick	DAR	OXF	SEE	OXF	DOV	IRP	CNB	JEN	OXF	EPP	OXF	STA 1*	HOL	TIO	OXF	UNI	DAR	SPE	DOV	SEE	CLT	OXF	CAR	59th	185
1989	Steve Arndt	6	Buick	DAY	CAR	MAR	OXF	NZH	MND	OXF	DOV	OXF	JEN	EPP	HOL	OXF 4	JEN	OXF	IRP	TMP	OXF	RPS	OXF	RCH	DOV	EPP	48th	160
1992	Houston Racing	6	Buick	DAY	CAR	RCH	NHA	NZH	MND	OXF	DOV	LEE	JEN	OXF 44	NHA	OXF	HOL	EPP	NHA	RPS	OXF	NHA	EPP				81st	31

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series

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

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	ATSC	Pts	Ref
1985	Mike Day	6	Olds	ATL	DAY	ATL	TAL	ATL	SSP	IRP 2	CSP	FRS	IRP	OEF	ISF	DSF	TOL	95th	-	[22]