| Dean Combs | |
| Birth Date: | 23 February 1952 |
| Birth Place: | North Wilkesboro, North Carolina |
| Achievements: | 1975, 1976, 1977 NASCAR Baby Grand Series Champion 1980, 1981 NASCAR International Sedan Series Champion |
| Total Cup Races: | 24 |
| Years In Cup: | 4 |
| Best Cup Pos: | 39th (1984) |
| First Cup Race: | 1981 Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro) |
| Last Cup Race: | 1984 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta) |
| Cup Wins: | 0 |
| Cup Top Tens: | 1 |
| Cup Poles: | 0 |
| Updated: | January 15, 2012 |
Dean Combs (born February 23, 1952) is a former NASCAR driver. In his limited career, Combs competed in twenty-four Winston Cup Series events. Combs is best known for dominance on NASCAR's lower level Dash Series in the 1970s and 1980s. He had five championships in that series, and was the all-time wins leader in that series before it closed up in 2004.
Combs made his entrance into the series in 1981, driving for two races late in the season. Driving for the #77 of Irv Sanderson, Combs made his debut at North Wilkesboro. He qualified well, putting it in with an 11th-place lap. Eventually, rear end problems sidelined Combs to 28th. Combs again qualified well at Rockingham, but fell out once again due to mechanical problems to 34th.
Combs upped his races to five starts in 1982, beginning with a 38th at Charlotte. Including that race, Combs only managed to finish two of his five starts. However, those two were fairly impressive. Both races came at Michigan and the result was a 17th place and a 13th place showing.
Combs continued on his five-race pace in 1983, continuing to drive Sanderson's cars. He still struggled to finish races, falling out of two of the events. Yet, once again, if Combs finished he had good finishes. He was 13th at Charlotte, 20th at Michigan and at Atlanta, Combs grabbed his only top-10 with a solid eighth-place finish.
Combs biggest year came in 1984, when he competed in twelve events. However, judging by the nine DNFs it was not exactly successful. The only races he did finish were an 18th at Charlotte, 19th at Daytona and 25th at Richmond. After finishing 39th in points, Combs and Sanderson finally split and Combs went back to lower level racing.
| Year | Team/Owner | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Irv Sanderson | 77 | Buick | NWI28 | ROC34 | n/a | n/a | [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | CLS38 | MCH17 | MCH13 | NWI 26 | CLS 34 | 43rd | 431 | [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | CLS 13 | MCH 20 | DOV33 | 42nd | 500 | [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 97 | Oldsmobile | CLS 32 | ATL8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | DAY19 | RCH25 | ATL32 | NWI 31 | MAR27 | DOV 29 | CLS 18 | 39th | 903 | [4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chevrolet | MCH 36 | DAY 32 | MCH 38 | RCH DNQ | CLS 28 | ATL 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In 2009, Combs was arrested for the operation of a moonshine still in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Officers from the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office destroyed the still with explosives, seizing of corn liquor and of sugar.[5]