| Tommy Houston | |
| Birth Date: | 29 January 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Hickory, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Total Cup Races: | 13 |
| Years In Cup: | 4 |
| Best Cup Pos: | 48th (1980) |
| First Cup Race: | 1980 Richmond 400 (Richmond) |
| Last Cup Race: | 1985 Southern 500 (Darlington) |
| Cup Wins: | 0 |
| Cup Top Tens: | 0 |
| Cup Poles: | 0 |
| Best Busch Pos: | 2nd (1989) |
| Busch Wins: | 24 |
| Busch Top Tens: | 198 |
| Busch Poles: | 18 |
| First Busch Race: | 1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona) |
| First Busch Win: | 1982 Eastern 150 (Richmond) |
| Last Busch Win: | 1992 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory) |
| Last Busch Race: | 1996 AC Delco 200 (Rockingham) |
| Years In Busch: | 15 |
| Total Busch Races: | 417 |
| Total Truck Races: | 1 |
| Years In Truck: | 1 |
| Best Truck Pos: | 117th (1999) |
| First Truck Race: | 1999 The Orleans 250 (Las Vegas) |
| Truck Wins: | 0 |
| Truck Top Tens: | 0 |
| Truck Poles: | 0 |
| Updated: | February 26, 2007 |
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.
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.
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 15th 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-10 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 10 to 6. 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 50 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]
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.
(key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)| 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 | Pts | Ref | |||||
| 1980 | 95 | RSD | DAY | RCH | CAR | ATL | BRI | DAR | NWS | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | CLT | 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 | DAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | 52nd | - | [3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MAR | NSV | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olds | CLT | TWS | RSD | MCH | DAY | NWS | CLT | CAR | ATL | RSD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | Ulrich Racing | 40 | Buick | DAY | RCH | 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 | 32 | DAY | RCH | CAR | ATL | BRI | DAR | NWS | MAR | TAL | DOV | CLT | RSD | POC | MCH | DAY | POC | TAL | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT | CAR | ATL | RSD | 91st | 55 | [5] | |||||||||
| 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 | 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 | 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 | |||||||||||||||||||
(key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)