Chad Little
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| Born: | April 23, 1963 | |
| Birthplace: | Spokane, Washington | |
| Awards: | 1987 NASCAR Winston West Series Rookie of the Year
1988 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion |
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| NASCAR Cup statistics | ||
| 217 races run over 16 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 15th - 1998 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1986 Budweiser 400 (Riverside) | |
| Last Race: | 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 (Dover) | |
| First Win: | None | |
| Last Win: | None | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 0 | 16 | 0 |
Chad Little (born April 23, 1963 in Spokane, Washington) is a former NASCAR driver. He holds a degree in marketing from Washington State University, and a law degree from Gonzaga University. While attending Washington State University he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.
Little now has a part-time studio analyst job for Speed Channel. He is also the President for the Mexican NASCAR series (no official name for the series yet).
In 1989, he missed United Airlines Flight 232, which killed several of its passengers.
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[edit] Early years
Little began racing the short tracks in Washington in the mid-1980s. He soon began American Speed Association West Late Model series, the NASCAR Northwest Tour Series and the NASCAR Winston West Series. One year after being named the NASCAR Winston West Rookie of the Year, Little clinched that series' championship in 1987.
Little made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut in 1986 at Riverside International Raceway, driving the #28 Ford owned by George Jefferson. He started 25th and finished 13th. He ran the other Riverside race that year, but finished 35th after suffering engine failure. He ran both the Riverside races the next year, finishing 15th both times in the #95 Coors Ford. In 1988.
The following year, Little declared for NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors and signed to drive the #90 for Junie Donlavey. Unfortunately, his best finish was an eighteenth at the Coca-Cola 600, and he was released early in the season. In 1990, Little and his father Chuck teamed to field their own entry, the #19 Ford sponsored by Bull’s Eye Barbecue Sauce. He ran eighteen races and had seven top-twenty finishes, garnering a 33rd place points finish. The following season, Little made his first full-time attempt at winning the Cup championship, qualifying for 28 out of 29 races and posting a tenth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing 27th in points.
[edit] Busch Series
In 1992, Little signed to drive the #66 TropArctic Ford for Cale Yarborough, but was released six races into the season. Later he caught on to the #9 Ford fielded by Melling Racing, and had an eighth place finish at Talladega. He also made his Busch Series debut that year, starting and finishing 29th in the #37 Maxx Race Cards Oldsmobile at Watkins Glen International.
In 1993, Little, along with Greg Pollex and former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, formed Mark Rypien Motorsports, running the #23 If It’s Paper/Bayer Select Ford on a limited basis that year, posting a second-place finish at Dover International Speedway. The next year, the team went full-time and Little had ten top-five finishes, finishing third in points. He also drove the #97 Ford at the Daytona 500 that season, finishing 29th. In 1995, Little broke through and won six races during the course of the season, including the first two raceso of the season, and finished 2nd in points. Little did not win a race the following season, however, and slipped to sixth in points. He also ran nine Cup races, five in Pollex’s #97 Sterling Cowboy Pontiac Grand Prix, and another four for Diamond Ridge Motorsports, posting a twentieth-place finish at Darlington Raceway,
[edit] Winston Cup
In 1997, Little returned to the Cup series, running the #97 Pontiac for Pollex with sponsorship from John Deere. He finished seventh at the Food City 500, but the team struggled making races. Late in the year, Jack Roush purchased the team to be added to his stable for 1998. Little ended 1997 36th in points.
In 1998, Little drove for Roush full-time. Running 32 out of 33 races, he had seven top-tens, including a second-place run at Texas, and finished a career-high 15th in points. He was unable to duplicate that performance in 1999, posting just five top-tens and finishing 23rd in points. After just one top-ten in 2000, Roush announced Little would not drive the 97 the following season. Late in the year, Little was pulled out of the car and replaced by his successor, Kurt Busch. During the season, he also ran a handful of races in the Busch Series. Originally running the #30 for Innovative Motorsports, he was released and posted a top-ten in a one-race deal with PPI Motorsports.
[edit] Final years
In 2001, Little signed to drive the #74 Staff America Chevrolet Monte Carlo for BACE Motorsports in the Busch Series . He had six top-tens and finished 9th in points. He started of 2002 running for BACE, but the team closed due to sponsor issues. He made his final Cup start in a BACE car at Dover that year, finishing 33rd. He has not run NASCAR since.
In July of 2006 Little attempted something of a comeback, competing with a group of lawyers in a go-kart competition. While it took him some time to adjust to the considerably smaller automobile, he made it to the final race and finished 5th.
Chad is now working to provide competition support for the newly announced NASCAR Mexico Corona Series.
