Tommy Houston

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Tommy Houston, born on January 29th, 1945, is one of the NASCAR Busch Series most rememorable drivers. Over his career, Houston and Jack Ingram became known as the pair journeymen drivers that helped that series grow into the most popular minor league series in the world. Houston was born in Hickory, North Carolina, and was in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsmen division, winning nearly 150 races before the series was formed into the BUSCH Series.

[edit] Busch Series Career

Houston made the inaugural race of the Busch Series at the 1982 Daytona race. Driving the #27 Kings Inn Chevy for Mike Day, Houston started 23rd and finished the race in 9th position. The very next week, Houston started 15th at North Carolina Speedway. 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 5 top-10 finishes. However, inconsistency through the year cost him. He did not finish the last 3 races as well as 7 others. That cost him any shot at the title. At Hickory Speedway in August, however, Houston held of Tommy Ellis for his second career win after starting 4th. All told, he finished 4th in the 1982 Busch Series points.

In 1983, Houston began running his infamous #6 full-time. (he had driven the #27 multiple times in 1982 as well as #6) With sponsorship from UNO, Houston improved on '82. 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 apiece at IRP and Hickory. He also finished 2nd three times.