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.
Dean Combs | |||||||
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Born | North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | February 23, 1952||||||
Achievements | 1975, 1976, 1977 NASCAR Baby Grand Series Champion 1980, 1981 NASCAR International Sedan Series Champion | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
24 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 39th (1984) | ||||||
First race | 1981 Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
Last race | 1984 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of January 15, 2012. |
Winston Cup
edit1981
editCombs 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.
1982
editCombs 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.
1983
editCombs 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.
1984
editCombs 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.
Racing career results
editNASCAR Winston Cup Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | NWI
28 |
ROC
34 |
n/a | n/a | [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1982 | CLS
38 |
MCH
17 |
MCH
13 |
NWI
26 |
CLS
34 |
43rd | 431 | [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1983 | CLS
13 |
MCH
20 |
DOV
33 |
42nd | 500 | [3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
97 | Oldsmobile | CLS
32 |
ATL
8 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1984 | DAY
19 |
RCH
25 |
ATL
32 |
NWI
31 |
MAR
27 |
DOV
29 |
CLS
18 |
39th | 903 | [4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chevrolet | MCH
36 |
DAY
32 |
MCH
38 |
RCH
DNQ |
CLS
28 |
ATL
36 |
Moonshining
editIn 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 200 US gallons (760 L; 170 imp gal) of corn liquor and 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of sugar.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
- ^ Mitchell, Monte (March 5, 2009). "Former NASCAR driver Dean Combs charged in moonshine bust". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
External links
edit- Dean Combs driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Dean Combs at The Auto Channel