Dean Combs

Dean Combs
Born (1952-02-23) February 23, 1952 (age 72)
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Achievements1975, 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 finish39th (1984)
First race1981 Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Last race1984 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
Statistics current as of 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.

Winston Cup

1981

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.

1982

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.

1983

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.

1984

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.

Racing career results

NASCAR 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

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 200 US gallons (760 L; 170 imp gal) of corn liquor and 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of sugar.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  2. ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  3. ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  4. ^ "Driver Dean Combs 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  5. ^ 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.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
 NASCAR Baby Grand Series Champion
1975, 1976, 1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by NASCAR International Sedan Series Champion
1980, 1981 		Succeeded by