Wikipedia

Rodney Combs

Rodney Combs (born March 27, 1950) is an American former stock car racing driver. He has not been in NASCAR since 1997, when he was released from his ride in the Busch Series. Combs entered NASCAR after many years on the open-wheel and short track circuit in the Midwest, racing with Mark Martin and Dick Trickle. Combs was a 2001 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Rodney Combs
Born (1950-03-27) March 27, 1950 (age 74)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Achievements1980, 1991, 1992 Hillbilly 100 Winner
AwardsNational Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame (2001)
NASCAR Cup Series career
55 races run over 8 years
Best finish35th (1987, 1988)
First race1982 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
Last race1990 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
116 races run over 9 years
Best finish11th (1995)
First race1982 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte)
Last race1997 BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 320 (Nashville)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 14 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
8 races run over 2 years
Best finish34th (1995)
First race1995 Sears Auto Center 125 (Milwaukee)
Last race1996 Lowe's 250 (North Wilkesboro)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of April 20, 2013.

Racing career

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Winston Cup Series

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Combs made his debut in 1982, in the then Winston Cup Series. Driving the #5 for J.D. Stacy, Combs qualified the Stacy-Pak Buick to 28th on the starting position in the fall race at Atlanta, and finished in 9th place, leading five laps.

Combs was invited back by Stacy to drive the #12 Stroh's Buick in the 1983 fall race at Charlotte. Combs started 33rd and appeared to earn another top-ten, but extremely late in the going, Combs' car blew an engine, putting him to 22nd.

The next time Combs showed up was in 1984. This time, Combs was behind the #2 Red Roof Inns Buick owned by Robert Harrington. Combs made it into the August Michigan race with a 19th place qualifying effort. He completed all but eight laps en route to a 25th-place finish.

Combs, who was still doing Midwest racing, disappeared back to those ranks for a year, and then returned with a five-race deal in 1986. Driving Harrington's #2 Solder Seal/Gunk Pontiac, Combs had a best of 16th at Charlotte and a 19th at Talladega, where he led four laps. However, Combs only finished the Charlotte race, falling out of the other four.

Combs drove for a number of teams in 1987, yet still could not crack the top ten. His best run was a 16th at Pocono, although he did have five other top-20s. He ran the majority of the races for Elmo Langley's #64 team, although he did have some runs with DiGard Motorsports and Roger Hamby. Overall, he had 14 starts in 1987, and earned a 35th-place position in points.

Combs ran nineteen races in 1988, the most active year of his career. Seventeen of them were for the #97 ACDelco team, while Combs competed in one race for Ken Allen and another for Richard Childress Racing. Despite all the starts, Combs had a worse year than in 1987, despite matching the 35th in points. His best finish was 11th at Bristol, but he only had one other top-20, a 14th at Michigan. Combs, however, did earn his first career top-10 starting spot, a 9th at Richmond. Combs' biggest issue was 11 DNFs, though to Combs' defense, all but one of them was mechanical.

In 1989, Combs only made nine starts and did not even crack the top-20. His best run was a 23rd at Darlington, driving for Lake Speed. Yet, Combs ran the majority of the races for the #89 Evinrude Pontiac. The best run for that team was a 27th at Phoenix. Combs also had three races in 1989 for Allen.

Combs made his last five career Cup starts in 1990. Combs ran all five races for the #89 team, but could only manage a best of 27th at Phoenix. In addition, Combs only finished two of the races. Overall in his Cup career, Combs had one top-ten finish and one top-10 start.

Busch Series

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Combs made his Busch debut in 1982, the same year he made his Cup debut. Driving for J.D. Stacy again, Combs drove the #4 Stacy Pontiac into the Charlotte field with a 7th place starting position. Like he would in his Cup debut, Combs came home with a 9th place showing.

Combs made another one-off start in 1983. Once again, Combs ran at Charlotte, where he qualified a 4th. This time, Combs could not improve on his first finish, but still came home with a 10th-place showing.

Combs disappeared for three years, and was back in 1987, with a four-race deal with the #67 J&J Steel car. His best run once again came at Charlotte, adding another tenth place on. Also noteworthy was a start and finish of 13th at Darlington.

Combs next race came in 1990, driving for Ferree Racing at Charlotte. He started 26th, but finished 37th after his carburetor failed.

Combs finally made his first full season in NASCAR in 1993, driving the #1 Luxaire Ford for the full season, qualifying for all but one race. Combs earned three top-10s in 1993, with a career-best eighth at Milwaukee Mile and back-to-back tenths at Martinsville and Nazareth. Even more to Combs advantage, were a low DNF count of three, an impressive number for someone who is basically a rookie. Most impressive of all, by far, is his lowest finish. His lowest finish of the year was at Darlington, where he finished 26th. This contributed to Combs earning a 15th in points, despite missing one race. Lastly, Combs qualified well too, the best being a triplet of fourth-place starts, of which he converted into a 10th, 12th and 15th-place finish in the race.

With an impressive season with a low-budget team, Combs was hired by Petty Enterprises to drive the #43 Black Flag/French's Pontiac the following year. Despite the famous ride, 1994 was a roller coaster. Combs did not make four of the 27 races, but matched his three top-10s of '93. Combs best runs were a pair of 9th at Martinsville and Myrtle Beach and a 10th at Bristol. Yet, Combs did have seven other top-20s. However, in addition to poor qualifying results with the first year team, Combs' team had 9 DNFs, a tough thing to overcome. (In Combs' defense, all but two were mechanical) This led to a poor 21st place showing in points.

Combs' best career year in any NASCAR series came in 1995, where he finished 11th in points. This year, Combs made all the races, and this enabled him to once again earn three top-10s. Combs earned new career bests of 6th at Myrtle Beach and Atlanta, and tacked on a 10th at Dover International Speedway and a large 16 other top-20s to boot. Along with a lesser DNF count (4), Combs' team looked in good shape for 1996.

However, 1996 was not Combs' best year, and it began to lead to his departure from the sport. Combs made all but one start in 1996, and earned 18th in points, after another up-and-down year. Combs earned a pair of sixths as his only top-10s in 1996 at Daytona and Atlanta. (Combs would later prove to have a career best finish of 6th-four times) Combs did earn what would prove to be his best career start: a 3rd at Myrtle Beach. However, on the flipside, Combs only earned 9 top-20s, down from 19 in 1995, the primary reason for his points slide.

1997 was the end of Combs' career. Petty Enterprises sold the team to David Ridling. He only made five starts for the team before being released, the best being an 11th-place finish at Atlanta. He was replaced by Dennis Setzer and replaced Setzer in the #78 Mark III Financial Chevy. He ran a best of 20th at Richmond in three races for the team. Yet, after Nashville, Combs disappeared from the team and has not been racing in big-league NASCAR since.

Craftsman Truck Series

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When racing for Petty Enterprises in 1995 and 1996, Combs made five starts in 1995 and one in 1996 for in the Truck Series. Combs made his series debut at Milwaukee, qualifying ninth and finishing 10th. Combs then came back at IRP, qualifying 9th and once again coming home with a top-10: this time a solid 4th. Combs made three more starts in 1995, with finishes of 11th, 14th and 16th. Combs also added on one more start in 1996. Driving at North Wilkesboro, Combs managed a career-best 4th place start. However, he came home with a career-worst finish of 20th.

Combs has not raced in NASCAR since.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

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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 NWCC Pts Ref
1982 Jim Stacy Racing 5 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
9 		RSD 71st 143 [1]
1983 12 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
22 		CAR ATL RSD 87th 97 [2]
1984 Harrington Racing 2 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH
25 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD NA 0 [3]
1986 Harrington Racing 2 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY
32 		POC TAL
19 		GLN ATL
37 		RSD 44th 421 [4]
Pontiac MCH
29 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
16 		CAR
1987 DiGard Motorsports 10 Olds DAY
19 		CAR RCH ATL 35th 1098 [5]
Chevy DAR
37 		NWS
20 		BRI MAR TAL CLT
Langley Racing 64 Ford DOV
20 		POC
20 		RSD MCH
23 		DAY
31 		POC
16 		TAL
19 		GLN
23 		MCH
31 		BRI
23 		DAR
27 		RCH DOV MAR NWS
Hamby Motorsports 12 Chevy CLT
37 		CAR RSD ATL
1988 0 Olds DAY
Wth 		RCH CAR 35th 1468 [6]
Winkle Motorsports 97 Buick ATL
27 		DAR
32 		BRI
DNQ 		NWS
23 		MAR
DNQ 		TAL
38 		CLT
32 		DOV
29 		RSD POC
34 		MCH
30 		DAY
33 		POC
36 		TAL
29 		GLN
24 		MCH
14 		BRI
11 		DAR
21 		RCH
21 		DOV
40 		MAR
DNQ
Richard Childress Racing 22 Chevy CLT
DNQ 		NWS CAR
40 		PHO
AAG Racing 34 Buick ATL
29
1989 Mueller Brothers Racing 89 Pontiac DAY
37 		CLT
DNQ 		DOV SON POC MCH
40 		DAY POC TAL
DNQ 		GLN MCH
DNQ 		BRI CLT
32 		NWS CAR PHO
27 		ATL
41 		42nd 470 [7]
AAG Racing 34 Buick CAR
40 		ATL RCH
32 		DAR
29 		BRI NWS MAR TAL
DNQ
Speed Racing 83 Olds DAR
23 		RCH DOV MAR
1990 Mueller Brothers Racing 89 Pontiac DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT
33 		DOV SON POC MCH
40 		DAY POC TAL GLN MCH
34 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ 		CAR PHO
27 		ATL
30 		46th 323 [8]
Daytona 500
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Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1987 DiGard Motorsports Oldsmobile 36 19
1988 Oldsmobile Wth
1989 Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 30 37
1990 DNQ

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch 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 32 33 34 35 NBSC Pts Ref
1982 Jim Stacy Racing 4 Pontiac DAY RCH BRI MAR DAR HCY SBO CRW RCH LGY DOV HCY CLT ASH HCY SBO CAR CRW SBO HCY LGY IRP BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT
9 		HCY MAR 112th 138 [9]
1983 89 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY DAR RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU CLT
10 		HCY MAR 107th 134 [10]
1987 67 Pontiac DAY
10 		HCY MAR DAR
13 		BRI LGY SBO CLT
32 		DOV
28 		IRP ROU JFC OXF SBO HCY RAL LGY ROU BRI JFC DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR 41st 404 [11]
1988 DAY
DNQ 		HCY CAR MAR DAR BRI LNG NZH SBO NSV CLT DOV ROU LAN LVL MYB OXF SBO HCY LNG IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR NA - [12]
1990 Ferree Racing 49 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT
37 		DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NHA CAR MAR 117th 0 [13]
1993 Rexrode Galiano Motorsports 1 Ford DAY
14 		CAR
23 		RCH
19 		DAR
18 		BRI
23 		HCY
21 		ROU
12 		MAR
10 		NZH
10 		CLT
19 		DOV
18 		MYB
22 		GLN
16 		MLW
8 		TAL
14 		IRP
25 		MCH
14 		NHA
11 		BRI
20 		DAR
26 		RCH
DNQ 		DOV
25 		ROU
19 		CLT
19 		MAR
19 		CAR
15 		HCY
25 		ATL
14 		15th 2969 [14]
1994 Petty Enterprises 43 Pontiac DAY
11 		CAR
27 		RCH
38 		ATL
18 		MAR
9 		DAR
28 		HCY
DNQ 		BRI
10 		ROU
28 		NHA
29 		NZH
38 		CLT
27 		DOV
14 		MYB
9 		GLN
11 		MLW
14 		SBO
13 		TAL
28 		HCY
DNQ 		IRP
17 		MCH
39 		BRI DAR
42 		RCH
35 		DOV
24 		CLT
32 		MAR CAR 21st 2131 [15]
1995 DAY
16 		CAR
11 		RCH
20 		ATL
6 		NSV
16 		DAR
17 		BRI
19 		HCY
19 		NHA
12 		NZH
21 		CLT
41 		DOV
11 		MYB
6 		GLN
14 		MLW
23 		TAL
39 		SBO
13 		IRP
33 		MCH
17 		BRI
15 		DAR
20 		RCH
36 		DOV
10 		CLT
15 		CAR
17 		HOM
22 		11th 2782 [16]
1996 Chevy DAY
6 		ATL
6 		DAR
34 		HCY
21 		NZH
17 		CLT
26 		MYB
22 		GLN
21 		MLW
28 		NHA
27 		TAL
35 		IRP
28 		MCH
20 		BRI
22 		DAR
17 		RCH
17 		DOV
12 		CLT
DNQ 		CAR
34 		HOM
38 		18th 2396 [17]
Pontiac CAR
DNQ 		RCH
11 		NSV
19 		BRI
28 		DOV
11 		SBO
24
Ken Wilson 02 Chevy CAR
39
1997 Ridling Motorsports 43 Chevy DAY
11 		CAR
15 		RCH
31 		ATL
33 		LVS
17 		45th 743 [18]
Mark III Racing 78 Chevy DAR
32 		HCY
DNQ 		TEX BRI
20 		NSV
28 		TAL
DNQ 		NHA NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAL CAR HOM

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 Petty Enterprises 43 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW
10 		CNS HPT IRP
4 		FLM RCH
16 		MAR
14 		NWS
11 		SON MMR PHO 34th 660 [19]
1996 Combs Racing 49 Chevy HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR NWS
20 		SON MMR PHO LVS 104th 103 [20]

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Permatex SuperCar 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 APSC Pts Ref
1988 4 Olds DAY
18 		ATL TAL FRS PCS ROC POC WIN KIL ACS SLM POC TAL DEL FRS ISF DSF SLM ATL 96th - [21]

References

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  1. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  3. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  8. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  9. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  11. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  12. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  15. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  17. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1996 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  18. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1997 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  19. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  20. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  21. ^ "Rodney Combs – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
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