Andy Houston
Andrew Houston (born November 7, 1970) is an American stock car racing spotter and former driver. He is a veteran of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, scoring three wins.
Andy Houston | |||||||
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Born | Hickory, North Carolina | November 7, 1970||||||
Achievements | 1994 Hickory Motor Speedway Late Model Champion | ||||||
Awards | 1996 NASCAR Dash Series Most Popular Driver | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
22 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 46th (2001) | ||||||
First race | 2000 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer (Michigan) | ||||||
Last race | 2001 Protection One 400 (Kansas) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
7 races run over 5 years | |||||||
Best finish | 68th (2002) | ||||||
First race | 1996 Kroger 200 (IRP) | ||||||
Last race | 2002 Sam's Town 300 (Las Vegas) | ||||||
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NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career | |||||||
121 races run over 8 years | |||||||
Best finish | 3rd (2000) | ||||||
First race | 1997 Cummins 200 (IRP) | ||||||
Last race | 2005 O'Reilly 200 presented by Valvoline Maxlife (Bristol) | ||||||
First win | 1998 Pennzoil/VIP Discount Tripleheader (Loudon) | ||||||
Last win | 2000 LINE-X 225 (Portland) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of July 10, 2012. |
Houston is the son of legendary Busch driver Tommy Houston and the youngest of three brothers, one of them being part-time NASCAR driver Marty Houston and the other being the oldest of the three, Scott Houston. He is also the cousin of former team owner Teresa Earnhardt. Houston has also raced in the Winston Cup Series and the Busch Series. Houston is married to wife Lorie and has two children, Collin (born in 1997) and Clark (born in 2001).
Early racing career
In 1994, Houston won Hickory Motor Speedway's Late Model Championship and in 1996 he won the Goody's Dash Series Most Popular Driver Award.
NASCAR career
Cup Series
2000 marked Houston's first start in the Winston Cup Series as he competed in five races to prepare for his 2001 rookie campaign with PPI Motorsports. Out of the five races his best finish would come at Lowe's Motor Speedway, a 26th. Houston began the year 2001 well with a ninth-place qualifying effort at the Daytona 500 in the No. 96 McDonald's-sponsored Ford. It would be one of the highlights of the year, as Houston ended the year with no top 10’s and a best finish of 17th at Martinsville; Houston only managed to qualify for 17 races and his team folded after McDonald's pulled its sponsorship late in the season. He has not returned to the Cup Series since.
Busch Series
Houston made his Busch Series debut in 1996 driving the No. 0 Suburban Propane Ford at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He would start the race in the 21st position and finish in the 24th position, five laps down. He returned to the series in 1998 to make another start this time at Hickory Motor Speedway in the No. 50 Dr Pepper Ford. He would start the race in 7th and finish in the 20th position. In 2000, Houston made one start for Team SABCO and brought the No. 82 Channellock Chevrolet home in the 36th position at the Milwaukee Mile. For the 2002 season, Houston was supposed to run the whole season with the Herzog-Jackson Motorsports team, but was replaced by Todd Bodine after 3 races. His best finish with the team was a 9th at Daytona.
Truck Series
In 1997, Houston made his first Craftsman Truck Series start with Addington Racing. He would compete in four races for the team with a best finish of 11th at Martinsville. For the 1998 season, he returned to Addington Racing and ran full-time in the Truck Series. Houston would have a solid year winning his first race at New Hampshire International Speedway and posting 9 top tens, while finishing 12th in points. Houston again returned to Addington Racing for the 1999 season and he scored 14 top tens with an 8th-place finish in points. 2000 was a breakout year for Houston, as he won two races at Homestead and Portland, had 13 top fives, and 18 top tens, finishing 3rd in points to Roush Racing teammates Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch. He returned to the series in 2002 with Melling Racing where he ran one race at South Boston Speedway. After that Billy Ballew Motorsports hired him to run the remainder of 2002. He would post a best finish of 12th at California out of the five races he competed in. In 2003, Houston was still running races for Billy Ballew and Nelly when Vokal became his primary sponsor, until Billy ran out of money to run two trucks. Ballew kept Rich Bickle, leaving Houston without a ride. Later that year, Ultra Motorsports gave him a truck ride and he did very well, finishing no worse than tenth and earned a pole at Texas Motor Speedway. For the 2004 season, he continued driving for Ultra Motorsports until he was released after the race at Bristol. Andy's best finish with the team that year was a 7th at Dover. For the remainder of 2004 with the exception of Richmond, Houston raced with multiple teams, but with limited success. In 2005, he only ran one race with Key Motorsports at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing 33rd after a crash in his final NASCAR race.
Post-racing career
Following his racing career, Houston worked as a spotter for other drivers; he worked with Richard Childress Racing, spotting for Austin Dillon in the Nationwide Series in the early 2010s,[1] moving up with Dillon to the Sprint Cup Series in 2014.[2] He left Dillon's team after the 2019 season.[3] He announced in November 2019 on Twitter that he would spot for Cole Custer for the 2020 season in Custer's rookie campaign.[4]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Winston Cup Series
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 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | NWCC | Pts | |||
2000 | PPI Motorsports | 96 | Ford | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | MCH | POC | SON | DAY | NHA | POC | IND | GLN | MCH 35 |
BRI | DAR | RCH | NHA | DOV | MAR | CLT 26 |
TAL | CAR 28 |
PHO 36 |
HOM 42 |
ATL | 55th | 314 | |||||
2001 | DAY 38 |
CAR DNQ |
LVS DNQ |
ATL 21 |
DAR DNQ |
BRI 39 |
TEX 32 |
MAR 17 |
TAL 21 |
CAL 19 |
RCH 42 |
CLT 41 |
DOV 23 |
MCH DNQ |
POC DNQ |
SON DNQ |
DAY 43 |
CHI 43 |
NHA | POC | IND 43 |
GLN | MCH 31 |
BRI 40 |
DAR DNQ |
RCH DNQ |
DOV 40 |
KAN 18 |
CLT | MAR | TAL | PHO | CAR | HOM | ATL | NHA | 46th | 1187 |
Daytona 500
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 9 | 38 |
Busch Series
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 | NBSC | Pts | ||
1993 | DAY | CAR | RCH | DAR | BRI | HCY | ROU | MAR | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | IRP | MCH | NHA | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | ROU | CLT | MAR | CAR | HCY DNQ |
ATL | NA | - | |||||||||||
1995 | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | NSV | DAR | BRI | HCY DNQ |
NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | SBO | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | HOM | NA | - | |||||||||||||
1996 | Houston Racing | 0 | Ford | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | NSV | DAR | BRI | HCY QL† |
NZH | CLT | DOV | SBO | MYB | GLN | MLW | NHA | TAL | IRP 24 |
MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | HOM | 89th | 91 | ||||||||||
1998 | Washington-Erving Motorsports | 50 | Ford | DAY | CAR | LVS | NSV | DAR | BRI | TEX | HCY 20 |
TAL | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | RCH | PPR | GLN | MLW | MYB | CAL | SBO | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | GTY | CAR | ATL | HOM | 102nd | 103 | |||||
2000 | Team SABCO | 82 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | NSV | TAL | CAL | RCH | NHA | CLT | DOV | SBO | MYB | GLN | MLW 36 |
NZH | PPR | GTY | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | MEM | PHO | HOM | 106th | 55 | ||||
2001 | Team Rensi Motorsports | 25 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | NSH | TAL | CAL | RCH | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | KEN | MLW | GLN | CHI | GTY 17 |
PPR | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | KAN | CLT | MEM | PHO | CAR | HOM | 101st | 112 | |||
2002 | Herzog-Jackson Motorsports | 92 | Chevy | DAY 9 |
CAR 17 |
LVS 24 |
DAR | BRI | TEX | NSH | TAL | CAL | RCH | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | NSH | KEN | MLW | DAY | CHI | GTY | PPR | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | KAN | CLT | MEM | ATL | CAR | PHO | HOM | 68th | 346 | ||
† - Qualified but replaced by his father, Tommy Houston |
Craftsman Truck Series
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | NCTC | Pts | ||||||||||||
1997 | AAG Racing | 65 | Chevy | WDW | TUS | HOM | PHO | POR | EVG | I70 | NHA | TEX | BRI | NZH | MLW | LVL | CNS | HPT | IRP 18 |
FLM | NSV 24 |
GLN | RCH DNQ |
MAR 11 |
SON | MMR | CAL | PHO 32 |
LVS DNQ |
46th | 441 | |||||||||||||
1998 | Addington Racing | 60 | Chevy | WDW 27 |
HOM 20 |
PHO 4 |
POR 16 |
EVG 28 |
I70 10 |
GLN 15 |
TEX 2 |
BRI 28 |
MLW 29 |
NZH 15 |
CAL 4 |
PPR 18 |
IRP 26 |
NHA 1* |
FLM 20 |
NSV 13 |
HPT 32 |
LVL 3 |
RCH 12 |
MEM 34 |
GTY 30 |
MAR 12 |
SON 6 |
MMR 9 |
PHO 5 |
LVS 11 |
12th | 3188 | ||||||||||||
1999 | HOM 5 |
PHO 3 |
EVG 14 |
MMR 19 |
MAR 17 |
MEM 7 |
PPR 4 |
I70 3 |
BRI 4 |
TEX 7 |
PIR 7 |
GLN 8 |
MLW 20 |
NSV 6 |
NZH 11 |
MCH 19 |
NHA 7 |
IRP 8 |
GTY 25 |
HPT 11 |
RCH 6 |
LVS 22 |
LVL 12 |
TEX 8 |
CAL 18 |
8th | 3359 | |||||||||||||||||
2000 | DAY 3 |
HOM 1* |
PHO 3 |
MMR 10 |
MAR 11 |
PIR 1 |
GTY 24 |
MEM 15 |
PPR 3 |
EVG 8 |
TEX 4 |
KEN 9 |
GLN 6 |
MLW 5 |
NHA 5 |
NZH 11 |
MCH 4 |
IRP 26 |
NSV 6 |
CIC 4 |
RCH 25 |
DOV 4 |
TEX 2 |
CAL 2* |
3rd | 3566 | ||||||||||||||||||
2002 | HT Motorsports | 17 | Dodge | DAY | DAR | MAR | GTY | PPR | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | NHA | MCH | IRP | NSH | RCH | TEX | SBO 21 |
38th | 578 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Billy Ballew Motorsports | 15 | Ford | LVS 12 |
CAL 12 |
PHO 17 |
HOM 17 |
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2003 | DAY 5 |
DAR 21 |
MMR 12 |
MAR 15 |
21st | 1487 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fasscore Motorsports | 9 | Ford | CLT 30 |
DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | GTW | MCH | IRP | NSH | BRI | RCH | NHA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ultra Motorsports | 2 | Dodge | CAL 6 |
LVS 6 |
SBO 6 |
TEX 5 |
MAR | PHO 10 |
HOM 4 |
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2004 | DAY 30 |
ATL 19 |
MAR 11 |
MFD 15 |
CLT 19 |
DOV 7 |
TEX 9 |
MEM 20 |
KAN 31 |
KEN 8 |
GTW 13 |
MCH 23 |
IRP 19 |
NSH 25 |
BRI 19 |
RCH | 20th | 2540 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HT Motorsports | 59 | Ford | MLW 19 |
NHA 33 |
LVS 14 |
CAL 21 |
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Green Light Racing | 07 | Chevy | TEX 14 |
DAR 34 |
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ThorSport Racing | 13 | Chevy | MAR 25 |
PHO 16 |
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Ken Weaver Racing | 20 | Chevy | HOM 18 |
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2005 | Key Motorsports | 40 | Chevy | DAY | CAL | ATL | MAR | GTY | MFD | CLT | DOV | TEX | MCH | MLW | KAN | KEN | MEM | IRP | NSH | BRI 33 |
RCH DNQ |
NHA | LVS | MAR | ATL | TEX | PHO | HOM | 86th | 64 |
Winston West Series
NASCAR Winston West Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | NWWSC | Pts | |||
1998 | Addington Racing | 92 | Chevy | TUS | LVS | PHO | CAL | HPT | MMR | AMP | POR | CAL | PPR | EVG | SON | MMR | LVS 1* |
54th | 185 | |||
1999 | Midgley Racing | 09 | Pontiac | TUS | LVS | PHO | CAL | PPR | MMR | IRW | EVG | POR | IRW | RMR | LVS | MMR | MOT 17 |
70th | 112 |
References
- http://www.darlingtonraceway.com/Articles/2010/08/Austin-Dillon.aspx
- Bruce, Kenny (February 20, 2014). "Night spotting adds tough element to Daytona Duels". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
- Bonkowski, Jerry (November 18, 2019). "Veteran NASCAR spotters Joey Meier, Andy Houston not returning to 2019 roles". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- "Super excited to be spotting for @ColeCuster in 2020! I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!". Twitter. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
External links
- Andy Houston driver statistics at Racing-Reference