- Andy Houston
Infobox_NASCAR_driver
Name = Andrew Houston
Birthdate = birth date and age|1970|11|7
Birthplace = Hickory,North Carolina
Previous_Year = 2005
Prev_Truck_Pos = 86th
Best_Truck_Pos = 3rd - 2000 (Craftsman Truck Series)
Truck_Wins = 3
Truck_Top_Tens = 51
Truck_Poles = 4
First_Truck_Race = 1997Cummins 200 (Indianapolis)
First_Truck_Win = 1998Pennzoil/VIP Discount Tripleheader (New Hampshire)
Last_Truck_Win = 2000Line-X 225 (Portland)
Awards = 1994Hickory Motor Speedway Late Model Champion1996 NASCAR Dash Series Most Popular Driver
Updated_On =April 23 ,2006 Andy Houston (born
November 7 ,1970 inHickory, North Carolina ) is a veteran of theNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series , scoring three wins. Houston is the son of legendary Busch DriverTommy Houston and the youngest of three brothers, one of them being part-time NASCAR driverMarty Houston and the other being the oldest of the three,Scott Houston . He is also the cousin of team ownerTeresa Earnhardt . Andy Houston has also raced in theNextel Cup Series and theBusch Series . Andy is married to wife Lorie and has two children, Collin (born in 1997) and Clark (born in 2001). Since January 2005, Houston has served as the spotter forJohn Andretti 'sBusch Series team.Early Racing Career
In 1994, Andy 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 withPPI Motorsports . Out of the five races his best finish would come atLowe's Motor Speedway , a 26th. Houston began the 2001 year well with a 9th place qualifying effort at theDaytona 500 in the #96McDonald's Ford. It would be one of the highlights of the year, as Houston ended the year with no top 10s and a best finish of 17th at Martinsville; Houston only managed to qualify for 17 races and failed to run any more after McDonald's pulled their sponsorship late in the season. He hasn't returned to the series since.Busch Series
Houston made his
Busch Series debut in 1996 driving the #0Suburban Propane Ford atIndianapolis 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 atHickory Motor Speedway in the #50Dr Pepper Ford. He would start the race in 7th and finish in the 20th position. In 2000, Houston made one start forTeam SABCO and brought the #82Channellock Chevrolet home in the 36th position at theMilwaukee Mile . For the 2002 season, Houston was supposed to run the whole season with theHerzog/Jackson Motorsports team, but was replaced byTodd Bodine after 3 races. His best finish with the team was a 9th at Daytona. He currently serves as Jack Sprauges spotter for Kevin Harvick Inc.#2 Craftsman Truck series team.Craftsman Truck Series
In 1997, Houston made his first
Craftsman Truck Series start withAddington Racing . He would compete in four races for the team with a best finish of 11th at Martinsville.For the 1998 season, he returned toAddington Racing and ran full-time in the Truck Series. Houston would have a solid year winning his first race atNew Hampshire International Speedway and posting 9 top tens, while finishing 12th in points. Houston again returned toAddington 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 toRoush Racing TeammatesGreg Biffle andKurt Busch . He returned to the series in 2002 with Melling Racing where he ran one race atSouth Boston Speedway . After thatBilly 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 forBilly Ballew andNelly whenVokal 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 well, finishing no worse than sixth and earned a pole atTexas Motor Speedway . For the 2004 season, he continued driving forUltra Motorsports until he was released after the race at Bristol. Houston most of the other races with numerous teams and had a best finish of 7th at Dover. In 2005, he only ran one race withKey Motorsports atBristol Motor Speedway , finishing 33rd after a crash. He has yet to return to theCraftsman Truck Series since the 2005 season.
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