Best finish 39th - 1984 Name Dean Combs | ||
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Achievements 1975, 1976, 1977 NASCAR Baby Grand Series Champion1980, 1981 NASCAR International Sedan Series Champion Last race 1984 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta) | ||
Dean Combs, born on February 23, 1952 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, 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.
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Family Life
Dean is the Father of 3 children, Micheal, Crystal, and Tammy. He also has 3 grandchildren Tyler, Dylon, and Bailey. Tammys husband Eric Wilson is a pit crew coach at Richard Childress Racing and a champion in the dash series in 2006. Deans grandson Dylon Wilson is an up-and-coming racecar driver and is currently competing in the NASCAR Wheelen All American Series, with Dean being the driver coach.
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.
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.