Rodney Combs

American stock car racing driver

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 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 ATL9 RSD 71st 143 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 CLT22 CAR ATL RSD 87th 97 1984 Harrington Racing 2 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH25 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD NA 0 1986 Harrington Racing 2 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY32 POC TAL19 GLN ATL37 RSD 44th 421 Pontiac MCH29 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT16 CAR 1987 DiGard Motorsports 10 Olds DAY19 CAR RCH ATL 35th 1098 Chevy DAR37 NWS20 BRI MAR TAL CLT Langley Racing 64 Ford DOV20 POC20 RSD MCH23 DAY31 POC16 TAL19 GLN23 MCH31 BRI23 DAR27 RCH DOV MAR NWS Hamby Motorsports 12 Chevy CLT37 CAR RSD ATL 1988 0 Olds DAYWth RCH CAR 35th 1468 Winkle Motorsports 97 Buick ATL27 DAR32 BRIDNQ NWS23 MARDNQ TAL38 CLT32 DOV29 RSD POC34 MCH30 DAY33 POC36 TAL29 GLN24 MCH14 BRI11 DAR21 RCH21 DOV40 MARDNQ Richard Childress Racing 22 Chevy CLTDNQ NWS CAR40 PHO AAG Racing 34 Buick ATL29 1989 Mueller Brothers Racing 89 Pontiac DAY37 CLTDNQ DOV SON POC MCH40 DAY POC TALDNQ GLN MCHDNQ BRI CLT32 NWS CAR PHO27 ATL41 42nd 470 AAG Racing 34 Buick CAR40 ATL RCH32 DAR29 BRI NWS MAR TALDNQ Speed Racing 83 Olds DAR23 RCH DOV MAR 1990 Mueller Brothers Racing 89 Pontiac DAYDNQ RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT33 DOV SON POC MCH40 DAY POC TAL GLN MCH34 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLTDNQ CAR PHO27 ATL30 46th 323

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 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 CLT9 HCY MAR 112th 138 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 CLT10 HCY MAR 107th 134 1987 67 Pontiac DAY10 HCY MAR DAR13 BRI LGY SBO CLT32 DOV28 IRP ROU JFC OXF SBO HCY RAL LGY ROU BRI JFC DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR 41st 404 1988 DAYDNQ 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 1990 Ferree Racing 49 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT37 DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NHA CAR MAR 117th 0 1993 Rexrode Galiano Motorsports 1 Ford DAY14 CAR23 RCH19 DAR18 BRI23 HCY21 ROU12 MAR10 NZH10 CLT19 DOV18 MYB22 GLN16 MLW8 TAL14 IRP25 MCH14 NHA11 BRI20 DAR26 RCHDNQ DOV25 ROU19 CLT19 MAR19 CAR15 HCY25 ATL14 15th 2969 1994 Petty Enterprises 43 Pontiac DAY11 CAR27 RCH38 ATL18 MAR9 DAR28 HCYDNQ BRI10 ROU28 NHA29 NZH38 CLT27 DOV14 MYB9 GLN11 MLW14 SBO13 TAL28 HCYDNQ IRP17 MCH39 BRI DAR42 RCH35 DOV24 CLT32 MAR CAR 21st 2131 1995 DAY16 CAR11 RCH20 ATL6 NSV16 DAR17 BRI19 HCY19 NHA12 NZH21 CLT41 DOV11 MYB6 GLN14 MLW23 TAL39 SBO13 IRP33 MCH17 BRI15 DAR20 RCH36 DOV10 CLT15 CAR17 HOM22 11th 2782 1996 Chevy DAY6 ATL6 DAR34 HCY21 NZH17 CLT26 MYB22 GLN21 MLW28 NHA27 TAL35 IRP28 MCH20 BRI22 DAR17 RCH17 DOV12 CLTDNQ CAR34 HOM38 18th 2396 Pontiac CARDNQ RCH11 NSV19 BRI28 DOV11 SBO24 Ken Wilson 02 Chevy CAR39 1997 Ridling Motorsports 43 Chevy DAY11 CAR15 RCH31 ATL33 LVS17 45th 743 Mark III Racing 78 Chevy DAR32 HCYDNQ TEX BRI20 NSV28 TALDNQ NHA NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAL CAR HOM

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 Pts Ref 1995 Petty Enterprises 43 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW10 CNS HPT IRP4 FLM RCH16 MAR14 NWS11 SON MMR PHO 34th 660 1996 Combs Racing 49 Chevy HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR NWS20 SON MMR PHO LVS 104th 103

(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 Pts Ref 1988 4 Olds DAY18 ATL TAL FRS PCS ROC POC WIN KIL ACS SLM POC TAL DEL FRS ISF DSF SLM ATL 96th