Kelly Denton

American stock car racing driver

Kelly Denton (born March 10, 1973) is an American former professional stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR between 1996 and 2002.

Denton drove a second Grier Lackey Dodge in two races in 1996. He piloted the No. 03 Mopar Dodge in his first career race at Martinsville Speedway, starting in 8th place, but finished last (36th) after mechanical woes. He also ran the next race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, starting 7th and finishing 18th. Denton would make eight starts in 1997, driving for Lackey in the first five of those starts. Denton started 5th at Walt Disney World Speedway before finishing 23rd. Denton had his best run for Lackley with a 16th at Phoenix International Speedway in April, and then bettered that with a 12th place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. Denton switched over to the No. 35 Charles Hardy owned car and completed three races for the team. His best run was an 18th at Martinsville.

Denton ran the majority of his early Busch Series career for Henderson Motorsports, beginning in 1998. He made his first career start by starting 18th at Bristol and coming home 33rd in the No. 75 for Henderson. Denton also made the fall race, but finished 43rd after an early engine expiration. In 1999, Denton hoped to run for NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors for Henderson with sponsorship from Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce. Unfortunately, the sponsorship deal was canceled, forcing Denton to make only four starts. He started the season off with a finish of 20th at Talladega Superspeedway and that ended up being his best career finish. He was also 22nd at Rockingham in addition to the two Bristol races. Denton finished 41st and 34th in those Bristol races. Denton would make four starts in 2000, as he finished 38th in the season opening race at Daytona International Speedway. He also went on to once again compete the season races at Bristol. He recorded his best career finish in the spring, as he ended up 15th. However, he only managed 34th in the fall event. Denton also ran for Moy Racing, who hired Denton to drive their No. 77 Ford at Homestead Miami Speedway, where he finished 30th. Denton ran 24 of 33 races in 2001. He completed the first six races for Moy, recording a pair of 18ths at Bristol and Daytona. Denton then jumped ship and moved to the No. 54 General Creation Chevy for Team Bristol Motorsports. Denton made most of the races for that team. His finishes were solid, as he recorded a pair of 13ths at the Milwaukee Mile and Kentucky Speedway along with a finish of 16th at Dover International Speedway, but lost his ride when the team shut down at the end of the year. Denton made only two starts in 2002. Despite finishes of 16th at Daytona and 27th at Rockingham, Denton was released in favor of Kevin Grubb after qualifying for the third race at Las Vegas. Denton has not raced in major NASCAR since.

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

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 Pts Ref 1998 Henderson Motorsports 75 Chevy DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI33 TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLTDNQ DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBODNQ IRP MCH BRI43 DARDNQ RCH DOV CLTDNQ GTY CAR ATL HOM 103th 98 1999 DAYDNQ CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRIDNQ TAL20 CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT41 DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRIDNQ DAR34 RCH DOVDNQ CLTDNQ CAR22 MEMDNQ PHO HOM 75th 306 2000 DAY38 CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI15 TEX NSVDNQ TALDNQ CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI34 DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO 71st 301 PRW Racing 77 Ford HOM30 2001 DAY18 CAR27 LVS26 ATL37 DAR33 BRI18 TEX28 NSH TAL 30th 1863 Team Bristol Motorsports 54 Chevy CAL34 RCH41 NHA NZH24 CLT42 DOV16 KEN13 MLW13 GLN25 CHI40 GTY21 PPR25 IRP MCH38 BRI37 DAR27 RCH42 DOV30 KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR28 HOM 2002 DAY16 CAR27 LVSQL† 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 84th 197 † Qualified but replaced by Kevin Grubb

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 25 26 27 Pts Ref 1996 Grandaddy Racing 30 Dodge HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR36 NWS18 SON MMR PHO LVS 82nd 164 1997 Chevy WDW23 TUS27 HOM24 PHO16 POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI12 NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN 35th 764 Charles Hardy Racing 35 Chevy RCH31 MAR18 SON MMR29 CAL PHO LVS 1998 Sasser Fogleman & Associates 30 Chevy WDWDNQ HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 136th

NASCAR Winston West Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pts Ref 1997 Olson Technology Racing 31 Ford TUS AMP SON TUS MMR LVS CAL EVG POR PPR25 AMP SON MMR LVS 76th 88

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Bondo/Mar Hyde 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 Pts Ref 1996 R. S. Jones & Associates 86 Ford DAY12 ATL14 SLM TAL10 FIF LVL CLT19 CLT5 KIL FRS POC MCH2* FRS TOL POC MCH13 IND SBS ISF DSF KIL SLM WIN CLT ATL 32nd