Steve Grissom

Steve Paul Grissom
Grissom in 1996
Born	(1963-06-26) June 26, 1963 Gadsden, Alabama, U.S.
Achievements	1985 All Pro Super Series Champion 1993 NASCAR Busch Series champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
151 races run over 10 years
Best finish	21st (1997)
First race	1990 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	2002 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 18 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
309 races run over 24 years
Best finish	1st (1993)
First race	1986 Freedlander 200 (Richmond)
Last race	2009 Scotts Turf Builder 300 (Bristol)
First win	1990 Granger Select 200 (Dublin)
Last win	1996 Goody's Headache Powder 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 11 74 4
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
24 races run over 1 year
Best finish	10th (2000)
First race	2000 Daytona 250 (Daytona)
Last race	2000 Motorola 200 (Fontana)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 11 0

Steven Paul Grissom (born June 26, 1963) is an American former stock car racing driver. He was the 1993 Busch Series champion and has eleven Busch wins in 185 starts. Grissom turned down a scholarship to play quarterback at the University of Alabama to focus a career on racing.

Early years

Grissom began his racing career in his youth, working on cars with his father Wayne, who was a sponsor of short track drivers in their home state of Alabama. He soon began racing cars himself, balancing that with being captain of his high school football and basketball teams in 1981. He eventually joined the Winston All-Pro Series, and won the championship in 1985. The next season, he was nominated for Alabama Pro Athlete of the Year.

Busch Championship

Grissom made his Busch Series debut in 1986 at the Freedlander 200, in the No. 31 Oldsmobile owned by his father. He started 16th but finished 30th due to engine failure. He ran three more races over the next two years, his best finish being an 11th. In 1988, he moved into the series full-time. Despite a lack of major sponsorship, Grissom had four top-tens and finished 13th in points. In 1989, he landed funding from Texas Pete Sauces, and moved to twelfth in points.

In 1990, Grissom won four races, including two straight, and finished third in points behind Chuck Bown and Jimmy Hensley. During the season, Grissom ran one Winston Cup race for Dick Moroso at the Atlanta Journal 500, starting 23rd and finishing 24th. A lack of funding kept Grissom from competing for the championship in 1991, as he had one win and slid back to tenth in points. After Channellock and Roddenberry's came on board in 1992, Grissom regained his success of 1990, winning two races. He clinched the Busch Series championship in 1993 for his family-owned team. Grissom won the championship by 253 points over Ricky Craven.

Winston Cup

In 1993, Grissom ran an additional Cup race for Diamond Ridge Motorsports at New Hampshire International Speedway, finishing 29th. Grissom signed with Diamond Ridge to compete for Rookie of the Year honors in 1994. Despite struggles in qualifying, Grissom had three top-tens and was narrowly defeated by Jeff Burton for Rookie of the Year. Diamond Ridge also bought Grissom's Busch Series operation, and running a part-time schedule Grissom won twice and finished 26th in points in 1995. Grissom had four top-tens in the 1995 Cup season, finishing 27th in points; he started the season running in the top-10 points early on in the year. Grissom started 1996 off on a high note, winning the season-opening Busch Series race driving the WCW car, but he was released from Diamond Ridge after the Miller 400 race midway through the season.

1997 racecar

For 1997, Grissom signed on with Larry Hedrick Motorsports. Grissom started the year winning the outside pole for the Daytona 500. As the season progressed, he finished in the top-ten six times and finished a career-high 21st in points. After he struggled throughout the 1998 season, he was released from his ride and ended the season driving the No. 96 for American Equipment Racing.

Grissom's No. 41 Chevrolet had a major crash during the Primestar 500. Grissom's car slid into the inside wall and flipped on the roof. The gas tank was detached by the impact, which flew across the racetrack, spilling gasoline. Which later ignited a fire by friction with Mike Wallace's car. Grissom was taken to the infield medical center, and released 45 minutes later. The fire was extinguished and the racing resumed about an hour later with 44 laps remaining.

In 2009 Grissom drove this car for Johnny Davis's JD Motorsports. He started 43rd after crashing in qualifying and finished 43rd in the race after a vibration in car on lap 2.

After American Equipment closed its doors, Grissom started the 1999 season with LJ Racing in a four-race deal. After his contract was not renewed, he spent the season doing fill-in duty for Carroll Racing, Travis Carter Motorsports, and Hensley Motorsports, among others.

In 2000, Grissom was hired by Petty Enterprises to drive their No. 43 Dodge Ram in the Craftsman Truck Series. This year was best known as when Tony Roper turned into Grissom's bumper and hit the wall head-on at Texas Motor Speedway, then hitting Roper's truck as it slid down the track. Roper died of injuries he sustained from the crash the next morning. While he did not visit victory lane, Grissom finished in the top-five six times and finished tenth in points. He also ran in the Cup series, filling in for Kyle Petty in the No. 44 Hot Wheels Pontiac Grand Prix. After spending virtually all of 2001 on the sidelines, he was called back to Petty in 2002 to replace Buckshot Jones in the No. 44. In ten starts, he posted one top-ten at Richmond International Raceway. He has not run a Cup race since. That season, Grissom ran seven Nationwide Series races for Frank Cicci Racing, then spent 2003 at DCT Motorsports. After being released from DCT midway through 2004, he finished the year at GIC-Mixon Motorsports. He finished 28th in points that season.

Late career

In 2005, Grissom joined with Jay Robinson Racing to drive the No. 49 Advil Ford Taurus. Despite not finishing in the top-ten Grissom was able to land a 23rd-place finish in points. Unfortunately, he and his team came under controversy due to their tendency to qualify for races on the "Past Champion's Provisional", a starting spot set aside for past champions in the Busch Series who fail to qualify on time. Grissom ran two races for Robinson on a part-time basis in 2006, and drove the season opening races in 2007 and 2008, for Cicci Racing and MSRP Motorsports respectively. In 2009, he drove for Davis Motorsports in the No. 0 Chevy at Bristol.

Grissom's son Kyle is also a racing driver, having competed in the ARCA Racing Series.

Grissom's father and team owner, Wayne, died on August 21, 2021, at age 86.

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	Ref
1990	Moroso Racing	20	Olds	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCHl	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL 24								78th	91
1993	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	29	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	SON	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO 29	ATL							74th	76
1994				DAY DNQ	CAR 30	RCH 23	ATL 20	DAR 14	BRI 12	NWS DNQ	MAR 14	TAL 10	SON 35	CLT 39	DOV 27	POC 26	MCH 26	DAY 33	NHA 33	POC 29	TAL 18	IND DNQ	GLN 23	MCH 19	BRI 34	DAR 23	RCH 7	DOV 8	MAR 12	NWS 20	CLT 26	CAR 30	PHO 22	ATL 26						28th	2660
1995				DAY 7	CAR 6	RCH DNQ	ATL 18	DAR 6	BRI 11	NWS 5	MAR 20	TAL 37	SON 26	CLT 13	DOV 16	POC 18	MCH 20	DAY 43	NHA 28	POC 31	TAL 25	IND 30	GLN 22	MCH 29	BRI 22	DAR 27	RCH DNQ	DOV 25	MAR 26	NWS 31	CLT 41	CAR 14	PHO 32	ATL 39						27th	2757
1996				DAY 27	CAR 5	RCH 21	ATL 39	DAR 26	BRI 27	NWS 26	MAR DNQ	TAL 6	SON 25	CLT 16	DOV 42	POC 22	MCH 34	DAY	NHA	POC	TAL	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL						39th	1188
1997	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	41	Chevy	DAY 40	CAR 24	RCH 11	ATL 33	DAR DNQ	TEX 10	BRI 32	MAR 20	SON 17	TAL 41	CLT 11	DOV 24	POC 18	MCH 38	CAL 17	DAY 38	NHA 4	POC 30	IND 26	GLN 9	MCH 25	BRI 5	DAR 21	RCH 12	NHA 4	DOV 21	MAR 40	CLT 13	TAL 32	CAR 24	PHO 8	ATL 28					21st	3061
1998				DAY 28	CAR 20	LVS 39	ATL 16	DAR 19	BRI 16	TEX 10	MAR 25	TAL 16	CAL 30	CLT 32	DOV 32	RCH 39	MCH 41	POC 23	SON 10	NHA 43	POC 39	IND 23	GLN 38	MCH 33	BRI DNQ	NHA 25	DAR 20	RCH 17	DOV DNQ	MAR										34th	2215
	American Equipment Racing	96	Chevy																												CLT 32	TAL 36	DAY 29	PHO	CAR DNQ	ATL DNQ
1999	LJ Racing	91	Chevy	DAY DNQ	CAR 36	LVS 42	ATL DNQ	DAR	TEX	BRI	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA	POC																		50th	336
	Team SABCO	01	Chevy																				IND DNQ	GLN	MCH								TAL 28	CAR	PHO	HOM	ATL
	Melling Racing	9	Ford																							BRI 39	DAR 39	RCH 30	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT
2000	Petty Enterprises	44	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	RCH	CLT DNQ	DOV	MCH	POC	SON	DAY	NHA 36	POC	IND DNQ	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR 26	RCH 27	NHA DNQ	DOV 27	MAR DNQ	CLT DNQ	TAL 16	CAR DNQ	PHO DNQ	HOM DNQ	ATL DNQ			52nd	419
2002	Petty Enterprises	44	Dodge	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL 25	CAL 33	RCH 8	CLT 32	DOV 25	POC 26	MCH 40	SON	DAY DNQ	CHI 31	NHA 28	POC	IND	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	KAN	TAL	CLT	MAR 40	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM	44th	769

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1994	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	DNQ
1995			35	7
1996			26	27
1997	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	2	40
1998			41	28
1999	LJ Racing	Chevrolet	DNQ

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide 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	NNSC	Pts	Ref
1986	Grissom Racing Enterprises	31	Olds	DAY	CAR	HCY	MAR	BRI	DAR	SBO	LGY	JFC	DOV	CLT	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	RAL	OXF	SBO	HCY	LGY	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH 30	DOV	MAR 28	ROU	CLT	CAR	MAR					110th	0
1987		39	Chevy	DAY	HCY	MAR	DAR	BRI	LGY	SBO	CLT	DOV	IRP	ROU	JFC 11	OXF	SBO	HCY	RAL 32	LGY	ROU	BRI	JFC	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR												49th	197
			Olds																									CLT DNQ	CAR	MAR
1988			Ford	DAY 15	HCY	CAR 15	MAR 18	DAR 17	BRI 16	LNG 17	NZH 9	SBO 19	NSV 22	CLT 42	DOV 8	ROU 18	LAN 14	LVL 8	MYB 24	OXF 46																			13th	2969
			Chevy																		SBO 22	HCY 17
			Olds																				LNG 20	IRP 24	ROU 23	BRI 19	DAR 36	RCH 5	DOV 25	MAR 31	CLT 17	CAR 26	MAR 18
1989	Falcon Racing	9	Pontiac	DAY 17	CAR 38	MAR 11	HCY 11	DAR 27	BRI 4	NZH 39	SBO 25	LAN 22	NSV 20	CLT 16		ROU 18	LVL 10	VOL 18	MYB 15	SBO 14	HCY 16	DUB 3	IRP 6	ROU 12	BRI 21	DAR 26		DOV 21	MAR 20	CLT 9	CAR 29	MAR 21							12th	3108
		19													DOV 38												RCH 22
1990	Grissom Racing Enterprises	31	Olds	DAY 33	RCH DNQ	CAR 15	MAR 24	HCY 8	DAR 20	BRI 16	LAN 5	SBO 3	NZH 5*	HCY 7	CLT 27	DOV 21	ROU 22	VOL 4	MYB 11	OXF 8	NHA 23	SBO 5	DUB 1*	IRP 1*	ROU 17	BRI 3	DAR 16	RCH 2*	DOV 7	MAR 21	CLT 32	NHA 26	CAR 1	MAR 1					3rd	3982
	Ling Racing	66	Olds		RCH 25
1991	Grissom Racing Enterprises	31	Olds	DAY 25	RCH 21	CAR 33	MAR 6	VOL 9	HCY 18	DAR 37	BRI DNQ	LAN 26	SBO 5	NZH 2	CLT 20	DOV 8	ROU 12	HCY 5	MYB 3	GLN 9	OXF 9	NHA 3	SBO 1	DUB 6	IRP 19	ROU 4	BRI 24	DAR 16	RCH 25	DOV 23	CLT 29	NHA 25	CAR 16	MAR 20					10th	3689
	Teague-Weiss Racing	38	Olds								BRI 28
1992	Grissom Racing Enterprises	31	Olds	DAY 10	CAR 7	RCH 13	ATL 17	MAR 21	DAR 6	BRI 21	HCY 6*	LAN 15	DUB 4	NZH 22	CLT 29	DOV 12	ROU 20	MYB 11	GLN 11	VOL 1	NHA 43	TAL 16	IRP 21	ROU 13	MCH 18	NHA 25	BRI 11	DAR 19	RCH 31	DOV 14	CLT 33	MAR 11	CAR 28	HCY 9					12th	3545
1993				DAY 11																																			1st	3846
			Chevy		CAR 4	RCH 17	DAR 14	BRI 3	HCY 1	ROU 3	MAR 8	NZH 2	CLT 26	DOV 17	MYB 5	GLN 13	MLW 1	TAL 25	IRP 20	MCH 4	NHA 4	BRI 7	DAR 5	RCH 10	DOV 7	ROU 27	CLT 28	MAR 2	CAR 7	HCY 9	ATL 9
1994				DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	MAR	DAR	HCY	BRI	ROU	NHA	NZH	CLT 32	DOV 35	MYB	GLN 18	MLW	SBO	TAL 22	HCY 29	IRP	MCH 19	BRI	DAR 32	RCH 5	DOV 39	CLT 31	MAR	CAR 31								43rd	921
1995	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	29	Chevy	DAY 19	CAR	RCH	ATL	NSV	DAR 6*	BRI 1	HCY	NHA	NZH	CLT 13	DOV 30	MYB	GLN 6	MLW	TAL 29	SBO	IRP	MCH 39	BRI 1	DAR 11	RCH 4	DOV 4	CLT 27	CAR 6	HOM 38										26th	1816
1996				DAY 1*	CAR 24	RCH 16	ATL 4	NSV	DAR 7	BRI 5	HCY	NZH	CLT 21	DOV 35	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NHA	TAL	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR	HOM										45th	1005
1997	Labonte Motorsports	5	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	LVS	DAR	HCY	TEX	BRI	NSV	TAL	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH 39	DOV	CLT	CAL	CAR	HOM						114th	46
1998	Spencer Motor Ventures	12	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	NSV	DAR	BRI	TEX	HCY	TAL	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	RCH	PPR	GLN	MLW	MYB	CAL	SBO	IRP	MCH	BRI 27	DAR	RCH QL†	DOV										77th	193
	ST Motorsports	59	Chevy																											CLT 19	GTY	CAR	ATL	HOM
1999	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Pontiac	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	TEX DNQ																														52nd	855
	BACE Motorsports	74	Chevy						TEX 40	NSV
	Spencer Motor Ventures	12	Chevy								BRI 22	TAL	CAL
	AllCar Motorsports	22	Chevy											NHA 14	RCH 36	NZH	CLT DNQ	DOV 39	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB				MCH 30	BRI DNQ	DAR	RCH	DOV
	Labonte Motorsports	44	Chevy																				PPR 30	GTY	IRP
	HVP Motorsports	63	Chevy																												CLT 35
	Jarrett/Favre Motorsports	11	Ford																													CAR 27	MEM 13	PHO 36	HOM 41
2000	Petty Enterprises	8	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSV	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	CLT	DOV	SBO	MYB	GLN	MLW	NZH	PPR	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	CAR 37	MEM	PHO	HOM				109th	52
2001		45		DAY 26	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	KEN	MLW	GLN	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM			151st	0
2002	Frank Cicci Racing	34	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH 30	BRI 41	DAR	RCH 22	DOV 29	KAN 37	CLT 23	MEM	ATL	CAR	PHO	HOM 31		56th	502
2003	DLP Racing	07	Chevy	DAY	CAR	LVS	DAR	BRI	TEX	TAL	NSH 40	CAL	RCH	GTY	NZH	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW																			67th	482
	DCT Motorsports	61	Pontiac																		DAY 29	CHI	NHA	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI 26	DAR
			Chevy																										RCH 14	DOV	KAN
		36																														CLT 28	MEM	ATL	PHO	CAR	HOM 30
2004				DAY 25	CAR 11	LVS 32	DAR 24	BRI 15	TEX	NSH	TAL 18	CAL	GTY	RCH	NZH 20	CLT 38	DOV	NSH																					28th	2011
	GIC-Mixon Motorsports	24	Chevy																KEN 20	MLW 24	DAY	CHI 28	NHA 23	PPR 30	IRP 28	MCH 43	BRI 25	CAL 43	RCH 26	DOV 33	KAN 36	CLT 37	MEM 41	ATL 39		DAR 24	HOM 36
		93																																	PHO 25
2005	Jay Robinson Racing	49	Ford	DAY 28	CAL 37	MXC	LVS 41	ATL 40	NSH 24	BRI 24	TEX 29	PHO 27	TAL 16	DAR 36	RCH 32	CLT 40	DOV 30	NSH 39	KEN 27	MLW 38	DAY 23	CHI 43	NHA 30	PPR 33	GTY 34	IRP 27	GLN 30	MCH 35	BRI 36	CAL 40	RCH 25	DOV 28	KAN 32	CLT DNQ	MEM 37	TEX DNQ	PHO 38	HOM DNQ	23rd	2071
2006				DAY 21	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	DAY	CHI	NHA	MAR	GTY	IRP	GLN	MCH	BRI 40	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	98th	148
2007	Frank Cicci Racing	34	Chevy	DAY 25	CAL	MXC	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	133rd	88
2008	MSRP Motorsports	90	Chevy	DAY 43	CAL	LVS	ATL	BRI	NSH	TEX	PHO	MXC	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	CGV	GLN	MCH	BRI	CAL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	148th	34
2009	JD Motorsports	0	Chevy	DAY	CAL	LVS	BRI 43	TEX	NSH	PHO	TAL	RCH	DAR	CLT	DOV	NSH	KEN	MLW	NHA	DAY	CHI	GTY	IRP	IOW	GLN	MCH	BRI	CGV	ATL	RCH	DOV	KAN	CAL	CLT	MEM	TEX	PHO	HOM	149th	34
† – Qualified for Jimmy Spencer.

Craftsman Truck Series

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	NCTC	Pts	Ref
2000	Petty Enterprises	43	Dodge	DAY 10	HOM 11	PHO 7	MMR 4	MAR 5	PIR 8	GTY 6	MEM 5	PPR 21	EVG 26	TEX 15	KEN 18	GLN 12	MLW 4	NHA 14	NZH 4	MCH 16	IRP 11	NSV 5	CIC 24	RCH 9	DOV 13	TEX 28	CAL 18		10th	3113
2005	Brevak Racing	31	Dodge	DAY	CAL	ATL DNQ	MAR	GTY	MFD	CLT	DOV	TEX	MCH	MLW	KAN	KEN	MEM	IRP	NSH	BRI	RCH	NHA	LVS	MAR	ATL	TEX	PHO	HOM	N/A	-

External links

• Steve Grissom driver statistics at Racing-Reference