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Chad Little

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Chad Little
Little in 1998
Born (1963-04-29) April 29, 1963 (age 61)
Spokane, Washington
Achievements1987 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion
Awards1986 Winston West Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
217 races run over 16 years
2002 position77th
Best finish15th (1998)
First race1986 Budweiser 400 (Riverside)
Last race2002 MBNA Platinum 400 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 16 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
134 races run over 9 years
2002 position69th
Best finish2nd (1995)
First race1992 Fay's 150 (Watkins Glen)
Last race2002 Sam's Town 300 (Las Vegas)
First win1995 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last win1995 Ford Credit 300 (South Boston)
Wins Top tens Poles
6 44 1
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
1995 position69th
Best finish69th (1995)
First race1995 Fas Mart Supertruck Shootout (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0

Chad Little (born April 29, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He holds a degree in marketing from Washington State University, and a law degree from Gonzaga University. While attending Washington State University he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

Little currently works at NASCAR as a managing director for technical inspection and officiating. Little had previously been director of the Camping World Truck Series, as well as the director of racing development for Mexico as well as the Whelen Modified Tour.[1] He keeps regular office hours in the sanctioning body's research and development center in Concord, North Carolina. He also was a part-time studio analyst for Speed Channel. He is the father of Jesse Little.

Early years

Little began racing the short tracks in Washington in the mid-1980s. He soon began racing in the American Speed Association West late model series, the NASCAR Northwest Tour Series and the NASCAR Winston West Series. One year after being named the NASCAR Winston West Rookie of the Year, Little clinched that series' championship in 1987.

Little made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut in 1986 at Riverside International Raceway, driving the No. 28 Ford owned by George Jefferson. He started 25th and finished 13th. He ran the other Riverside race that year, but finished 35th after suffering engine failure. He ran both the Riverside races the next year, finishing 15th both times in the No. 95 Coors Ford.

The following year, Little was eligible for NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors and signed to drive the No. 90 for Junie Donlavey. However, his best finish was an eighteenth, at the Coca-Cola 600, and he was released early in the season. In 1989, he missed United Airlines Flight 232. About a third of the passengers aboard the flight perished during its emergency landing in Iowa. In 1990, Little and his father Chuck teamed to field their own entry, the No. 19 Ford sponsored by Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce. He ran eighteen races and had seven top-twenty finishes, garnering a 33rd-place points finish. The following season, Little made his first full-time attempt at winning the Cup championship, qualifying for 28 out of 29 races and posting a tenth-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing 27th in points.

Busch Series

In 1992, Little signed to drive the No. 66 TropArctic Ford for Cale Yarborough, but was released six races into the season. Later he caught on to the No. 9 Ford fielded by Melling Racing, and had an eighth-place finish at Talladega. He also made his Busch Series debut that year, starting and finishing 29th in the No. 37 Maxx Race Cards Oldsmobile at Watkins Glen International.

In 1993, Little, along with Greg Pollex and former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, formed Mark Rypien Motorsports, running the No. 23 If It's Paper-Bayer Select Ford on a limited basis that year, posting a second-place finish at Dover International Speedway. The next year, the team went full-time and Little had ten top-five finishes, finishing third in points. He also drove the No. 97 Ford at the Daytona 500 that season, finishing 29th. In 1995, Little broke through and won six races during the course of the season, including the first two races of the season, at Daytona and Rockingham, and finished second in points, behind Johnny Benson. His other wins were at Loudon, Charlotte, Talladega and South Boston. Little did not win a race the following season, however, and slipped to sixth in points. He also ran nine Cup races, five in Pollex's No. 97 Sterling Cowboy Pontiac Grand Prix, and another four for Diamond Ridge Motorsports, posting a twentieth-place finish at Darlington Raceway,

Winston Cup

Little's 1997 Winston Cup car

In 1997, Little returned to the Cup Series, running the No. 97 Pontiac for Pollex with a sponsorship from John Deere. He finished seventh at the Food City 500, but the team struggled to make races. Late in the year, Jack Roush purchased the team to be added to his stable for 1998. Little ended 1997 36th in points.

In 1998, Little drove for Roush full-time with Jeff Hammond as crew chief. Running 32 out of 33 races, he had seven top-tens, including a second-place run at Texas, finishing behind Mark Martin, and finished a career-high 15th in points. He was unable to duplicate that performance in 1999, posting just five top-tens and finishing 23rd in points. After just one top-ten in 2000, Roush announced Little would not drive the 97 the following season. Late in the year, Little was pulled out of the car and replaced by his successor, Kurt Busch with Hammond still as crew chief. During the season, he also ran a handful of races in the Busch Series. Originally running the No. 30 for Innovative Motorsports, he was released and posted a top-ten in a one-race deal with PPI Motorsports.

Little had 217 career Cup starts in all.

Final years as driver

In 2001, Little signed to drive the No. 74 Staff America Chevrolet Monte Carlo for BACE Motorsports in the Busch Series . He had six top-tens and finished ninth in points. He started off 2002 running for BACE, but the team closed after three races due to sponsor issues. He made his final Cup start in a BACE car at Dover that year, finishing 33rd. He has not run NASCAR since.

Post-driving career

In 2004, Chad called several Truck and Xfinity races from the booth

Chad later provided competition support for the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series, and became the tour director for the Whelen Modified Tour.

Starting in 2013, Chad took on the role of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series managing director.[2] On February 2, 2015, NASCAR announced that Little would be moving into a new role, as a managing director of technical inspection and officiating. His role as director was replaced by another former driver, Elton Sawyer.[3]

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
1986 Jefferson Racing 28 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD
13 		POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD
35 		70th 182 [4]
1987 95 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC RSD
15 		MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR RSD
15 		ATL 60th 236 [5]
1988 Stoke Racing 19 Ford DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD
23 		POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN 45th 405 [6]
Autosports Enterprises MCH
27 		BRI DAR RCH DOV
15 		MAR CLT NWS CAR
Jefferson Racing PHO
19 		ATL
1989 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAY
36 		CAR ATL
35 		RCH
22 		DAR
37 		BRI NWS MAR
26 		TAL
34 		CLT
18 		DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH
26 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 38th 602 [7]
1990 Little Racing 19 Ford DAY
DNQ 		RCH
16 		CAR ATL
19 		DAR
16 		BRI
DNQ 		NWS MAR TAL
15 		CLT
24 		DOV SON
37 		POC
18 		MCH DAY
27 		POC TAL
19 		GLN MCH
22 		BRI
DNQ 		DAR
35 		RCH
32 		DOV MAR
17 		NWS
24 		CLT
40 		CAR
25 		ATL
27 		33rd 1632 [8]
Moroso Racing 20 Olds PHO
21
1991 Little Racing 19 Ford DAY
14 		RCH
16 		CAR
22 		ATL
18 		DAR
36 		BRI
14 		NWS
DNQ 		MAR
27 		TAL
38 		CLT
25 		DOV
29 		SON
28 		POC
23 		MCH
26 		DAY
29 		POC
12 		TAL
12 		GLN
11 		MCH
25 		BRI
14 		DAR
36 		RCH
34 		DOV
16 		MAR
24 		NWS
21 		CLT
10 		CAR
23 		PHO
30 		ATL
21 		27th 2678 [9]
1992 Cale Yarborough Motorsports 66 Ford DAY
39 		CAR
22 		RCH
23 		ATL
23 		DAR
33 		BRI
23 		NWS MAR TAL CLT 31st 1669 [10]
Melling Racing 9 Ford DOV
26 		SON POC
37 		MCH
21 		DAY
24 		POC
17 		TAL
8 		GLN MCH
17 		BRI DAR
34 		RCH
27 		DOV
29 		MAR NWS CLT
33 		CAR
24 		PHO ATL
17
1993 DAY
24 		CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT
34 		DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS 51st 216 [11]
Mark Rypien Motorsports 19 Ford CLT
33 		CAR PHO ATL
1994 97 DAY
29 		CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 68th 81 [12]
1995 DAY
DNQ 		CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT
42 		DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL
18 		IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ 		CAR PHO
DNQ 		ATL 53rd 146 [13]
1996 Pontiac DAY
33 		CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL
DNQ 		CLT
43 		DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL
DNQ 		IND GLN MCH
36 		CLT
22 		CAR PHO ATL
22 		44th 627 [14]
JTC Racing 45 Chevy SON
DNQ
Diamond Ridge Motorsports 29 Chevy BRI
23 		DAR
20 		RCH
40 		DOV
41 		MAR
DNQ 		NWS
1997 Mark Rypien Motorsports 97 Pontiac DAY
DNQ 		CAR
DNQ 		RCH
34 		ATL
19 		DAR
27 		TEX
26 		BRI
8 		MAR
42 		SON
DNQ 		TAL
34 		CLT
DNQ 		DOV
31 		POC
DNQ 		MCH
25 		CAL
19 		DAY
42 		NHA
30 		POC
28 		IND
42 		GLN
42 		36th 2081 [15]
Roush Racing MCH
42 		BRI
20 		DAR
11 		RCH
40 		NHA
28 		DOV
29 		MAR
35 		CLT
23 		TAL
40 		CAR
16 		PHO
25 		ATL
18
1998 Ford DAY
7 		CAR
21 		LVS
10 		ATL
DNQ 		DAR
17 		BRI
35 		TEX
2 		MAR
16 		TAL
34 		CAL
6 		CLT
35 		DOV
37 		RCH
13 		MCH
16 		POC
30 		SON
23 		NHA
22 		POC
16 		IND
28 		GLN
16 		MCH
10 		BRI
23 		NHA
14 		DAR
18 		RCH
12 		DOV
17 		MAR
36 		CLT
8 		TAL
8 		DAY
20 		PHO
20 		CAR
40 		ATL
11 		15th 3423 [16]
1999 DAY
9 		CAR
21 		LVS
14 		ATL
9 		DAR
28 		TEX
13 		BRI
24 		MAR
17 		TAL
42 		CAL
22 		RCH
35 		CLT
24 		DOV
28 		MCH
28 		POC
32 		SON
16 		DAY
29 		NHA
24 		POC
22 		IND
43 		GLN
14 		MCH
6 		BRI
30 		DAR
20 		RCH
42 		NHA
28 		DOV
7 		MAR
31 		CLT
18 		TAL
36 		CAR
21 		PHO
16 		HOM
39 		ATL
6 		23rd 3193 [17]
2000 DAY
23 		CAR
18 		LVS
19 		ATL
6 		DAR
15 		BRI
23 		TEX
13 		MAR
27 		TAL
25 		CAL
15 		RCH
39 		CLT
20 		DOV
20 		MCH
32 		POC
17 		SON
25 		DAY
16 		NHA
42 		POC
20 		IND
19 		GLN
12 		MCH
22 		BRI
30 		DAR
21 		RCH
29 		NHA
33 		DOV MAR CLT TAL
18 		CAR PHO HOM ATL 32nd 2634 [18]
2002 BACE Motorsports 74 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL
DNQ 		RCH CLT
DNQ 		DOV
33 		POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 77th 64 [19]
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1989 Donlavey Racing Ford 28 36
1990 Little Racing Ford DNQ
1991 30 14
1992 Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 14 39
1993 Melling Racing Ford 17 24
1994 Mark Rypien Motorsports Ford 17 29
1995 DNQ
1996 Pontiac 30 33
1997 DNQ
1998 Roush Racing Ford 21 7
1999 26 9
2000 29 23

Busch Series

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 NBGNC Pts Ref
1992 Little Racing 37 Olds DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB NZH CLT DOV ROU MYB GLN
29 		VOL NHA TAL IRP ROU MCH NHA BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR HCY 120th 76 [20]
1993 Mark Rypien Motorsports 23 Ford DAY CAR RCH DAR
33 		BRI HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT
7 		DOV
2 		MYB GLN MLW TAL
29 		IRP
37 		MCH
33 		NHA
37 		BRI
22 		DAR
3 		RCH DOV ROU CLT
14 		MAR CAR
41 		HCY ATL
23 		32nd 1171 [21]
1994 DAY
3 		CAR
15 		RCH
22 		ATL
14 		MAR
27 		DAR
18 		HCY
22 		BRI
24 		ROU
15 		NHA
5 		NZH
11 		CLT
34 		DOV
17 		MYB
5 		GLN
8 		MLW
7 		SBO
5 		TAL
6 		HCY
8 		IRP
5 		MCH
2 		BRI
12 		DAR
5 		RCH
14 		DOV
15 		CLT
4 		MAR
5 		CAR
5 		3rd 3662 [22]
1995 DAY
1 		CAR
1* 		RCH
32 		ATL
29* 		NSV
2 		DAR
4 		BRI
3 		HCY
23* 		NHA
1 		NZH
19 		CLT
1 		DOV
9 		MYB
32 		GLN
2* 		MLW
8 		TAL
1 		SBO
1* 		IRP
20 		MCH
21 		BRI
4 		DAR
40 		RCH
16 		DOV
13 		CLT
34 		CAR
35 		HOM
26 		2nd 3284 [23]
1996 Pontiac DAY
19 		CAR
33 		RCH
20 		ATL
15 		NSV
15 		DAR
37 		BRI
12 		HCY
11 		NZH
11 		CLT
13 		DOV
29 		SBO
8 		MYB
16 		GLN
8 		MLW
21 		NHA
32 		TAL
21 		IRP
27 		MCH
11 		BRI
25 		DAR
12 		RCH
3 		DOV
9 		CLT
4 		CAR
10 		HOM
7 		5th 2984 [24]
1998 Roush Racing 9 Ford DAY CAR LVS NSV DAR BRI TEX HCY TAL NHA NZH CLT DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR
30 		RCH DOV CLT GTY CAR ATL HOM 108th 73 [25]
2000 Innovative Motorsports 30 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX
DNQ 		NSV TAL
DNQ 		CAL
12 		RCH
DNQ 		NHA CLT
31 		DOV
DNQ 		SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP 66th 398 [26]
PPI Motorsports 97 Ford MCH
10 		BRI DAR RCH DOV
BACE Motorsports 74 Chevy CLT
DNQ 		CAR
32 		MEM PHO HOM
DNQ
2001 DAY
9 		CAR
15 		LVS
16 		ATL
15 		DAR
24 		BRI
12 		TEX
31 		NSH
27 		TAL
11 		CAL
18 		RCH
20 		NHA
14 		NZH
20 		CLT
21 		DOV
11 		KEN
6 		MLW
20 		GLN
16 		CHI
17 		GTY
13 		PPR
16 		IRP
3 		MCH
16 		BRI
9 		DAR
13 		RCH
6 		DOV
4 		KAN
36 		CLT
17 		MEM
16 		PHO
13 		CAR
17 		HOM
27 		9th 3846 [27]
2002 DAY
14 		CAR
24 		LVS
21 		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 69th 312 [28]

SuperTruck Series

NASCAR SuperTruck 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 NSTSC Pts Ref
1995 RPM Racing 11 Ford PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH
32 		MAR
DNQ 		NWS
DNQ 		SON MMR PHO 69th 162 [29]

References

  1. ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2012-12-19/nascar-camping-world-truck-series-chad-little-director-wayne-auton-nationwide
  2. ^ "NASCAR revises competition personnel structure". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. ^ "NASCAR moves Chad Little to inspection role; Elton Sawyer to lead Truck Series". Fox Sports. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  4. ^ "Chad Little – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  5. ^ "Chad Little – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  6. ^ "Chad Little – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  7. ^ "Chad Little – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "Chad Little – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Chad Little – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  10. ^ "Chad Little – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  11. ^ "Chad Little – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  12. ^ "Chad Little – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  13. ^ "Chad Little – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "Chad Little – 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  15. ^ "Chad Little – 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  16. ^ "Chad Little – 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  17. ^ "Chad Little – 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  18. ^ "Chad Little – 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  19. ^ "Chad Little – 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  20. ^ "Chad Little – 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  21. ^ "Chad Little – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  22. ^ "Chad Little – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  23. ^ "Chad Little – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  24. ^ "Chad Little – 1996 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  25. ^ "Chad Little – 1998 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  26. ^ "Chad Little – 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  27. ^ "Chad Little – 2001 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  28. ^ "Chad Little – 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
  29. ^ "Chad Little – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
Achievements
Preceded by NASCAR Winston West Series champion
1987 		Succeeded by
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