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Gary Collins (racing driver)

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Gary Collins
Born (1960-01-24) January 24, 1960 (age 64)
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 4 years
Best finish79th (1994)
First race1988 Checker 500 (Phoenix)
Last race1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
4 races run over 1 year
Best finish42nd (1995)
First race1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race1995 Jerr Dan/Nelson 150 (Monroe)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0

Gary Collins (born January 24, 1960 in Bakersfield, California) is an American stock car racing driver. Now retired, he competed primarily in the NASCAR Winston West Series, however he also ran selected races in the Winston Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series, and was among the drivers selected to compete in the first NASCAR exhibition race held in Australia in 1988.

Racing career

The son of Marion Collins, owner of Mesa Marin Raceway,[1] Collins ran a total of four NASCAR Winston Cup Series races in his career; all four were combination races with the Winston West Series. His Winston Cup Series debut came at Phoenix International Raceway in the 1988 Checker 500, where he started 39th and finished 33rd in a family-owned Oldsmobile. He would run two more races at Phoenix, in 1990 and 1991, posting a best finish of 33rd in the 1990 event; his final Winston Cup start came at Sears Point International Raceway in the 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300, where he finished 40th while driving a Ford for Venable Racing.[2]

Collins was one of the drivers selected to compete in the Goodyear NASCAR 500, the first exhibition race held by NASCAR in Australia;[3] he set the tenth fastest time in qualifying,[4] and finished 19th in the event, crashing out on lap 80.[5]

During the winter of 1993,[6] Collins and his family-owned race team constructed the first-ever prototype NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman (now Camping World Truck Series) chassis, demonstrating that the concept, developed by Collins in conjunction with off-road racing veterans Scoop Vessels and Jim Venable, was feasible.[1] He was one of the drivers selected to compete in the four preliminary events that established the viability of the SuperTruck Series; in the second, held at Saugus Speedway, he was flagged the winner of the event,[7] when the race was shortened five laps before its scheduled finish due to rain.[8] In 1995, Collins also ran four of the first six SuperTruck Series events in a family-owned No. 74 Chevrolet, posting a best finish of tenth in his final race in the series at Evergreen Speedway.[9]

In NASCAR's lower-level series, in the Winston West Series Collins won two races of 43 he competed in between 1988 and 2001; his wins came at Mesa Marin Raceway in 1994, driving for Venable, and at Tucson Speedway in 1997 while running for his family team.[10] his best points finish in the series came in 1995, when he finished 15th in the final standings, having competed in 7 of 15 events.[11] Collins also ran a limited number of Featherlite Southwest Tour events, running eighteen races between 1987 and 1997, with a best finish of third at Mesa Marin in 1989.[12]

Following his racing career, Collins joined NTS Motorsports, becoming director of competition for the team's efforts in the SRL Southwest Tour, the successor to the Featherlite Southwest Tour.[1]

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 NSCC Pts
1988 Collins Motorsports 24 Olds DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO
33 		ATL 80th 64
1990 Collins Motorsports 29 Olds DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO
33 		ATL 91st 64
1991 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO
42 		ATL 91st 37
1994 Venable Racing 20 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON
40 		CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 79th 43

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
1995 Collins Motorsports 74 Chevy PHO
20 		TUS
21 		SGS MMR
20 		POR EVG
10 		I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 42nd 440

References

  1. ^ a b c Pryson, Mike (September 17, 2015). "Gary Collins: The father of NASCAR trucks is true racing pioneer". Autoweek. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  2. ^ "Gary Collins - Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  3. ^ Melling, Brian (January 17, 1998). "NASCAR racing cars begin trek to Australia in North Charleston". Sunday Post/Courier. Charleston, SC. p. 13C.
  4. ^ "Scorecard". The News-Press. Fort Myers, FL. February 27, 1988. p. 32.
  5. ^ "1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  6. ^ "Mesa Marin's driving force". The Bakersfield Californian. Bakersfield, CA. February 10, 2006. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  7. ^ Esper, Darin (September 11, 1994). "SAUGUS SPEEDWAY : Collins Wins Exhibition for SuperTrucks". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  8. ^ "1994 Supertruck Saugus 20". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  9. ^ "Gary Collins - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  10. ^ "Gary Collins - NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  11. ^ "NASCAR Winston West Series standings for 1995". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  12. ^ "Gary Collins - NASCAR Southwest Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
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