Ben Hess

Last updated
Ben Hess
Born (1964-12-20) December 20, 1964 (age 60)
Wadsworth, Ohio
NASCAR Cup Series career
12 races run over 7 years
Best finish37th (1989)
First race 1988 AC Delco 500 (Rockingham)
Last race 1995 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
WinsTop tens Poles
000
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
9 races run over 4 years
Best finish58th (1990)
First race 1982 Mountain Dew 300 (Hickory)
Last race 1990 Pontiac 200 (Darlington)
WinsTop tens Poles
010

Ben Hess (born December 20, 1964) is an American stock car racing driver. Now retired, he was a regular on the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) series in the early 1990s, and also competed in twelve NASCAR Winston Cup Series races between 1988 and 1995.

Contents

Racing career

A native of Wadsworth, Ohio, [1] Hess began racing in 1982; in 1983, he sold a service station that he owned to raise money for his racing career. He moved from competing primarily on dirt tracks to the ARCA series in 1986. [2] He made his first start in the series in 1988; between 1988 and 1996, he competed in 63 races, winning four times. [3] Hess won the ARCA 200-mile (320 km) event at Daytona International Speedway, the series' most prestigious race, in 1989 and 1991. [4] In 2001 he made his 64th and final start in the series at Daytona International Speedway, finishing 37th after an accident. [3]

Between 1988 and 1995 Hess made twelve starts in NASCAR's top series, then known as the Winston Cup Series; his first race was at North Carolina Motor Speedway in October 1988, where he finished 20th in a family-owned car; he would run for his family team in ten of the twelve Cup Series races he qualified for. [5] He would also attempt races for owners Henley Gray, Jim Spicuzza, Tom Winkle, and Sadler Brothers Racing, [6] qualifying in a single race for Winkle in 1990. [5] While racing for the Sadler Brothers, Hess was among 86 drivers who attempted to qualify for the 1994 Brickyard 400; [6] after failing to make the top 20 in first-round qualifying, he was injured in a practice crash while preparing for the second round of time trials and was forced to withdraw from the event. [7] Hess would make his final start in the Winston Cup Series at the 1995 Daytona 500, racing for RaDiUs Motorsports; [8] Hess finished 28th in the race, four laps down. [5]

Hess also ran in nine NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division races between 1982 and 1990, posting a best finish of ninth in his first start during the series' inaugural season of 1982 at Hickory Motor Speedway. [9] In 1988, he won a qualifying race in the series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. [10]

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
YearTeamNo.Make12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031NWCCPtsRef
1988 Hess Racing40 Olds DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD POC MCH DAY POC
DNQ		 TAL GLN MCH
DNQ		 BRI DAR RCH
DNQ		 DOV
DNQ		 MAR CLT
DNQ		 NWS CAR
20		 PHO ATL 67th103 [11]
1989 DAY
22		 CAR
22		 ATL
17		 RCH
24		 DAR
23		 BRI
DNQ		 NWS
15		 MAR
17		 TAL
22		 CLT
20		 DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 37th921 [12]
1990 Winkle Motorsports 48 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH
31		 BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 88th70 [13]
1992 Gray Racing 62 Ford DAY
DNQ		 CAR RCH 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 ATL NA- [14]
1993 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL
DNQ		 SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA- [15]
1994 Sadler Brothers Racing 95 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL
DNQ		 IND
DNQ		 GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ		 CAR PHO ATL NA- [16]
1995 RaDiUs Motorsports 66 Ford DAY
28		 CAR
DNQ		 RCH
DNQ		 ATL
DNQ		 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 59th79 [17]
Daytona 500
YearTeamManufacturerStartFinish
1989 Hess Racing Oldsmobile 3222
1992 Gray Racing Ford DNQ
1995 RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 2628

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
YearTeamNo.Make12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031NBSCPtsRef
1982 DAY RCH BRI MAR DAR HCY SBO CRW RCH LGY DOV HCY
9		 CLT ASH HCY SBO CAR CRW SBO HCY LGY IRP BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT HCY MAR 112th138 [18]
1988 Hess Racing4 Olds DAY HCY CAR MAR DAR BRI LNG NZH SBO NSV CLT DOV ROU LAN LVL MYB OXF SBO HCY LNG IRP ROU BRI DAR
22		 RCH DOV MAR 59th270 [19]
Pontiac CLT
20
04 Olds CAR
22		 MAR
1989 40 DAY
22		 CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI NZH SBO LAN NSV CLT DOV ROU LVL VOL MYB SBO HCY DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR 83rd97 [20]
1990 Falcon Racing 9 Chevy DAY
DNQ		 RCH CAR
33		 MAR
21		 HCY
25		 DAR
22		 BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NHA CAR MAR 58th349 [21]

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References

  1. ↑ "Hess wins ARCA 500K". The News-Press . Fort Myers, FL. March 19, 1989. p. 9. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  2. ↑ Woolford, Dave (June 19, 1992). "Slim, fast: Hess has Toledo backing". Toledo Blade . pp. 21, 23. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  3. 1 2 "Ben Hess- ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  4. ↑ "Daytona, an ARCA tradition since '64". ARCA Racing. February 9, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  5. 1 2 3 "Ben Hess – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  6. 1 2 "Ben Hess – NASCAR Winston Cup / Nextel Cup / Sprint Cup / Monster Energy Cup DNQs or WDs". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  7. ↑ Siano, Joseph (August 5, 1994). "Nascar Beats the Heavy Brickyard Traffic". The New York Times . New York. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  8. ↑ "ARCA: Daytona opening practice". Motorsport.com. February 9, 1995. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  9. ↑ "Ben Hess – NASCAR Xfinity Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media Network. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  10. ↑ "Elliott hopes to hold things together". The Times . Shreveport, LA. October 9, 1988. p. 14. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  11. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1989 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Ben Hess – 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
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