"Tiger" Tom Pistone (born March 17, 1929) is an American former NASCAR Grand National driver from Chicago.[1] He made his Grand National debut in 1955.[1] He won two races and finished 6th in championship points in the 1959 season for Carl Rupert, his best season statistically.[1] He was away from NASCAR in 1963 and 1964, but returned in 1965 to drive in 33 races for Glen Sweet and Emory Gilliam, a career high, but only 8 top tens and a 32nd-place points finish came of it.[1] His final and 130th cup race came in 1968.[1] He won two NASCAR Convertible Division races.[1]
| Tom Pistone | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pistone at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2009 | |||||||
| Born | March 17, 1929 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 130 races run over 11 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 6th (1959) | ||||||
| First race | 1955 Wilkes 160 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
| Last race | 1968 Tidewater 250 (Hampton) | ||||||
| First win | 1959 Northern 300 (Trenton) | ||||||
| Last win | 1959 Richmond 200 (Richmond) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1972 Fun Sun 200 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 1972 Fun Sun 200 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Convertible Division career | |||||||
| 34 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 21st (1956) | ||||||
| First race | 1956 Race #1 (Daytona Beach & Road Course) | ||||||
| Last race | 1959 Race #15 (Charlotte Fairgrounds) | ||||||
| First win | 1956 Race #22 (Soldier Field) | ||||||
| Last win | 1959 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| |||||||
| Statistics current as of October 27, 2013. | |||||||
In 1960, he wore a life preserver and an oxygen tube in his car while racing at Daytona for fear of running into the lake in the middle of the speedway and drowning. This happened after Tommy Irwin ran into the lake in the first qualifying race. Irwin did not drown, however.[2]
On October 17, 2010, Pistone was one of the year's 15 inductees to the Racers' Reunion Hall of Fame, located at Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville NC.[3]
Still active in racing at age 81, Pistone has a thriving race car parts business in Charlotte, NC, and can often be found mentoring young drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He prepares and crews for several Legends and Bandolero drivers in the Winter Heat and Summer Shootout series.[4] His grandson, Chase Pistone, races in the Camping World Truck Series.
In April 2011, Pistone appeared on an episode of The History Channel's American Pickers in which he sold items to be placed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Driving statistics". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ Dykes, Dan. Yet Another Dose of Racin’ Remembrances, Racing Through Time, Volume 1, Number 41, October 14, 2009, Retrieved 2010-03-20
- ^ Beck, Rhonda (November 23, 2010). "Museum works to preserve racing history". www.thatsracin.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-25.
- ^ "Home". pistonetigertom.com.
- ^ "NASCAR Challenge". Top NASCAR Races. Season 2. 2011-04-11. The History Channel.
External links
edit- Official website
- Tom Pistone driver statistics at Racing-Reference