Andy Kirby

Summary

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Andy Kirby (November 30, 1961 – July 18, 2002) was an American former stock car racing driver, most notably in NASCAR. Kirby did not initially begin with NASCAR, where his career would end. Instead, Kirby quickly earned his reputation as a motorcycle racer in the Southeastern United States. Kirby would eventually become friends with NASCAR Busch Series driver Chad Chaffin, who in turn would assist Kirby in furthering his career.

Andy Kirby
Born(1961-11-30)November 30, 1961
White House, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJuly 18, 2002(2002-07-18) (aged 40)
White House, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of deathMotorcycle accident
Achievements1994, 1996, 1997 Nashville Speedway USA Track Champion
AwardsFairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame (2001)
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
28 races run over 4 years
Best finish48th (2002)
First race1999 Alltel 200 (Rockingham)
Last race2002 Kroger 300 (Kentucky)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0
Statistics current as of November 2, 2013.

Rise to National Fame edit

Kirby turned heads by winning three track championships (1994, 1996, and 1997) at the highly competitive Nashville Speedway USA. He raced weekly against Chaffin (the 1993 and 1995 champion).

Busch Series career edit

Owner Larry Lockamy offered Kirby a ride in his #28 Williams Travel Centers Chevy for some 1999 events. Kirby made his debut in February at Rockingham. He qualified in the 38th position, completed 157 laps, and then wrecked. He finished 31st. The next race, Las Vegas, looked better for Kirby, as he qualified in 5th place for his second career start. However, the good feeling did not last long. He wrecked and finished 42nd. He was 33rd at his home track Nashville, 36th at Loudon and 26th at Dover Downs. His best finish came at Bristol. After starting 34th, Andy came home in 20th. However, due to his recklessness and lack of funding, the Lockamy team released Kirby.

However, Williams Travel was still intrigued by Kirby, and they got him a five-race deal in 2000 with the #39 Williams Chevy. He beat his Bristol finish with a 19th at Talladega. However, the rest of the season was not the best. 28th (at IRP), 33rd (at Bristol), 38th (at Memphis), and one DNQ (Did not qualify) made the rest of the season a disappointment.

In 2001, Andy mainly stayed at home but he had several offers during the season and got some seat time. He drove two races for Jay Robinson Racing. He once again got a career-best of 16th at Talladega and finished 33rd at Darlington. He ran three races for Moy Racing. He drove the #77 Ford to a 30th at Michigan International Speedway, 41st at Kansas, and 32nd at Homestead-Miami. He ran one race in the #52 Means Racing Ford. He finished 41st at Memphis.

Kirby ran well enough in 2001 to be asked back to those teams in 2002. He ran the first five races for Moy, finished 28th at Las Vegas as the best among those five. Jay Robinson asked him to come for 4 races. Andy received his best career finish at Talladega once again. After avoiding a big wreck, Andy was able to come home in 6th position, his first and only top-10. In the other three races, he finished 23rd, 29th, and 32nd. Kirby ran two races for Fred Bickford. He finished 39th and 41st in those races. Kirby's final start came at Kentucky Speedway, where he finished 23rd.

Death edit

Kirby was getting ready to make a start at Pikes Peak. However, he was killed in a motorcycle accident in his hometown White House, Tennessee, on July 18, 2002.[1] Many teams ran decals on their cars honoring Kirby following his death.

Motorsports results edit

NASCAR edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series edit

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 NBSC Pts Ref
1999 Larry Lockamy 28 Chevy DAY CAR
31
LVS
42
ATL
DNQ
DAR
DNQ
TEX
DNQ
NSV
33
BRI
20
TAL
DNQ
CAL
DNQ
NHA
36
RCH
DNQ
NZH
DNQ
CLT
DNQ
DOV
26
SBO
DNQ
GLN MLW MYB
DNQ
PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 67th 414 [2]
2000 Dan Browder 78 Chevy DAY
Wth
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX 72nd 298 [3]
Brewco Motorsports 39 Chevy NSV
DNQ
TAL
19
CAL RCH NHA
DNQ
CLT DOV SBO MYB
DNQ
GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY
DNQ
IRP
28
MCH BRI
33
DAR
DNQ
RCH DOV
DNQ
CLT CAR
DNQ
MEM
38
PHO HOM
2001 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP 59th 399 [4]
PRW Racing 77 Ford MCH
30
BRI KAN
41
CLT HOM
32
Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAR
33
RCH
Means Racing 52 Ford MEM
41
PHO CAR
2002 Moy Racing 77 Ford DAY
37
CAR
38
LVS
28
DAR
31
BRI
39
TEX
QL
48th 818 [5]
Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford NSH
29
TAL
6
CAL
32
KEN
23
MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM
R3B Motorsports 94 Chevy RCH
38
NHA NZH CLT DOV
39
NSH
41
- Qualified but replaced by Brad Teague

ARCA Re/Max Series edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max 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 ARMC Pts Ref
2001 Andy Kirby 49 Ford DAY NSH WIN SLM GTY KEN CLT KAN MCH POC MEM GLN KEN MCH POC NSH ISF CHI DSF SLM TOL BLN CLT TAL
4
ATL 188th 30 [6]

External links edit

  • Andy Kirby driver statistics at Racing-Reference

References edit

  1. ^ "BUSCH: Andy Kirby killed in accident". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  2. ^ "Andy Kirby – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  3. ^ "Andy Kirby – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ^ "Andy Kirby – 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "Andy Kirby – 2002 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ "Andy Kirby – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2023.