Ben Hess (born December 20, 1964) is an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. Now retired, he was a regular on the

Automobile Racing Club of America The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. A subsidiary of NASCAR since 2018, the current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position i ...

(ARCA) series in the early 1990s, and also competed in twelve

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

races between 1988 and 1995.

Racing career

A native of

Wadsworth, Ohio Wadsworth is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. Founded on March 1, 1814, the city was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, a American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War hero and War of 1812 officer who owned the largest share of the ...

, 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. He made his first start in the series in 1988; between 1988 and 1996, he competed in 63 races, winning four times. Hess won the ARCA event at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

, the series' most prestigious race, in 1989 and 1991. In 2001 he made his 64th and final start in the series at

, finishing 37th after an accident. 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 Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track h ...

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. He would also attempt races for owners Henley Gray, Jim Spicuzza, Tom Winkle, and Sadler Brothers Racing, qualifying in a single race for Winkle in 1990. While racing for the Sadler Brothers, Hess was among 86 drivers who attempted to qualify for the

1994 Brickyard 400 The 1994 Brickyard 400 was held on Saturday, August 6, 1994, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race marked the nineteenth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the eighth race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Se ...

; 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. Hess would make his final start in the Winston Cup Series at the

1995 Daytona 500 The 1995 Daytona 500, the 37th running of the Daytona 500, event, was held on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Dale Jarrett won his first career Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup Pole position, pole. Sterlin ...

, racing for

RaDiUs Motorsports Jasper Motorsports was a NASCAR Nextel Cup team. It was owned by a variety of owners including D.K. Ulrich and Doug Bawel. 1970s–1980s The car started in 1971 at what turned out to be the only Winston Cup race at Smoky Mountain Raceway as th ...

; Hess finished 28th in the race, four laps down. 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 Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

. In 1988, he won a qualifying race in the series at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

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

=Daytona 500

Busch Series

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Ben Living people 1964 births People from Wadsworth, Ohio Sportspeople from Medina County, Ohio Racing drivers from Ohio NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers