Houstons are something old, something new

Dick Brinster

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999 | 8:45 a.m.

Andy and Marty Houston are a couple of new-wave drivers who learned plenty about racing from the old school.

Those lessons came from their father, Tommy Houston, one of the great NASCAR drivers of the previous generation. And he's not so surprised that his sons - especially Andy - are making an impression in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"Their racing careers really started when they were kids, hanging around my shop, learning everything they could," said Houston, who holds several Busch Grand National records and won more than 150 races in late model and sportsman cars. "They know about every function of racing."

The 28-year-old Andy, who already has a truck-series victory, developed faster because Marty was more interested at first in playing the drums even after acquiring his first car, Houston said.

"So Andy said, 'Let me have that car,' " Houston recalled. "He studied and worked on racing, especially racing history, and now he knows more about that than anybody I know."

The elder Houston was already racing when Andy was born, so the youngest of the Houstons has known nothing else. He remembers being a youthful celebrity but couldn't understand why.

Didn't everybody's father go out three times a week and scratch up that shiny car?

"In school, when I was in second or third grade, kids would come up to me and say, 'That must be pretty neat, your dad being a race car driver and all,' " Andy recalled. "At the time, I really didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary."

Now, he recognizes that he was part of something unique, that every kid didn't have a racer for a father.

Although dedication at an early age helped Andy gain the basic knowledge that helped mold his racing career, he knows a point is reached where a driver has to take himself the rest of the way.

"You've got the major sponsors that came into the sport that aren't worried about anything but promoting products and winning races," he said.

Andy learned that from his father, watching him compete and accompanying him to post-race interviews. Although there were fewer sponsors providing less money in those days, Tommy didn't forget them.

"I learned pretty quickly that the media and the marketing were just as important as the racing," Andy said. "You have to be a good driver, but you still have to have the total package."

He knows he's at the point in his career where his name doesn't matter much.

"I think my father has helped me to get to where I'm at, but he's not driving the truck for me or doing the interview," Andy said.

Marty, 30, is far more dedicated than he was as a teen, saying he finally has accepted racing as an all-consuming thing.

"You go out to eat, it's racing," he said. "You go to church, it's racing. You get so much of it everyday, it just becomes a way of life."

Marty realizes his father supplied know-how, inspiration and connections that helped him move up in the sport. He cites names like Earnhardt, Jarrett and Petty as other examples of second-generation drivers who have benefited from the family name.

"But you are also seeing guys like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and people that don't come from great racing backgrounds," Marty said.

When he looks at Gordon and Stewart, he sees drivers with talent that was recognized. He wonders how many others have been overlooked.

"There are a lot of guys out there right now that I know for a fact are better drivers than some of the guys running Winston Cup, Busch and trucks," Marty said. "Maybe they'll get that break, maybe not."

Andy, who drives for Addington Racing, managed by his father out of their shop in Conover, N.C., got his first big ride in an unexpected fashion. His 54-year-old father was set to drive in the truck series, but gave way to his son.

"I never actually retired," said the elder Houston, who hasn't competed since 1996. "I went to Addington and told them that he had an awful lot of talent.

"Then he went out and proved it."