Houston brings car heritage to new ride

Dick Brinster

Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2000 | 5:37 a.m.

To his car owner and senior teammate, Andy Houston is more than just another rookie driver.

The upstart from NASCAR country in North Carolina knows more about stock car racing than the Californians bringing him to its elite level. The 29-year-old son of former sportsman great Tommy Houston has been around the sport virtually his whole life.

Car owner Cal Wells and Scott Pruett, Houston's 40-year-old teammate, are new to NASCAR. They came over together this season from CART, where Wells still maintains an open-wheel team.

"He was born and bred in Hickory and his father is a significant piece of NASCAR history, so there's a real intuitive understanding about this type of racing that Andy brings that we don't have on our team right now," Wells said. "In that respect, he'll have a significant advantage over what Scott had to adapt to."

Houston, fourth in the NASCAR truck series standings, is driving a second Wells car in five Winston Cup races this season before joining full time in 2001. He's excited about that and knowing he'll have considerable say in how the team is run.

"There are some things that have worked in the past, things that over the years you learn and you realize how the game is played," Houston said.

As much as he thinks he can contribute, Houston is attracted in part by Wells' willingness to look away from tradition. The car owner, whose greatest accomplishment was a championship off-road team, was CART's pioneer for Toyota engines.

They were not competitive until this season, but have been developed to the point where they are becoming a force.

"They're bringing a lot of different techniques into stock car racing, and that's not a bad thing," Houston said of Wells and Pruett. "A lot of times people get comfortable with what's worked in the past and there's a lot of different ways to do things for the future."

But what about his own future? Do three years on the truck circuit qualify Houston to drive in Winston Cup? Will he be able to handle the pressure of a high-profile ride.

Wells thinks he will.

"Our realistic expectation is to have a competent run next year for the rookie championship," he said. "I think he can win a race, maybe more than one."

Pruett is 36th in his rookie season, and Wells hopes Houston's addition also will improve that performance.

"I'm not only excited about what he's going to do with the car, but how much he's going to help Scott," Wells said. "I think he's going to be huge for us."

Wells likes Pruett's ability to qualify cars, but says the team has been hurt by not being competitive in enough races. Wells and Pruett are hoping Houston's feel for a stock car will make a difference.

"I'm very confident that he'll bring good information to the team," Pruett said. "I've shown well on the fast tracks, and Andy's knowledge of the short tracks will benefit the team."

The biggest question for Houston was whether he was up to competing with Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and rest of stock car racing's superstars.

"I feel like I'm ready to make the move," he said. "A lot of people were talking to me about the Busch Grand National series, but if I went over there for two or three years and then got a Winston Cup offer, I'd be older and still have to learn the same stuff as I'm going through now."

But the enormity of the task has not escaped him.

"It's hard to go from being a fairly good-size fish in a small pond to a little, tiny minnow in an ocean," he said. "That's pretty much what it's going to be, but I'm up for the challenge."