Bruce Hill (racing driver)

Bruce Hill
Born(1949-07-09)July 9, 1949
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
DiedMay 14, 2017(2017-05-14) (aged 67)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Cause of deathEsophageal cancer
Achievements1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
100 races run over 8 years
Best finish16th (1975)
First race1974 Los Angeles Times 500 (Ontario)
Last race1981 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 21 0
Statistics current as of January 27, 2011.

Bruce Hill (July 9, 1949 – May 14, 2017) was an American stock car racing driver from Topeka, Kansas. He competed in the Winston Cup Series, ARCA, and in the NASCAR West Series. He also competed in late model races around his hometown later in life.

Personal life

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Hill was born on July 9, 1949, in Topeka, Kansas, and graduated from Shawnee Heights High School.[1] He resided in and around the Topeka metropolitan area his later years of life, raising American Quarter Horses.[2] Hill died on May 14, 2017, due to issues with esophageal cancer.[3]

NASCAR career

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In 1974, Hill began racing in NASCAR in the Winston Cup Series and the NASCAR West Series. He only competed in one race in both series the same year.[4] The race in 1974 was the only race Hill would run in the West series.[5]

One year later, Hill won the Rookie of the Year award in the Winston Cup Series.[6] During that season, he competed in all but four of the season's 30 races. Among his highlights were top-five finishes at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Dover International Speedway.[7] Still running as an independent driver, Hill returned to the series again in 1976, competing in 22 events, which he recorded only four top-ten finishes and finished 23rd in the standings.[8] In 1977, Hill was able to record four top-tens and a 29th-place finish in points after participating in 16 events.[9] During the following year, he only participated in 14 events, and recorded two top-tens with a 32nd-place finish in the point standings, but benefited form teaming up with Harry Clary to field cars.[10]

For 1979, Hill teamed up with fellow owner-driver Walter Ballard for a limited slate of events. He finished 34th in points after running seven races.[11] Continuing to race for Ballard in 1980, he finished 50th in points, and only competed in six races.[12] In his final year in the Winston Cup Series, he competed in eight races and finished 43rd in points.[13] Also in 1981, he participated in a NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race at Darlington Raceway.[14]

Other racing

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While competing in the Winston Cup Series, he also participated in the ARCA Racing Series as well as in USAC.[14] In 2002, Hill participated in a Late model race at Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas.[15]

In 2016 it was announced that A.J. Allmendinger would run a throwback scheme based on Hill's 1977 car for the annual throwback race at Darlington Raceway.[2]

Motorsports results

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NASCAR

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

Winston Cup Series

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NASCAR Winston Cup 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 NWCC Pts Ref
1974 Hill Racing 47W Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR BRI ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY BRI NSV ATL POC TAL MCH DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ONT
13
101st 1.575 [4]
1975 47 RSD DAY
32
RCH
11
CAR
5
BRI ATL
23
NWS
16
DAR
15
MAR TAL
47
NSV
23
DOV
8
CLT
18
RSD MCH
30
DAY
7
NSV
13
POC
8
TAL
31
MCH
8
DAR
5
DOV
5
NWS
10
MAR
25
CLT
27
RCH
8
CAR
6
BRI
10
ATL
13
ONT
26
16th 3002 [7]
1976 RSD DAY
36
CAR
22
RCH BRI DAR
DNQ
MAR
7
TAL
8
NSV
23
DOV
39
CLT
37
RSD MCH
25
DAY
25
NSV
27
POC
29
TAL
32
MCH
19
BRI DAR
22
RCH DOV
36
MAR
30
NWS CLT
34
CAR
35
ATL
11
ONT
10
23rd 1995 [8]
Ballard Racing 30 Chevy ATL
18
NWS DAR
10
1977 Hill Racing 47 Chevy RSD DAY
25
RCH CAR
36
ATL
10
NWS DAR
10
BRI MAR
7
TAL
27
NSV DOV
35
CLT
31
RSD MCH
32
DAY
30
NSV POC TAL
35
MCH
13
BRI DAR
9
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
41
CAR
26
ATL
15
ONT 29th 1213 [9]
1978 Harry Clary 05 Olds RSD DAY
DNQ
RCH CAR ATL
9
BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
36
DOV
19
CLT
10
NSV
25
RSD MCH
29
DAY
40
NSV
14
POC
17
TAL
35
MCH
34
BRI DAR
40
RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
13
CAR ATL
36
ONT
DNQ
32nd 1214 [10]
1979 Ballard Racing 50 Olds RSD DAY
19
CAR RCH ATL
15
NWS BRI DAR MAR TAL
DNQ
NSV DOV TAL
16
MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL ONT
15
34th 594 [11]
Buick CLT
24
TWS
15
RSD MCH DAY
41
NSV POC
1980 Olds RSD DAY
33
RCH CAR ATL
27
BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
36
NSV DOV CLT
38
TWS RSD MCH DAY
35
NSV POC TAL
41
MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT 50th 348 [12]
1981 Nelson Malloch 7 Buick RSD DAY
39
RCH CAR 43rd 596 [16]
Hill Racing Buick ATL
23
50 BRI
26
NWS DAR MAR TAL
28
NSV DOV CLT
41
TWS RSD MCH DAY
16
NSV POC TAL
30
MCH
33
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL
DNQ
RSD
Daytona 500
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Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1975 Hill Racing Chevrolet 20 32
1976 33 36
1977 18 25
1978 Harry Clary Oldsmobile DNQ
1979 Ballard Racing Chevrolet 17 19
1980 Oldsmobile 35 33
1981 Nelson Malloch Buick 24 39

References

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  1. ^ Rick, By (2003-09-29). "Driver remembers NASCAR's history". CJOnline.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  2. ^ a b "NASCAR, No. 47 team haven't forgotten Topekan Bruce Hill". Retrieved 2017-05-14.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Sad News - Bruce Hill". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  4. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  5. ^ "Driver Bruce Hill's NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  6. ^ "Bruce Hill Results and Stats from". databaseRacing.com. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  7. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  8. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  9. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  10. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  11. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  12. ^ a b "Driver Bruce Hill 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  13. ^ "Bruce Hill Career Statistics". Racing-Reference.info. 1949-07-09. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  14. ^ a b "Bruce Hill". Ultimateracinghistory.com. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  15. ^ "(And not over the racing bug, either) Not over the Hill | Topeka Capital-Journal, The | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. 2002-04-07. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  16. ^ "Driver Bruce Hill 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
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