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Kelly Denton
Denton in 1997
Born	(1973-03-10)March 10, 1973 (age 52) Bristol, Virginia, U.S.
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
36 races run over 5 years
Best finish	30th (2001)
First race	1998Moore's Snacks 250 (Bristol)
Last race	20021-866RBCTerm.com 200 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARCraftsman Truck Series career
10 races run over 2 years
Best finish	35th (1997)
First race	1996Hanes 250 (Martinsville)
Last race	1997Dodge California Truckstop 300 (Bakersfield)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Kelly Denton (born March 10, 1973) is an American former professionalstock car racing driver who competed inNASCAR between 1996 and 2002.

Denton drove a secondGrier Lackey Dodge in two races in 1996. He piloted the No. 03Mopar Dodge in his first career race atMartinsville Speedway, starting in 8th place, but finished last (36th) after mechanical woes. He also ran the next race atNorth Wilkesboro Speedway, starting 7th and finishing 18th.

Denton would make eight starts in 1997, driving for Lackey in the first five of those starts. Denton started 5th atWalt Disney World Speedway before finishing 23rd. Denton had his best run for Lackley with a 16th atPhoenix International Speedway in April, and then bettered that with a 12th-place finish atBristol Motor Speedway. Denton switched over to the No. 35Charles Hardy-owned car and completed three races for the team. His best run was an 18th at Martinsville.

Denton ran the majority of his early Busch Series career forHenderson Motorsports, beginning in 1998. He made his first career start by starting 18th at Bristol and coming home 33rd in the No. 75 for Henderson. Denton also made the fall race, but finished 43rd after an early engine expiration.

In 1999, Denton hoped to run forNASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year honors for Henderson with sponsorship from Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce. Unfortunately, the sponsorship deal was canceled, forcing Denton to make only four starts. He started the season off with a finish of 20th atTalladega Superspeedway and that ended up being his best career finish. He was also 22nd atRockingham in addition to the two Bristol races. Denton finished 41st and 34th in those Bristol races.

Denton would make four starts in 2000, as he finished 38th in the season opening race atDaytona International Speedway. He also went on to once again compete the season races at Bristol. He recorded his best career finish in the spring, as he ended up 15th. However, he only managed 34th in the fall event. Denton also ran forMoy Racing, who hired Denton to drive their No. 77 Ford atHomestead-Miami Speedway, where he finished 30th.

Denton ran 24 of 33 races in 2001. He completed the first six races for Moy, recording a pair of 18ths at Bristol and Daytona. Denton then jumped ship and moved to the No. 54General Creation Chevy forTeam Bristol Motorsports. Denton made most of the races for that team. His finishes were solid, as he recorded a pair of 13ths at theMilwaukee Mile andKentucky Speedway along with a finish of 16th atDover International Speedway, but lost his ride when the team shut down at the end of the year.

Denton made only two starts in 2002. Despite finishes of 16th at Daytona and 27th at Rockingham, Denton was released in favor ofKevin Grubb after qualifying for the third race atLas Vegas.^[1] Denton has not raced in major NASCAR since.

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

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

• Kelly Denton driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1973 births
• People from Bristol, Virginia
• Racing drivers from Virginia
• NASCAR drivers
• ARCA Menards Series drivers

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