Tom Pistone

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tom “Tiger” Pistone (born March 17, 1929, in Chicago) is a former American NASCAR Grand National driver. He made his Grand National debut in 1955 and competed in 130 Cup races over 11 years. Pistone won two Cup races and finished sixth in the points standings in 1959, his best season. After a break in 1963–1964, he returned in 1965 to race 33 times for Glen Sweet and Emory Gilliam, earning eight top-ten finishes and finishing 32nd in points. His last Cup race came in 1968.

In addition to Cup racing, Pistone won two races in the NASCAR Convertible Division, where he had 34 starts, 16 top-tens, 2 wins, and 1 pole, with a best finish of 21st in 1956.

A notable moment came in 1960 at Daytona when Pistone wore a life preserver and an oxygen tube in his car for fear of drowning in Lake Lloyd after a similar incident in a qualifying race.

Pistone was inducted into the Racers’ Reunion Hall of Fame in Mooresville, North Carolina, on October 17, 2010. In April 2011, he appeared on the History Channel’s American Pickers episode, helping to place items in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is nicknamed “Tiger.”