Which sport did Hoss Ellington make his reputation in?

Hoss Ellington (May 12, 1935 – May 31, 2014) was a NASCAR driver and team owner. He made 31 starts as a driver between 1968 and 1970 in the Grand National (now Sprint Cup), finishing in the top 10 four times, all in 1969.

He later became a successful team owner, with five wins, four of them by Donnie Allison and the other one by David Pearson. His team also collected 52 top fives and 92 top ten finishes. He fielded cars for drivers such as Fred Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough, A. J. Foyt, Donnie Allison, David Pearson, Kyle Petty, and Dale Jarrett, among others.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ellington made his NASCAR Grand National debut at the 1968 Dixie 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway while driving his self-owned #61 Mercury; he finished in 31st place after suffering suspension failure after only 80 laps. He competed at two other races that year, at Darlington Raceway and Lowes Motor Speedway, finishing 17th and 34th, respectively. He ended up 61st in points.

In 1969, he made his first start of the season at Rockingham, scoring his first career top ten with a tenth-place finish. He competed in 15 races, finishing in the top ten four times.

In 1970, he made three more starts, at Charlotte, Darlington, and Rockingham, with a best finish of 13th that year. He then retired as a driver after the 1970 American 500 race in order to focus on being a team owner.

Ellington died on May 31, 2014 in Wilmington, North Carolina after a lengthy illness.