Tony Nelson is a former NASCAR driver from Ventura, CA. He competed in three Nextel Cup Series events in his career, finishing once in the top-ten. That came in 1954, when Nelson debuted at Gardena. Starting 20th in the field, Nelson completed all but twenty-one laps in route to a solid 8th place effort. He was unable to top that in his other two races, but his season was no means lost. He recorded still-solid 12th place finishes at Oakland and 14th at San Mateo.