Dale Earnhardt Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Just days after the heart wrenching loss of Davey Allison to a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returned to the 2.66-mile track for the 1993 running of the DieHard 500. Following a stirring pre-race tribute to Allison involving his family, the 43 drivers that made up the field that day strapped in for what was going to a barnburner of a race under the scorching July sun. Bill Elliott won the pole, with Ernie Irvan starting alongside for the 188-lap affair.Read More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor INDIANAPOLIS – 25 years in, the Brickyard 400 may be a shell of its former self, but back in 1994, NASCAR hitting the track at the prestigious Indianapolis Motor Speedway had the sports world buzzing. In their first foray around the 2.5-mile speedway that had been reserved for open wheel cars since 1909, the drivers and teams put their stock cars through the paces over a jam-packed weekend of action, leading to a hell of a show when the green flag flew on Sunday for theRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway has always been a special race for those in NASCAR, with a win in the 500-mile slugfest on the track “Too Tough to Tame” residing on the bucket list for nearly every driver and team that has ever turned a lap around the 1.366-mile oval. Entering the 1985 edition of the Southern 500, the pressure of winning at the storied track was ratcheted up even more for Bill Elliott, as a $1 million payday awaited him at the end ofRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor BRISTOL, Tenn. – Four years after Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte had their infamous run-in at the end of the 1995 Goody’s 500 at Bristol, resulting in Labonte’s crumpled Chevrolet rolling into Victory Lane following a last lap bump from Earnhardt, the two were at it again in the closing stages of the 1999 running of the Bristol night race. What followed were more fireworks from the two NASCAR Hall of Famers. Through the majority of the first half of the race, it was the TonyRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Pocono Raceway has always been hit or miss when it comes to action, but back in June 2000, the late race battle between Jeremy Mayfield and Dale Earnhardt resulted in an instant classic. After all activity was washed out on Sunday due to rain, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returned to the “Tricky Triangle” the following day ready to do battle on the three-turn 2.5-mile track. Rusty Wallace started on pole and had the dominant car of the day, leading 107 laps, but on a lateRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After the tragic passing of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin in separate incidents earlier in the year due to stuck throttles at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NASCAR made the decision to implement horsepower robbing restrictor plates that are normally used at Daytona and Talladega for the September 2000 race on the flat one-mile oval. Broadcaster Dick Berggren set the scene prior to the race, highlighting the unknown territory that teams and drivers were venturing into that day. “In the wake of two fatal accidents here, NASCARRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When the Cup Series made it to Charlotte for the 1987 all-star race, Dale Earnhardt had absolutely dominated the season up to that point, winning six of the nine races that had taken place thus far in the season. His rival, Bill Elliott, had won the season opening Daytona 500. With the two going at it week in and week out, it would all come to a head in The Winston. Earnhardt, the hard-charging North Carolina native versus Elliott, the mild-mannered Georgia boy. Elliott hadRead More
By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When it comes to dark moments in NASCAR history, the April 1993 weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway ranks right up near the top. With the tragedy of losing Alan Kulwicki far too soon reaching its 25th anniversary this year, we look back at the weekend that was at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Kulwicki was on top of the world after the 1992 season, having beaten the odds to hoist the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship trophy following a thrilling season finale. As both the ownerRead More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer When NASCAR fans think of who’s the greatest crew chief of all-time, more often than not, you’ll hear the names of Hall of Famers Ray Evernham and Dale Inman. How about the 1980s? Tim Brewer, Jeff Hammond and Gary Nelson pop into fans heads, but one that’s been ignored lately is Kirk Shelmerdine. The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced its latest nominees for the Class of 2019 on Tuesday and Shelmerdine, alongside Harry Gant, Jeff Gordon, John Holman and Ralph Moody are the newest nominees.Read More
By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Restrictor plate racing is a strategic game, requiring critical thinking to make the right moves. A few days removed from Sunday’s Daytona 500 and it has dawned on me how frustrating this current era of racing has become. What happened to the word patience? The days of strategizing your move without causing a junkyard is gone. Part of this has to do with three things — stage racing, the demand of winning the Great American Race at an all-time high, or just a generational problem.Read More