Rusty Wallace Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 1998 Pepsi 400 was scheduled to be a monumental mark for NASCAR’s crown jewel track, Daytona International Speedway, as the track’s July 4th weekend race would be run under the lights for the very first time. However, a devastating wildfire that had swept through Central Florida around that weekend, destroying 126 homes and charring 500,000 acres, forced the race to be postponed to mid-October, making it one of the final races of the season. In addition to the race being run under the lightsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s not often that NASCAR takes away a win from a driver that crossed the finish line first. In NASCAR’s Modern Era, the sanctioning body has only taken that step twice: Back in 2008 at Talladega, when Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart below the yellow line to win and 26 years ago at Sonoma Raceway, site of this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. With that in mind, the 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 and the controversial finish that ensued will be the focus of this week’sRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 1998 Pocono 500 was a big day for Owensboro, Kentucky with not one, but two of their native sons in the field at the Tricky Triangle an in contention for the win. When the checkered flag flew, Jeremy Mayfield would come out on top, while his boyhood idol and fellow Owensboro native, Darrell Waltrip, continued a career resurgence by coming away with the final top-10 finish of his career after battling for the win with Mayfield. The 200 lap race would get off toRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Since 1997, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has been making the trek to the Lone Star State to take on the 1.5 mile Texas Motor Speedway, but of the 32 events that have taken place at the track, just one sticks out as the best of the best. In this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater,” we’ll take a look back at the 2004 Samsung Radioshack 500, which produced the closest Cup Series finish ever at the track. After coming up just short of his firstRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for the championship finale, so with the 2016 season coming to a close, we’ll take a look back at a race from Homestead’s past in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater.” This week, the focus will be on the 2005 Ford 400, a race that featured a championship battle still up for grabs, drivers making their last starts, and the closest finish ever at the 1.5 mile track. Entering the 36th race ofRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After the tragedy of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returned to the track at Dover International Speedway a week and a half later for the first race back, with teams, drivers, and fans all banding together to help the nation heal. With American flags flying up and down pit road, in the grandstands, and showing on various cars and driver’s helmets, the sport got back to business with the running of the MBNARead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor Bristol Motor Speedway under the lights in August has been a fan favorite since its inception and with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heading to Thunder Valley this weekend, it’s time again for “Throwback Thursday Theater”. When thinking of classic races at Bristol, there are a few that immediately come to mind and one of those has to be the 1995 running of the Goody’s 500, which provided action throughout the duration and ended with a spectacular finish between two of the sport’s best, TerryRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series gears up for their race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend, we’ll take a look back as we do each week at a race from New Hampshire’s past in this week’s edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater.” This week, we’ll go in depth on the very first race at the track – the 1993 Slick 50 300. The track first opened in 1990, with the Busch Series becoming the first NASCAR national series to compete at the track. AfterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After an off weekend for Father’s Day, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series gets back to business this weekend as they get set to take on the first of two road course races on the 2016 schedule. Before the focus turns to Sunday’s Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, we’ll take a step back in the past for this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” to the 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 and the lone road course win for a legend. Taking place on the track’s originalRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heading to the Lone Star State this weekend, it is time for another edition of Throwback Thursday Theater, and in this week’s edition we’ll take a look back at the race that started it all at Texas Motor Speedway, the 1997 Interstate Batteries 500 that took place on April 6, 1997. Before the race even started, there were issues with the opening of the track. For the track to find its way onto the NASCAR Cup schedule, another trackRead More