All through the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historic content material for the sanctioning physique, will provide his solutions on which historic races followers ought to watch from the library in preparation for every upcoming race weekend.
Martin has labored completely for NASCAR since 2008 however has been concerned with the game since 1982, overseeing numerous initiatives. He has labored within the broadcast sales space for lots of of races, aiding the published group with totally different duties. This consists of calculating the “factors as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The next solutions are Ken‘s picks to observe earlier than this Sunday‘s Cup Collection Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).
The NASCAR Cup Collection arrived at Phoenix Raceway in October 1994 with a brand new seven-time champion.
Dale Earnhardt‘s victory within the earlier race at Rockingham clinched the title for Earnhardt with two races remaining on the 1994 slate.
Earnhardt and automobile proprietor Richard Childress spent the week celebrating their success with a searching journey that noticed Childress escape critical harm after a fall.
When it got here time to qualify, the sector was fast to note that Goodyear had the superior tire. Ward Burton, who had discovered success earlier within the season qualifying, claimed the very best qualifying spot for a Hoosier-powered driver with a Twenty seventh-place begin.
Sterling Marlin, who was capping off his first season within the No. 4 automobile for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, put the automobile on the pole for the occasion. He narrowly beat out Rusty Wallace for the highest spot. Wallace was only one week faraway from formally being eradicated from having an opportunity on the title, regardless of one other robust season from the No. 2 automobile.
Two different drivers who have been within the first yr of recent partnerships, Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte, two of the quickest vehicles out west.
Rudd led 99 laps in his personal No. 10 automobile earlier than slowly fading all through the day. He ultimately introduced his automobile residence with a decent seventh-place end.
Labonte, who changed Rudd within the No. 5 automobile for Hendrick Motorsports, continued his sizzling stretch by main a race-high 112 laps en path to Victory Lane.
Mark Martin, Marlin, Jeff Gordon and Ted Musgrave rounded out the rest of the highest 5.
Earnhardt got here residence fortieth after engine points ended his day early. He nonetheless left with a 379-point benefit over Wallace with one week remaining. He sat 75 factors forward of Martin for the runner-up spot within the standings.
Phoenix Raceway was all the time a observe synonymous with the success of Bobby Hamilton and the tip of the 1996 season appeared becoming that one other chapter of his story would happen on the observe.
Hamilton made his NASCAR Cup Collection debut on the observe in 1989, driving one of many “Days of Thunder” film vehicles for Rick Hendrick.
The automobile was stripped of its digicam gear for the occasion, following an eye-popping fifth-place qualifying effort from Hamilton, which allowed him to exit and compete for a victory on the observe.
He subsequently led 5 laps however engine points left him with a Thirty second-place end. His flashes of success within the automobile led to Hamilton touchdown a journey within the No. 68 automobile for Mark Smith in 1990. Hamilton made probably the most of his time within the automobile, capturing the Rookie of the Yr honors in 1991.
Hamilton confirmed indicators of success over the subsequent few seasons whereas driving for Smith, Dick Moroso, Aikins-Sutton Motorsports and Felix Sabates earlier than the No. 40 group was bought by Dick Brooks.
A lot of his velocity was proven at Phoenix, as he backed up his debut race with a Thirteenth-place end in 1991 after main a lap. He returned to the observe in 1992 with the Mark Smith-led group and completed eighth.
Hamilton didn’t race on the observe in 1993 however returned in 1994 with an Eleventh-place end.
All of his indicators of promise led to him touchdown a dream journey in 1995, taking on the No. 43 automobile owned by Richard Petty, who retired from driving following the 1992 season finale.
The possibility Petty took on Hamilton proved to be an accurate selection, as he completed a career-best 14th within the season standings whereas battling for a handful of victories all through the season.
Every part was wanting up for the group in 1996, as they appeared to construct on the instant success of their first full marketing campaign collectively.
Including to the thrill of the season was that it marked the twenty fifth anniversary of the partnership between Petty and his longtime sponsor STP. The group rolled out a handful of throwback paint schemes for Hamilton to race all through the season, honoring the success between Petty and the sponsor by means of the years.
The group didn‘t discover as a lot enchancment as that they had hoped for the 1996 season however the race at Phoenix turned out to be one to recollect for everybody concerned.
All the focus at Phoenix was on the championship battle between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, in addition to Dale Jarrett of Robert Yates Racing.
Labonte entered the weekend up 32 factors on Gordon and 76 on Jarrett, as there have been simply the races at Phoenix and Atlanta remaining on the schedule.
Sadly, Labonte didn‘t appear to have the luck on his aspect, as he broke his left hand throughout a observe crash on the observe on Friday. The break put a damper on the vital weekend for Labonte and his group however they did handle to catch one good break.
Heavy winds despatched sand blowing by means of the air, suspending qualifying till the next day.
When the groups have been in a position to qualify on Saturday, it was Labonte‘s youthful brother Bobby who put his automobile on the pole for the race. Gordon and the elder Labonte each struggled throughout qualifying, as they began nineteenth and thirtieth respectively.
Jarrett however, took benefit of the Hendrick Motorsports struggles and put his No. 88 automobile fifth on the board. Hamilton certified a quiet seventeenth.
The race on Sunday proved to be one other occasion of championship-level grit, as Labonte made his method up by means of the whole area together with his injured hand to guide 61 laps.
It appeared like Labonte had the automobile to beat late, as he led two lengthy stretches late earlier than giving up the result in Geoff Bodine for recent tires with nearly 50 laps remaining.
The following restart noticed Hamilton ultimately take benefit and put the No. 43 Petty Enterprises automobile again in Victory Lane for the primary time in 13 years.
It was Hamilton‘s first profession Cup Collection victory, coming in his 167th begin, paradoxically on the similar observe he made his sequence debut at only a handful of years earlier.
The factors battle noticed Labonte shrug off his ache and end third, just a few spots forward of Gordon and Jarrett, who each completed contained in the top-10.
This arrange the season finale for the championship, with Labonte coming into the weekend 47 factors up on Gordon and 99 on Jarrett, as he chased his first Cup Collection championship since he gained it in 1984.
The tip of the distinctive 2020 NASCAR Cup Collection season noticed Joey Logano and Chase Elliott racing for a title following their victories at Kansas and Martinsville respectively. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin rounded out the Championship 4 after racing their method into the battle with sufficient factors by means of the Spherical of 8.
The weekend was additionally bittersweet, because it marked the ultimate begin as full-time Cup Collection drivers for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2003 sequence champion Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.
It appeared just like the weekend couldn‘t have gotten off to a greater begin for Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports group, as they gained the pole for the race, narrowly beating out the remainder of his championship rivals in qualifying.
Elliott‘s supreme begin to the weekend went bitter shortly, as he failed pre-race inspection twice and needed to begin on the rear of the sector.
He took the early adversity and swept it to the aspect, as he labored his method by means of the sector earlier than taking command of the race in dominating vogue. He already made his method to third by the tip of the primary stage.
Elliott led 153 laps after ranging from the rear, the primary championship-deciding race that was held on the observe, en path to the primary Cup Collection championship of his profession.
His championship, teamed together with his father Invoice‘s in 1988, helped them develop into the third father and son duo to win Cup Collection titles. They joined Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett.
All the championship contenders confirmed up robust, as Keselowski, Logano and Hamlin completed second, third and fourth within the race.
Johnson, who was competing in his final race within the No. 48 automobile for Hendrick Motorsports, completed fifth.
