NASCAR: An Alternative History (Dead)

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: HICKORY AND ROAD AMERICA
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THE PANTRY 300: David Green dominates to win his second race in a row and closes right in on Robert Pressley for the points lead. Pressley struggled in the race and eventually dnf'd when his car got too damaged. Jeff Gordon started the race well but then after he spun out, he wasn't competitive anymore. Joe Nemecheck ended up sixth, but was spun by just about everyone throughout the race. In one incident, he was spun by Randy LaJoie. LaJoie didn't mean to spin him, but NASCAR though it to be intentional and parked him.

Since Hickory is a short track, you can expect this race was a WRECKFEST and it was. The most interesting wreck was when Ricky Craven and Jeff Burton got together. Burton's car ended up on Craven's hood!

NOTE: Burton was in a different car, the #77 after dnq'ing his #12 car.​

BRIGGS AND STRATTON 400K: The return of the Solo Cup to Road America was an all Rusty Wallace affair. Wallace won pole and led almost every lap and easily cruised to a five second victory over Ricky Rudd. Rudd edged Terry Labonte for third while Terry Schoonover was fourth and Davey Allison fifth. Wallace's win gets him back into playoff contention.

Controversy occurred when Mark Martin punted Bill Elliott off track and into a tire barrier causing him to lose points to Kulwicki again. Elliott confronted Martin after the race. "He just straight up wrecked me" said Elliott. "NASCAR should penalize him for that." Mark defended himself by saying,

It was just a racing incident. I was right on his bumper and then he spun off. I didn't mean anything.

The incident is under investigation.

Dale Earnhardt struggled once again to a 33rd place finish. He complained about his car having a lack of pace. Meanwhile, Harry Gant finished 16th and moves up to fourth. Here's the points with six races until the playoffs:

1 Davey Allison 2340
2 Alan Kulwicki 2311 -29
3 Bill Elliott 2293 -47
4 Harry Gant 2260 -80
5 Dale Earnhardt 2205 -135
6 Mark Martin 2199 -141
7 Sterling Marlin 2156 -184
8 Terry Labonte 2132 -208
9 Ernie Irvan 2087 -253
10 Terry Schoonover 2078 -262
11 Bobby Hamilton 2046 -294
12 Darrell Waltrip 2042 -298
------CUTOFF LINE-----------
13 Geoff Bodine 2031 -309
14 Kyle Petty 2009 -331
15 Tim Richmond 1995 - 345
16 Rusty Wallace 1990 - 350

​

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: SOUTH BOSTON, TALLADEGA, IRP, AND TEXAS WORLD: A SERIES OF UNEVENTFUL RACES
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TEXAS PETE 300: Ward Burton wins at his home track. Todd Bodine tried to run him down, but lapped cars got in the way. David Green finished third just ahead of Pressley and the two are almost dead even for the points lead. Joe Nemecheck held off Jeff Gordon to finish fifth. Jimmy Hensley had an interesting moment when he blew his engine and his car lit up in flames. It looked like Ghost Rider. Hensley was able to escape unharmed.

DIEHARD 500: Bobby Hamilton edged Terry Schoonover to get his first superspeedway win. Davey Allison was third, Terry Labonte fourth, and Bill Elliott fifth. Alan Kulwicki finished 25th and swaps with Elliott for second in points again. Dale Earnhardt had his second dnf in three races and falls to seventh behind Terry Labonte. Geoff Bodine also dnf'd but remains in the hunt to make the playoffs. ARCA announced their Talladega race would move to this weekend next year.

Not a whole lot happened in this race so here's a picture of Hamilton's trophy:

​

KROGER 200: Joe Nemecheck wins his first Busch Series race outrunning Robert Pressley by 4 seconds. Nemecheck's win puts him back to second in points as David Green crashed early when he got involved in a wreck with Jack Sprague and Chuck Bown. In victory lane, Nemecheck said,

This has been a long time coming. My team has been just building and building momentum and now we've reached the top. I was wondering when I'd win. I knew it would be soon. I hope some Solo Cup owners took note of me tonight. Love to get a ride next year and tonight's run proved that.

TEXACO HAVOLINE 500: Bill Elliott dominated from pole. His win brings him within 20 points of Davey Allison, who finished second in the race. Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine recover from Talladega to finish third and seventh respectively. Jimmy Spencer went to the hospital after spinning out and slamming the turn three wall. He was discovered to have a broken rib and a minor concussion. He will have to miss the next few races but hopefully will be back by Bristol at the end of the month.

Rusty Wallace finished fifth and continues his fight to make the playoffs. He remains in sixteenth though but can still surpass Bodine, Tim Richmond, and Kyle Petty to make it in. A win in any of the next two races could possibly get him in. He's just got to hope none of the other bubble drivers win a race including Darrell Waltrip and Ernie Irvan who are currently fighting to stay in the playoffs. It's really tight competition to make the playoffs or defend your spot of you are 11th or 12th.

Thanks for 19K views!

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: WATKINS GLEN AND MICHIGAN
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1992 IROC ROUND 4: In IROC's 1992 finale, Geoff Bodine wins the race and the championship. It is his second IROC championship having won in 1987. Dale Earnhardt finished fifth while Geoff Brabham wasn't a factor at all. On winning the championship, Bodine said,

At the start of the race the car wasn't handling really well. Then the car started coming to me and we were able to get up through the field. This is great. It feels like 87 all over again. I probably won't be in this next year based on how I'm doing in Solo Cup, but I hope to be back someday!

IROC XVI CHAMPION: GEOFF BODINE

FAY'S DRUGSTORE 200: Terry Schoonover won after dominating most of the race. Joe Nemecheck finished 4th and takes the points lead from Robert Pressley by a narrow margin. Pressley finished 17th in the race after starting second. He wasn't that competitive in the race. Shawna Robinson got her first top ten. She is currently in the process of getting a full-time Busch ride for next year. Some sad news for Jeff Burton. Bobby Allison decided to shut down his Busch Series team as it was losing competitiveness, and his son Clifford was already in another ride. Ironically, he drove as a teammate to Clifford in this race, but finished dead last after the car's ignition failed. The younger Burton is hoping to find a full time ride next year as well.

BUDWEISER AT THE GLEN: Kyle Petty was right outside playoff contention in 13th. He knew winning a race could make him get inside the top twelve. Petty qualified his #42 Mello Yellow Chrysler on the pole. "I'm feeling really good about winning tomorrow" Petty said.

The race didn't start til late because of weather conditions. When the race started, Dale Earnhardt, who started alongside Petty shot into the lead. Petty stayed in second until a hard charging Terry Schoonover came up and passed him. The caution then came out for Kenny Wallace crashing. Kyle pitted with the leaders and won the race off pit road.

The race restarted and Petty and Schoonover battled each other until the next caution came out for Derrike Cope stalling out on track. On the restart, Petty and Schoonover jumped past Ron Bouchard who hadn't pitted and Kyle got back into the lead.

Suddenly, it started to rain again and the race was halted. It didn't look like it would clear so they called the race. Kyle Petty won his first race of the year and is now almost tied with Darrell Waltrip and Ernie Irvan for the final two spots in the playoffs. Rusty Wallace is now up to fourteenth after finishing sixth at Texas World and in this race. Tim Richmond and Geoff Bodine's windows of opportunity are closing quickly with three races til playoffs start.

Bill Elliott is now only four points behind Davey Allison for the lead. Davey has led since winning the Daytona 500 in February, and has had a significant points lead. This is now almost vanished. These two could be the top championship contenders.

Kyle Petty is happy after winning. He now has a great chance to make the playoffs.
​

Some possible silly season stuff was announced. Hendrick Motorsports announced Joe Nemecheck would drive the #35 at Michigan and Darlington. Nobody has been confirmed for the ride next year though, but it looks like it could either be Ricky Craven or Nemecheck. Eddie Bierschwale dnq'd for the race and was immediately let go by team owner Bud Moore. Shortly after this, Eddie announced his retirement. He raced for seven seasons with 0 wins, 0 top fives, and 0 top tens. With him and Kenny Schrader out of the Solo Cup, this means Schoonover was the only successful driver from the rookie class of 1985. It is not known who will replace him yet or how much longer Moore will keep his team going.

Brett Bodine runs right ahead of Alan Kulwicki and Terry Schoonover. Bodine had a great run in this race and finished fifth. Kulwicki was seventh.
​

DETROIT GASKET 200: Todd Bodine holds off all the leeches to win the inaugural Busch Series race at Michigan. Bodine just recently announced he will race in the #34 car for one more year before moving to cup. Bodine's win puts him fourth in points between David Green and Jeff Gordon. Robert Pressley dnf'd early and now he and Nemecheck are just about neck and neck in points. ESPN asked Nemecheck what it means to be contending for a championship and what he thinks of running his first Solo Cup race:

My team and I have really come about over two years. Where we were in 90' to where we are now is tremendous progress. Sunday I make my first cup start and I'm gonna show Rick (Hendrick) why he should hire me for next year.

Also, Jeff Gordon will sub for Jimmy Spencer in the #66 tomorrow.

Clifford Allison had a shit weekend. In practice on Thursday he clobbered the turn two wall. Many thought he was severely injured or even dead. When he climbed out, everyone cheered. Benny Parsons saw it happen live, "I thought there was no way he could have survived that, but he did!" Parsons exclaimed. In the race, Allison crashed into the turn two wall again but this time, not so severely. Clifford has already announced he will be back in Barry Owen's #9 next year and they will attempt Solo Cup races as well.

​

MOPAR 400: Harry Gant plays his fuel milage right and won ahead of Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Terry Schoonover, and Davey Allison. This win also helps Gant clinch his spot in the playoffs. Elliott, Allison, and Alan Kulwicki clinched their spots as well. 5th-8th in points will claim theirs at Bristol in two weeks.

As for drivers on the bubble, Waltrip is up to 11th while Ernie Irvan and Kyle Petty are tied. Rusty Wallace is not too far behind them in 14th. Rusty is hoping to win at Bristol as it's his best track. Geoff Bodine's window finally shut in this race as he crashed early with Larry Pearson. Kulwicki had hoped both his cars would finally make the playoffs but he will have to wait another season.

Joe Nemecheck crashed in his debut race and finished 35th. He hopes to do better at Darlington. Dick Trickle has been loaned out to Bud Moore's team to fill the seat vacated by Bierschwale. He crashed out too. Trickle may end up as the new driver for this team as Butch Mock may shut the #75 car down due to lack of funds and sponsorship. Lake Speed ran in this race only to catch on fire. Here's a picture of it afterwards:

As always, give this timeline appreciation. It's not hard. Just press like!​

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: BURLINGTON AND BRISTOL​

NEW ENGLAND CHEVY DEALERS 250: Since the cup leeches were off, they came to Vermont. Dale Earnhardt, both Terrys, and Rusty Wallace all competed. Schoonover was the dominant car most of the race until sadly, he blew his engine. The race then turned into a battle between Earnhardt and Joe Nemecheck. Coming to the checkered flag, Dale led with Joe right behind him. In the final turn, turn 9, Nemecheck nudged Dale aside and went on to win. Nemecheck extends his points lead hopes that he one step closer to the championship.

WRITERS NOTE: If you're wondering if Burlington is a real track, it isn't. This is a mod on NR2003. I decided it was worthy enough to exist ITTL. Here's a history I made up for it: Burlington Raceway was built in 1965 by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). They used it for their own events including Trans Am the historic Can Am. The Busch Series started racing here in 1988 with Tommy Ellis winning the inaugural race. Rob Moroso won in 89', Ricky Craven in 90' and 91'. CART now races here. Their race was the next day. Bobby Rahal won and extends his points lead.

FOOD CITY 300: Morgan Shepherd had the night of his life battling Jeff Gordon, who eventually crashed out, and Randy LaJoie. Shepherd got knocked back into reality when he and LaJoie made contact with each other trying to lap Ricky Craven. Both wrecked along with David Green. Shepherd went hard into the pit road wall and had to be put on a stretcher. He is not racing in the Solo Cup race tomorrow night. Hopefully he'll be ok. LaJoie will be driving in Rob Moroso's cup car. Rob may retire at season's end and give Randy the ride next year. In almost two seasons in cup, he still hasn't done much. Anyways, here's the wreck live on ESPN:

Pretend Shepherd is an unsponsored #77 Pontiac.

After this, Todd Bodine and Elton Sawyer battled for the lead. Sawyer bumped Bodine out of his way but Todd came back and shunted him out of the way and went on to his third win of the season. The win now puts him up to third in points. Nemechek still has the lead even after having a suspension problem in the race causing him to finish many laps down. Pressley remains second. Green is now fourth after wrecking, Gordon and Ward Burton remain fifth and sixth respectively.

Nemecheck hitting the wall due to the suspension failure.
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BUSCHHHHHHHHHHHH 500: Darrell Waltrip led the most laps of the race and won. He should be able to clinch a playoff spot now. Some playoff contenders crashed, they included Terry Schoonover, who crashed early while leading, Harry Gant ,who also had a good night, and Davey Allison. Davey also lost the points lead which he had since the beginning of the season. He is now 9 points behind Bill Elliott. Here's the points going into the final regular season race at Darlington:

1 x-Bill Elliott 2946
2 x- Davey Allison 2937 -9
3 x-Alan Kulwicki 2913 -33
4 x-Harry Gant 2915 -35
5 x-Mark Martin 2904 -42
6 x-Dale Earnhardt 2891 -55
7 x-Terry Labonte 2870 -76
8 x-Bobby Hamilton 2869 -77
9 x-Terry Schoonover 2868 -78
10 x-Darrell Waltrip 2863 -83
11 Sterling Marlin 2853 -93
12 Kyle Petty 2845 -101
_______Cutoff Line_________
13 Ernie Irvan 2841 -105
14 Tim Richmond 2829 -112
Rusty Wallace is 15th, 118 points behind. He has a slight chance, but probably won't make it. Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd are too far behind now.

Pretend Darrell is sponsored by Wal-Mart.​

 

[alpal2214]

Pretend Darrell is sponsored by Wal-Mart.

I presume we also should pretend that the sponsor of the race is Busch and not Budweiser.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

I presume we also should pretend that the sponsor of the race is Busch and not Budweiser.

Just was about to put that lol.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

20K HOORAY!!!!!!!

 

[Jim Smitty]

 

[Chocolate Raines]

There's a ton of vids on this. Here's one I made for a class:

 

[Jim Smitty]

There's a ton of vids on this. Here's one I made for a class:

Nazareth was a fun track. Hopefully your TL keeps it.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Nazareth was a fun track. Hopefully your TL keeps it.

It's even fun to drive in the old games such as NASCAR 08.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORT: DARLINGTON
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GATORADE 300: Harry Gant was having a dominant day until Dale Jarrett put him in the frontstretch wall ending his day. Jarrett would get karma when he didn't make a final pit stop and tried to finish on older tires. He tried to hold off Michael Waltrip but couldn't. Waltrip wins his first Busch Series race at Darlington and his second race there. "It feels just like last year only a series lower" said Mikey.

Todd Bodine finished 10th while Nemecheck and Pressley struggled. Bodine now moves up to second in points, 18 behind Nemecheck. With six races remaining, here's the points:

1 Joe Nemecheck 3460
2 Todd Bodine 3452 -18
3 Robert Pressley 3435 -25
4 David Green 3428 -32
5 Jeff Gordon 3213 -47
6 Ward Burton 3183 -77

MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTHERN 500: Coming into the race, Davey Allison looked to become the second driver ever to win the Solo Cup of a Million®. Allison worked hard to stay up front battling points rivals Bill Elliott, Mark Martin and Harry Gant. On lap 284 of 367, Davey was just about to pit. Rain was moving in and he and his crew were hoping to pit and then cycle back out to the lead before the rain started. Suddenly, the caution flew, it was raining. Allison brought everyone down the frontstretch pit road and the race was red flagged. Now he just hoped they would call it. A little bit later, Davey became the second driver to win the Million. "It means so much to me" he said. "There's only two of us who have won it and he's finishing second to me this year in the championship"(a jab at Bill Elliott).

​

Bobby Hamilton was having a top five run until a stupid block by Ernie Irvan sent them into the wall. Hamilton was able to continue on to finish 28th, while Irvan ended his chances to be a playoff contender. Dale Earnhardt was in the garage most of the race but was able to get back on track and finish 29th. Michael Waltrip's dream of sweeping the weekend blew up on lap 102. Jimmy Means, Jeff Gordon, Joe Nemecheck, and Randy LaJoie all dnq'd. While the Moroso team hasn't announced anything about LaJoie replacing Rob Moroso next year, another team made their announcement. Richard Petty announced that the new driver of the #43 will be:

Spoiler: Petty's new driver

revealed in a commercial for STP during October's Mello Yellow Roval 400K at Charlotte.

The playoffs are now set. Here's the grid:

1 Bill Elliott 3116
2 Davey Allison 3112 -4
3 Alan Kulwicki 3055 -61
4 Harry Gant 3046 -70
5 Mark Martin 3029 -87
6 Terry Labonte 3017 -99
7 Dale Earnhardt 3003 -113
8 Terry Schoonover 2997 -119
9 Bobby Hamilton 2996 -120
10 Darrell Waltrip 2989 -127
11 Kyle Petty 2986 -130
12 Sterling Marlin 2982 -134

Ernie Irvan, Tim Richmond, Rusty Wallace, Geoff Bodine, and Ricky Rudd all miss out. Sterling hung on by the skin of his teeth to make it in. Here's what he had to say,

We've been in the top twelve all season long. We knew we were sinking and we were worried we would fall out of contention. Kind of glad Irvan wrecked. Hope the Sunoco Oldsmobile won't be eliminated early.

Sterling Marlin relaxes after race was called knowing he would be in.​

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: RICHMOND AND DOVER
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AUTOLITE 200: Robert Pressley held off the leeches of Mark Martin and Darrell Waltrip to win. The points however remain unchanged but Todd Bodine has gained four points on Nemecheck. Terry Schoonover looked to be the dominant car of the night until he blew his engine. Casey Elliott, the nephew of Bill Elliott, attempted to make the race in his uncle's #94 car but dnq'd. He is expected to share this ride with Uncle Bill next season. Another announcement finally came from the Moroso team. Rob staged a press conference where he said this,

My time in cup has been short, but I know who can turn this team around. Today I announce my retirement from racing. I would like to announce Randy LaJoie as the new driver of the#20 in cup.

LaJoie will drive the car the rest of the season and signed a three year contract. They also showed off their 1993 car. They will switch to Ford. LaJoie will run in cup for the first time since 1986 when he ran a few races for himself.

​

WRANGLER 400: Rusty Wallace looked to steal a win from a playoff driver, but Mark Martin kept him from doing that and got around him to win. The gap between Elliott and Allison grows a little as Bill finished 14th, and Davey 19th. Sterling Marlin and Kyle Petty remain in elimination. Both will have to do well at Dover to stay in. Bobby Hamilton is sitting in tenth now and isn't very far ahead of Petty in points. If something were to happen to him at Dover, he could possibly be eliminated.

Some bad and good news from Derrike Cope and the Bob Whitcomb team. The bad news was that Cope crashed out early and Bob is selling the team. The good news is Cale Yarborough is getting back into the ownership game and will take over this team next year. They are expected to remain the #10 Purolator Chrysler.

Ricky Craven was back in the #35 for Hendrick Motorsports. He finished 34th, second to last after the rear axle broken. There still isn't any announcement of who will drive that car next year. Randy LaJoie and Jeff Gordon dnq'd along with James Hylton, Morgan Shepherd, and Jimmy Means. Neil Bonnett fell ill and RCR withdrew the #31. Bonnett will hopefully be back for Dover.

SPLITFIRE SPARK PLUGS 300: Robert Pressley makes it another two in a row and moves back into second. Todd and Joe Nemecheck were both caught in accidents. Bodine's was early in the race, but recovered to finish 13th. Nemecheck's was right at the end and he ended up 15th. The battle for the championship is still very close:

1 Joe Nemecheck 3730
2 Robert Pressley 3719 -11
3 Todd Bodine 3715 -25

PEAK ANTIFREEZE 400: Terry Labonte plays his pit strategy right and beats Bill Elliott to win. Kyle Petty finished third while Bobby Hamilton dnf'd and was eliminated as well as Sterling Marlin even after finishing seventh; it just wasn't enough for him to move on. Alan Kulwicki wrecked and lost third to Harry Gant.

Dick Trickle got a strong top fifteen finish(15th). It was just recently announced that Bud Moore is selling the team to Ford Racing president Michael Kranefuss. Trickle will be the driver of the #15 next year.

Going into the next round of the playoffs, the standings are:

1 Bill Elliott 3417
2 Davey Allison 3403 -14
3 Harry Gant 3398 -29
4 Alan Kulwicki 3396 -31
5 Mark Martin 3392 -35
6 Terry Labonte 3388 -39
7 Dale Earnhardt 3382 -45
8 Darrell Waltrip 3376 -51
9 Kyle Petty 3371 -56
10 Terry Schoonover 3369 -58

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: MARTINSVILLE AND NORTH WILKESBORO
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SOLO 200: Chuck Bown looked to dominate until he blew his engine. Clifford Allison then went on to win his first career Busch Series race. In victory lane with his brother Davey and father Bobby, he said:

Today, another Allison is a winner. This is only the beginning for me. I'll be hopefully in cup soon and then they'll be two Allisons racing together again. Just you wait.

Both Todd Bodine and Robert Pressley struggled. Bodine had to go behind the wall for a bit, but got back out to finish 21st. Pressley dnf'd after beating his car up in multiple incidents. Joe Nemecheck might just cruise to the championship now.

One of the multiple incidents in the race got a driver parked. Jeff Gordon brake checked Jack Sprague in turn one. Sprague bumped Gordon and spun him. He was accused of intentionally spinning him. "I don't know why they thought I did" Sprague said. "You can look at the tape and see he hit the brakes". "It's just NASCAR being silly".

Clifford Allison runs third here. Jeff Gordon is ahead of him and Bobby Dotter is behind. Chuck Bown leads ahead of Gordon.
​

GOODY'S 500: This race was a battle of non-playoff drivers. Rusty Wallace, Geoff Bodine, and Ricky Rudd all battled for the lead and in the end, Bodine won his first race of the season and his first with Alan Kulwicki. Speaking of Kulwicki, he rebounded from his wreck at Dover to finish fifth and take back over third in points.

Kyle Petty was the best of the playoff drivers winning the pole and leading early until he spun out. He made an epic comeback to finish fourth. He moves up to eighth in points putting Waltrip in elimination territory along with Schoonover. DAEL and Bill Elliott both dnf'd. Allison closes back within five points of Elliott. Earnhardt remains in seventh but is being stalked by Petty.

Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip battle early before DAEL dropped out.
​

TYSON HOLLY FARMS 400: After being moved to Monday because of rain, Geoff Bodine won again in dominating fashion and the race didn't have any cautions to stop his run. "It's too bad I didn't make the playoffs" he said. "These two wins could've really gotten me in championship contention had I been in and not eliminated".

Kyle Petty finished third and knocked Darrell Waltrip and Terry Schoonover out. He is actually up to seventh in points now since Dale Earnhardt didn't do so well in this race.

Next week, is the Mello Yello 400K on the roval. Schoonover, Petty, and Wallace have a chance to win 50 grand. If any of them win the race. Otherwise, if another driver wins, they'll get the 25K and all four of them would have to try to win at Riverside. Also, more silly season news will happen next week. Stay tuned!

Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace, and Kyle Petty battle for the lead in the early stages before Bodine got up there and led for the rest of the race.
​

Here's the standings going into the round of 8:

1 Bill Elliott 3575
2 Davey Allison 3568 -7
3 Alan Kulwicki 3561 -14
4 Harry Gant 3558 -17
5 Mark Martin 3552 -23
6 Terry Labonte 3544 -31
7 Kyle Petty 3538 -37
8 Dale Earnhardt 3532 -42

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORT: CHARLOTTE ROVAL

The Charlotte roval in it's 17 turn glory​

ALL PRO 250: Mark Martin looked to dominate until he had a battery failure. His future Solo Cup teammate Jeff Gordon then went onto sweep Charlotte for 92' on both the oval and roval. Joe Nemecheck extended his points lead as Robert Pressley struggled, and Todd Bodine wrecked with Dale Jarrett and Jim Bown. Nemecheck could clinch the championship at Rockingham, but only if something happens to Pressley. Bodine is fallen way behind.

MELLO YELLO ROVAL 400K: In first Charlotte Solo Cup roval race, Alan Kulwicki started on pole, but found himself behind Kyle Petty and Mark Martin most of the race. Then, the only caution of the day happened. Brett Bodine spun out coming off of turn 11 (oval turn 2). On the restart, Kulwicki powered past Petty into turn one and started to hunt down Martin. Kulwicki caught him a lap later and the two went side by side down the backstretch to the chicane. Knowing not to cause a mishap, Mark had no choice but to let off and let Kulwicki by. This move proved to be a mistake as Alan then was able to pull away and went on to win. "I knew I shouldn't have let up, but I had no choice" Martin said. "That's just how you race on a road course, it's a gentleman's move, and it cost me." This win kept Kulwicki in third and in the championship hunt which is now getting tighter since Bill Elliott had another dnf. Davey Allison is now only four points behind while Kulwicki is 13 behind. If Elliott has another problem at Rockingham, he'll lose the points lead for sure.

Reviews for the roval race was pretty positive. TBS conducted another poll after the Busch Series race to see fans reaction and the results were 87-13%. Charlotte Motor Speedway CEO Humpy Wheeler said,

This Race proved to be what the fans want and the Speedway is happy to keep it coming.

Dylan Jacobs was not a fan of the race at all. Here's his NASCAR Rant n' Review episode the next day:

Richard Petty's successor was finally revealed. The STP commercial aired. In the commercial, Petty is reflecting on his career. Then he talks about STP's longtime sponsorship of his team. He then says, "STP oil treatment has kept me running all this time and I'm sure it'll do the same to you, Robert". Robert Pressley then walks into the frame dressed like Petty (cowboy hat and sunglasses) and says, "I'm sure they will". A voiceover then says, STP would like to welcome Robert Pressley to the STP family as the new driver of the #43 STP Chrysler. We look forward to the future and thank King Richard for the last twenty years and hope to make more memories in the next twenty". Coming back from the commercial break, TBS's Rick Benjamin talked to Pressley in the STP race center. Pressley told him how the deal happened:

I got a call back in July saying it was Richard Petty and I knew it wasn't a prank call. He told me he had narrowed his choice down to two drivers and decided on me. He told me I schooled the younger Busch drivers and I should be in Cup by now. I was so amazed. When King Richard himself asks you to drive for him, do you say no? We ended the call agreeing that I'd come to Petty Enterprises to sign my contract immediately. Keeping it a secret til the commercial was in the clause. My family couldn't believe it. My dad (short track driver Bob Pressley) told me that this is the greatest thing a Pressley could do. I can't wait to drive next year!

Pressley's Busch team hasn't announced who will replace him yet.

​

In other silly season news, Bobby Hillin is back for good. Junie Donlavey has announced Hillin will drive the #90 Ford full time with a sponsorship deal from Heilig-Meyers furniture. They ran in this race, but finished 32nd after an oil leak. This will be the first time team has been full time since 1988. Also, Ron Bouchard has signed a one year extension with SAR to drive the #8 Chrysler. Hendrick Motorsports still hasn't announced who will drive the #35, but it's looking more and more like Joe Nemecheck will be the driver.

Hillin's 1993 ride.​

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORT: ROCKINGHAM

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AC DELCO 300: The entire race was the Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon convoy. The only eventful part of the race was a multi-car wreck that took out a bunch of backmarkers along with Bobby Dotter and Steve Grissom. Robert Pressley blew his engine and all chances to win the championship. When interviewed he said,

It's a shame I'm not going leaving this series on top but that's just how it is. We'll go to Phoenix next week and see what we can do. I'd also like to congratulate Joe on his championship and hope he's in Cup with me next year.

All Nemecheck needs to do now is get a top twenty and he's the 1992 Busch Series champion. Bodine and Pressley are to far behind now by having their dnf's in the last few races.

AC DELCO 500: Since it's Rockingham, you'd come to expect this to be another Kyle Petty show and you're right. Petty led 484 of 492 laps en route to locking up his spot in the round of six and eliminating Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt. Labonte finished third, but Petty winning ended his hopes of moving on. Bill Elliott still leads, but is still vulnerable to challengers. Here's the points for the round of six:

1 Bill Elliott 3818
2 Davey Allison 3811 -7
3 Alan Kulwicki 3803 -15
4 Harry Gant 3794 -24
5 Mark Martin 3791 -27
*Mark wrecked in the race but was safe from elimination.*
6 Kyle Petty 3790 -28

​

 

[Chocolate Raines]

RACE REPORTS: PHOENIX AND RIVERSIDE ROUND OF SIX
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ARIZONA 300: In the first Busch Series race in the western United States, Joe Nemechek won both the race and championship. Nemecheck started second, battled with pole sitter Jeff Gordon for most of the race until Gordon ran out of gas with two to go. Also, a few days before, it was finally announced that he would be in Hendrick Motorsports #35 next year meaning Ricky Craven will have to spend another year in Busch. It's probably a good thing he does as he's had a crappy season and could hopefully rebound in 1993.

YOUR 1992 BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION: JOE NEMECHEK

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CHECKER AUTO PARTS 500: Rusty Wallace led most of the race, but had a battery die on him and cost him a win. Davey Allison went on to win and take the points lead after Bill Elliott dropped out with a blown gasket. Elliott falls to third. Both Kulwicki and Mark Martin had top fives. Mark keeps fifth over Kyle Petty and hopes to knock Harry Gant out by winning at Riverside.

COORS 500: Mark's hopes of winning the race almost came true, but going into turn nine, just before the finish line, Ricky Rudd cut to his inside and edged him to win. This is Rudd's first win since North Wilkesboro two years ago. Even sadder for Mark, his second place didn't get him into the final four as Kyle Petty had led more laps in the race (17-5). Petty finished third while Kulwicki was fifth, Allison ninth, and Elliott 15th. Harry Gant just isn't good here at Riverside. Last year, he flipped when he botched a turn. This year, he locked up his brakes in turn 8 and went of into the sand and tire barrier costing him a final four berth. Going into the championship your final four are:

1 Davey Allison 4004
2 Alan Kulwicki 4001 -3
3 Bill Elliott 3996 -9
4 Kyle Petty 3994 -11

Championship race report coming up soon!

 

[Chocolate Raines]

BONUS POST: I forgot to put this in the Rockingham race report but that same weekend (the third weekend of October), ARCA had their finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It's the only fall event at the track since NASCAR no longer runs two races there a year. Anyways, Bob Keselowski won the race and the championship in a close battle with rival driver Bobby Bowsher. Bowsher finished third in the race. This is Keselowski's second ARCA championship having won three years earlier.

 

[stratonapba]

That's right but in the future the ARCA and Busch Series Season Finale races may go to Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, CA

 

[Chocolate Raines]

That's right but in the future the ARCA and Busch Series Season Finale races may go to Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, CA

Nah, it's homestead. I'm gonna say that now. That remains the same ITTL in 1995.