Alternate Classic NASCAR

The place for non-canon series, including all series that contain minimal or no references at all to the RWRS universe
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Salamander
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

FAIRGROUNDS FAIR GAME FOR RICHMOND
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While some may have questioned Junior Johnson's decision to open a second team for Tim Richmond, in two weeks of driving the #12 car, Richmond has effectively proven that, if nothing else, he is certainly worthy of the machinery at his disposal. A week after winning the pole and coming within half a lap of victory at the Daytona 500, Richmond followed up the performance with a dominant showing at his namesake track, the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, for his 4th Cup series win, and first on a short track.

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The race opened with Richard Petty leading from pole position - the first in almost five years for the King, as he makes the most of his new surroundings at Hagan Racing. However, poor strategy calls relative to the frontrunners ultimately relegated Petty to a 10th place finish by the end. Bill Elliott proceeded to take command of the race, before Cale Yarborough surged through into the lead. Then, just before half distance, Richmond made his move to take the lead for himself, having lurked in 2nd or 3rd the whole race up to that point. With the lead secure, he never looked back, taking the win with ease

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Late charges from Dale Earnhardt, Neil Bonnett, and most notably, Richmond's Junior Johnson stablemate Darrell Waltrip all came up short. Notable runs also came from the likes of Lake Speed and Ron Bouchard, who did well to remain on the lead lap as Richmond ran rampant in the second half of the race.

Futher down the field, Terry Labonte rallied well to finish 11th, after losing a lap to the leaders very early in the race, having had to pit to change a cut tyre. Ricky Rudd performed quietly but solidly, taking advantage of others' misfortune to finish 12th, while defending champion Bobby Allison fell a lap down around half distance due to an ill-matched set of tyres, then lost another lap after pitting just before a caution. He ultimately finished a disappointing 18th. Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty and Mark Martin will both leave Richmond disappointed - both looked strong contenders for top 10 finishes, but dropped out due to engine failures.

Following his win, Tim Richmond takes the points lead by 31 over Richard Petty, with Dale Earnhardt 3rd, 55 points back after a strong 2nd place finish.

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If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. :)
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

JAWS STRIKES BACK AT THE ROCK

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With 16 laps to go, Darrell Waltrip restarted from first place. The two-time champ had spent most of the latter half of the race dueling for the win with Geoff Bodine - however, a late incident between Bobby Allison and Sterling Marlin brought out the caution one final time, prompting one last round of pitstops, from which Waltrip emerged the leader. Then, disaster struck for the Childress team: Bodine's car came back in the very next lap with a blown header, their day over agonisingly close to victory. However, there was still one major stumbling block in the way of the 11 team. The formerly-lapped cars of Kyle Petty, Ricky Rudd, and Lake Speed all elected not to pit, placing themselves on the tail end of the lead lap, hoping to catch another caution quickly and put themselves back into contention for the race win.

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While it was an admirable display of the never-say-die attitude required of every competitor in the Cup garage, it meant that Waltrip, the leader, was mired in traffic as racing resumed. Sensing an opportunity to steal the win, Neil Bonnett surged from 3rd to 1st in one lap, taking the lead for the first time on lap 477 of 492. Tim Richmond followed through, having spent most of the race quietly hanging around in the lower reaches of the top ten after an early spin involving himself and Bobby Hillin Jr. Still, Jaws would not be denied the win so easily, and only 5 laps later, once most of the lapped traffic had been dealt with, he moved back into 2nd place, immediately placing the pressure on Bonnett.

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Bonnett had struggled to make much of an impression on the leaders all through the race, but some late adjustments, and the final restart, placed him in a position to steal the win. The pair fought nose to tail for several laps, with Richmond lurking behind in third but finally, on lap 486, Waltrip made his move. Unable to defend, Bonnett could only watch as the 11 car sailed into the lead. Despite valiantly fending off the second of Junior Johnson's cars, he was unable to dislodge Waltrip from the lead again, and had to watch as Waltrip secured his 58th Winston Cup win.

Terry Labonte picked up the first top 5 finish for the new All-Star Racing team in 4th, while Dale Earnhardt continued his strong start to 1984 with a 5th place finish, and Ron Bouchard capped off an impressive race by finishing 6th, the last car on the lead lap. Harry Gant, Sterling Marlin, and Ricky Rudd all ran well to collect the first top 10 finishes for their new teams, with Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty making a very impressive charge from starting 37th and last to finish 10th. Geoff Bodine had to settle for 27th, in the end, having led the most laps, while early race leader Bill Elliott wound up 34th, some 281 laps down, having suffered multiple issues throughout the day.

With his 3rd place finish, Tim Richmond maintains the point lead, with Dale Earnhardt 2nd, 65 points back. Darrell Waltrip's win moves him up to 5th in the standings.

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Aislabie
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Aislabie »

Could I jump in and take Richard Childress Racing please?
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Aislabie wrote:Could I jump in and take Richard Childress Racing please?


Childress is yours! Geoff Bodine has had a couple of impressive runs already and could challenge for the title if his luck makes a turn for the better.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Aislabie »

Salamander wrote:
Aislabie wrote:Could I jump in and take Richard Childress Racing please?


Childress is yours! Geoff Bodine has had a couple of impressive runs already and could challenge for the title if his luck makes a turn for the better.

Well in that case I don't feel the need to make any aggressive changes. I take it that we're just a single-car entry at this point?
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Aislabie wrote:
Salamander wrote:
Aislabie wrote:Could I jump in and take Richard Childress Racing please?


Childress is yours! Geoff Bodine has had a couple of impressive runs already and could challenge for the title if his luck makes a turn for the better.

Well in that case I don't feel the need to make any aggressive changes. I take it that we're just a single-car entry at this point?


Indeed - maybe in a couple years I'll look at allowing teams to expand, but for now everyone's a 1-car team, except for Junior Johnson.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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EARNHARDT EARNS VICTORY AT ATLANTA
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Lapped traffic was a constant bugbear for the leaders in this year's Coca-Cola 500. After a hard day's work, placing himself at the head of the pack late in the going at Atlanta, Dale Earnhardt's chances of victory seemed shot with 20 to go, as Darrell Waltrip successfully boxed Earnhardt in amongst slower traffic. Shuffled back to 12th place, a succession of forceful moves elevated Earnhardt back into contention with only a handful of laps remaining. However, the biggest obstacle to Earnhardt's victory still stood in his way with only 2 laps remaining. Bill Elliott led the most laps, and the Skoal Bandit was undoubtedly the one car that could fend off Earnhardt's. Nonetheless, Earnhardt forced his way to the inside, in the very car Elliott established his career in, pinning Elliott behind the damaged car of Benny Parsons, and paving his way to victory.

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A thrilling and competitive race throughout, the finish saw 12 drivers separated by only 1.5 seconds, 5 drivers lead for at least 30 laps, with nobody leading more than 88 laps over the 328 that were run. Though the lead was regularly held by one of the main contenders, special mentions must be made to the likes of Joe Ruttman, who fought admirably amongst the leaders all race long, delivering an impressive top ten finish for the start-up Stavola Brothers team in only their 4th race. Harry Gant also drove superbly for the new Curb Racing outfit, taking pole position and leading 5 laps.

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However, there was also misfortune for two of the pre-season title favourites. On lap 263, Darrell Waltrip forced Buddy Arrington and Delma Cowart into an awkward 3-wide situation as he attempted to claim the lead. Attempting not to hinder the leader's progress, Cowart and Arrington tangle and crashed in turn 3, and as Arrington slid down the track, Lake Speed misjudged the situation and clipped the 67 car. In an attempt to avoid the spinning car of Speed, Richard Petty and Neil Bonnett dove on to the apron, but couldn't maintain control, and crashed hard into the pit wall. Petty's car flipped on to its roof, and the force of the impact cracked a couple of his ribs. Bonnett was lucky to escape with a minor sprain to his wrist which will heal before the next race at Bristol.

The win sees Earnhardt close in on points leader Tim Richmond, as the 1980 champion seeks to underline his 1984 title credentials, now only 36 points out of the lead. Darrell Waltrip lurks in 3rd, just over 100 points out of the lead, with Kyle Petty continuing his excellent start to the year in 4th.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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It is too early to say that the King has been dethroned by his offspring? Kyle Petty has been doing work this season!
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

(Does this mean that Pilot a.k.a. Hagan Racing need to nominate a replacement for Richard for at least 1 race?)

Harry Melling wrote:We got a real scrap out there, but Dale knows how to hit back and outfox the competition. We have a great car and have been consistent, and we can reel in Richmond over the course of the season.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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CarloSpace wrote:It is too early to say that the King has been dethroned by his offspring? Kyle Petty has been doing work this season!


Watching Kyle Petty in the 92/93 seasons sold me on the idea that he was actually a pretty talented racer in his day - his problem was that he didn't always take it seriously. But if he'd scored his first win in dramatic fashion at the Daytona 500, by beating his legendary father, well, I'd imagine that would have had quite an effect on his outlook. Certainly a lot more than having to wait another couple of years for that first win, and only getting it because Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt wrecked each other.

CaptainGetz12 wrote:(Does this mean that Pilot a.k.a. Hagan Racing need to nominate a replacement for Richard for at least 1 race?)


I was considering it because it was a really nasty hit, but in the end it was just caused by the AI being stupid. I don't really want to punish Pilot too hard for that - especially given it was fairly common through this era to start a race but turn the wheel over to another driver if they weren't physically able to finish the race. Unlike in F1, where points got shared between all drivers who drove the same car, in NASCAR, whoever started the car gets credit for all points scored at the end of the race, even if they only completed one lap.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Pilot »

Salamander wrote:
CarloSpace wrote:It is too early to say that the King has been dethroned by his offspring? Kyle Petty has been doing work this season!


Watching Kyle Petty in the 92/93 seasons sold me on the idea that he was actually a pretty talented racer in his day - his problem was that he didn't always take it seriously. But if he'd scored his first win in dramatic fashion at the Daytona 500, by beating his legendary father, well, I'd imagine that would have had quite an effect on his outlook. Certainly a lot more than having to wait another couple of years for that first win, and only getting it because Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt wrecked each other.

CaptainGetz12 wrote:(Does this mean that Pilot a.k.a. Hagan Racing need to nominate a replacement for Richard for at least 1 race?)


I was considering it because it was a really nasty hit, but in the end it was just caused by the AI being stupid. I don't really want to punish Pilot too hard for that - especially given it was fairly common through this era to start a race but turn the wheel over to another driver if they weren't physically able to finish the race. Unlike in F1, where points got shared between all drivers who drove the same car, in NASCAR, whoever started the car gets credit for all points scored at the end of the race, even if they only completed one lap.


Thanks, Salamander for sparing Hagan and I :P This season, as you probably imagine, is going quite terrible.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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EARNHARDT GOES BACK TO BACK AT BRISTOL

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With a sixth of the season complete, Dale Earnhardt made clear his status as the early season title-favourite, as he secured his second consecutive win in dominant fashion at Bristol. Earnhardt led early, but a poor pitstop under the race's second caution dropped him several positions. Regardless, he battled his way through the field, finally reclaiming the lead just past half distance. From there, he didn't look back, untroubled regardless of who challenged him, to take his 3rd win at the track, and first since 1980, when he he won on his way to the championship.

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Probably Earnhardt's strongest challenger came in the form of Geoff Bodine. Following the pitstop trouble for the Melling Racing team, Bodine soon assumed command of the race and only relinquished it when Earnhardt forced his way past. He remained Earnhardt's strongest challenger until the latter stages of the race, when he lost track position with a poor restart and could never regain it. He finished 5th, having led an impressive 176 laps. Strong runs also came from Harry Gant, who led early and remained in the top 5 all race long, Dick Trickle, who led his first laps in a Winston Cup race since 1973, and Morgan Shepherd in particular. Shepherd qualified the struggling Henderson Racing Buick a solid 18th and came through to fight amongst the top 10 for most of the race, even fighting Geoff Bodine for 5th at the end of the race.

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Conversely, the race was one to forget for Junior Johnson's Double Thunder. Darrell Waltrip saw his streak of 6 consecutive Bristol wins end in ignominious fashion - after getting shuffled back to outside the top 20 on the race start, he raced his way back into the top 10. However, Waltrip got caught up in the second caution of the race, when Dick Brooks didn't slow down in time and got into him from behind. From there, Waltrip's chances of victory were shot as he couldn't maintain pace with the leaders, finishing 12th, 3 laps down. Tim Richmond lost his points lead as well - clipping the spinning car of D.K. Ulrich in the same incident where Waltrip was damaged. His car, which was also a top 10 contender early on, suffered major handling issues for the rest of the day as his right front wheel was knocked out of alignment - eventually, the car became undriveable, and he was forced to retire the car shortly before the race's conclusion. Richard Petty heroically kept himself in contention for a strong top 15 finish despite his injuries, however, past the halfway mark, exhaustion began to creep in, forcing him to call for a relief driver. Unfortunately, none were available at the time, and the 44 Piedmont Airlines Chevy ended the day 23rd.

Earnhardt's win moves him into a 52 point lead over Tim Richmond, and 131 points over Darrell Waltrip. A 2nd place finish for Harry Gant has seen him rise to 4th in points, as he quietly starts to build up a potential title charge of his own. Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty rounds out the top 5 in points, with Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett, and Geoff Bodine all hot on his heels. Impressively, Bobby Hillin Jr. moves into the top 10 in points despite not scoring a top 10 finish to date in his career. However, in the Ron Benfield-owned #98 car, Hillin has been improving every race, picking up points where others have failed. Ricky Rudd rounds out the top 10 for the Wood Brothers.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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KING RICHARD REIGNS IN NORTH WILKESBORO

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One week ago, Richard Petty's injuries from a scary crash at Atlanta forced him to retire early at Bristol. Today, though, there were no such worries for the 7-time champ, and now 199-time race winner, as he closes in on the magic 200 win mark. From his 15th-place starting position, Petty methodically worked his way through the field. Despite initially being shuffled back in the pack on the start, by using his decades of experience and incredible talent to perfection, he cracked the top 10 by lap 125. By lap 200, he was 5th. And then, on lap 270, under caution, a brilliant pitstop jumped the #44 car from 3rd to 1st.

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From there, Petty weathered the best that his competitors could throw at him, leading all but 9 of the remaining laps en route to his 16th win at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, in what has to go down as one of the most impressive victories in his storied career. That said, the opening of the race had a much different story in tone. That story, was the dominance of Geoff Bodine, who yet again walks away from a Cup race having been a key player in the fight for the win, but unable to close out his first win. Bodine dominated the race after taking the lead on lap 16 from Mark Martin, and only a slow pitstop on the lap 270 caution displaced him from that postion. However, he was unable to reclaim the lead again, and a punctured tyre with under 40 to go relegated Bodine to a frustrating 17th place finish.

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Bodine wouldn't be the only driver frustrated with their result at North Wilkesboro. After leading early from the pole, Mark Martin was in the mix for an impressive top 5 run, until he encountered the powerless car of Ricky Rudd, stuck in the middle of turn 4. Having already committed to his line, Martin couldn't evade in time, and both drivers' races were through on the spot. Rudd was a particularly unpopular driver in the garage after the race - he had already triggered the first caution of the race on lap 14, a 3-car accident involving Joe Ruttman and Bill Elliott, which stymied all of their chances in the race. Darrell Waltrip was similarly involved in an incident with Ron Bouchard, in which the 2-time Cup champ attempted to duck underneath the ailing #47 car, but lost grip on the apron and slid into the rear of Bouchard's car, severely damaging his own.

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That wasn't the worst headache of Junior Johnson's day, though. That accolade had to go to the lap 159 incident between Waltrip and his other driver, Tim Richmond. Richmond, having recently pitted for tyres, was tearing around the track at a whole 2 seconds a lap faster than Waltrip, trying to use that speed to gain track position on the cars ahead of him. As Richmond came up on Waltrip, who was still on the lead lap at this point, Jaws threw the block on his young teammate - though it should also be pointed out that Richmond wasn't alongside Waltrip until they made contact. Both cars spun out but weren't too damaged, though Richmond would remain trapped a lap down for the remainder of the race. Rather, the damage came in regards to relations between the two, as both accused the other of deliberately causing the crash. At least the cars won't have to travel far to be fully repaired, though, given that both of Junior Johnson's teams are based quite close to North Wilkesboro.

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On a more positive note, the many incidents involving the usual challengers allowed some new faces to make their presence known in the top ten. Phil Parsons, brother of 1972 champ Benny, secured an impressive 5th place finish, a personal best, and the best of any rookie driver so far this year. Alongside Parsons, Sterling Marlin also recorded the first top 5 finish of his career, and the first for his team, in 4th, having not looked a step out place when fighting amongst the likes of Petty, Neil Bonnett, and Dale Earnhardt. A little further back, Greg Sacks, despite being involved in an incident with Dave Marcis on lap 184, soldiered his way through the field, passing a number of better funded and more competitive operations - including a memorable battle against the recovering Tim Richmond - in his family-run Chevrolet. He ended the day holding off Bill Elliott for 9th, a just reward for the New York native after his brilliant run at Daytona went up in smoke.

A solid 3rd place finish for Dale Earnhardt sees the 1980 champ extend his points lead over the struggling Tim Richmond, now 98 strong. Neil Bonnett's 2nd place finish moves him from 7th to 3rd, 171 points behind with Bobby Allison, Kyle Petty, Harry Gant, and Darrell Waltrip all close behind. Geoff Bodine holds on to 8th in points, with Richard Petty and Bill Elliott rounding out the top ten.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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RICHMOND ROCKET DOMINATES DARLINGTON
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After a 3 race stretch which saw Tim Richmond lose 163 points to current points leader Dale Earnhardt, he came into the race at Darlington needing to turn things around before he risked the 1980 champ running away with the lead at this early stage. Though the initial phase of the race was dominated by polesitter Benny Parsons, once the engine blew on the #55 car on lap 82, Richmond assumed command of the race, leading 262 of the remaining 286 laps en route to a dominant victory, the 5th of his young career.

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However, true to his relentless form in this 1984 season, Dale Earnhardt would prove Richmond's greatest threat as the race wore on. Though Richmond held the lead, the #9 Ford was often right in his mirrors, waiting to pounce the moment the opportunity arose. Unfortunately for Earnhardt, that moment never arose, and in the end, the Melling team misjudged their pit strategy, relegating Earnhardt to 5th place by the end of the race, ultimately no threat to their most immediate title challenger.

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Darlington is widely known as the 'Track Too Tough to Tame', and it certainly lived up to that moniker this time, as well. One week after his victory at North Wilkesboro, Richard Petty's race came to an end on lap 85, as oil from Benny Parsons' blown engine triggered a major wreck which sidelined a good portion of the field, and crippled many more. Even David Pearson, a winner 10 times at this legendary speedway, was among those bitten by hard luck. Despite showing strong pace in final practice, Pearson was unable to translate to a strong finish, as he lost a lap early to the rampaging Tim Richmond, and was then caught up in a lap 207 crash with Terry Labonte. Now 49, Pearson, the Silver Fox, 3-time Cup champion and 105-time race winner, finds himself winless for a full 4 years.

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Another champion who left Darlington shaking their head was Darrell Waltrip. Although he has won this event 3 times in the past, and showed good pace in final practice as well, he struggled to make any impact on the race. While the other Junior Johnson car was dominating proceedings, Waltrip was lapped around one-third distance, and could never recover. Although he was able to salvage a 9th-place finish, Jaws was understandably far from pleased at how the race turned out, slyly suggesting post-race that Richmond had access to equipment better than he did. For his part, Richmond simply stated that he was the better racer, and that Waltrip only needed to drive faster. Regardless of the truth of their claims, it certainly seems as though Junior Johnson's Double Thunder is already creating more sparks than anticipated, especially following their clash only last week at North Wilkesboro.

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It wasn't all doom and gloom through the garage area post-race, though. Though they wound up a distant 2nd and 3rd to the winner, Buddy Baker and Bobby Hillin both had cause for celebration for their results. Baker's 2nd place finish marks his first top 5 of the season, and the first top 5 for car owner Dave Marcis since 1982. Hillin's 3rd place marks his first-ever top 5 - indeed, the first top 10 in his career. Rusty Wallace also secured the first top 10 finish of his rookie season, finishing a respectable 10th.

In the points standings, Richmond's win and Earnhardt's 5th-place finish trims the point lead to 73. However, the title duo continue to extend their margin over the rest of the field, as the closest competitors to their duopoly all hit trouble. Neil Bonnett was caught up in the lap 85 crash which also took out Richard Petty, and later broke a camshaft. He was classified 24th. Bobby Allison and Kyle Petty were caught up in multiple incidents, and wound up classified 20th and 23rd. Harry Gant struggled with an ill-handling race car all day, weathering a spin on lap 236 to finish 12th. Geoff Bodine's quest for his first NASCAR Cup win will have to continue, as well, as he never had the pace to finish better than 11th.

All this means that Gant is now 3rd in the points, albeit 222 adrift of Earnhardt. Waltrip moves to 4th, 1 behind Gant, with Allison 5th (239 behind), Bonnett 6th (240 behind), Kyle Petty 7th (254 behind), Bodine 8th (264 behind), Hillin 9th (305 behind), and Ricky Rudd's strong run to 4th moving him and the Wood Brothers up to 10th in the standings, only 100 points behind Gant in 3rd.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

WALTRIP WALKS IT AT MARTINSVILLE
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After losing a significant amount of points to the runaway duo of Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip entered Martinsville needing to turn things around quickly - otherwise, he risked being sidelined from the title hunt before it even truly began. A 16th place effort in qualifying wasn't what he had envisioned, but nonetheless, Jaws set to work, moving his way forward through the pack. By lap 300, he emerged in 2nd place, and quickly established himself as the primary threat to the man who dominated the race up to that point, Geoff Bodine.

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The pair would swap the lead between them multiple times, before Waltrip took from Bodine for the final time on lap 375. Shortly after, an accident would eliminate Bodine from contention for the win, seemingly opening the door for DW to score his second win of the season and roar back into title contention. However, rookie Rusty Wallace attempted to say otherwise, as he stayed out under a late caution and tried to hang on for an incredible upset victory. Sadly, Wallace's tyres simply couldn't stand up to the amount of pressure that Waltrip put him under, and the young rookie. Still, Wallace kept fighting, even managing to briefly seize the lead back on a late restart, but the tyre advantage was just too much, allowing Waltrip to prevail, claiming his 59th career Cup victory and 7th at Martinsville.

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For the 4th time in his career, Geoff Bodine led the most laps in a NASCAR Winston Cup race. And, yet again, he walks away from the track still searching for that elusive first win. This time, a crash involving an old rival from his modified racing days was what eliminated Bodine from contention. After taking the lead early, he held it for an impressive 314 laps, until, on lap 378, he encountered the lapped Ron Bouchard, who was just returning to the track after being involved in another crash with Dick Brooks. Bouchard attempted to avoid interfering with the leaders, but clipped the inside kerb, sending him into Bodine, who was in the process of lapping Trevor Boys in his pursuit of Darrell Waltrip. The resulting contact launched the 3 car into the outside wall, ending its day. Having already almost doubled the amount of laps led for car owner Richard Childress in these opening 8 races, Bodine was understandably upset with Bouchard, accusing his former Modified rival of being jealous of the level of competitiveness Bodine is enjoying in 1984.

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As is to be expected of Martinsville, a number of other drivers also left the track unhappy with their finishing position. Chief among these was Dale Earnhardt. Having run in the top 10 early, handling issues shuffled the points leader back through the pack, before a flat tyre prompted him to pit - just one lap before a caution came out. Earnhardt then promptly raced Bodine hard to try and regain his lost lap, only to burn out his clutch just past the halfway mark. With Tim Richmond running a relatively quiet race to finish 6th, Earnhardt finds himself back in the position of chaser in the championship battle. Polesitter Terry Labonte also wound up disappointed with a 14th place finish, after having one of the cars to beat all race long - a late clash with Bill Elliott saw Labonte fall off the lead lap with only 30 to go, and therefore unable to recover any further positions.

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Joe Ruttman also fell victim to the Bouchard-Brooks feud which broke out later in the race - Bouchard attempted to get revenge for the earlier contact between the two, and as Brooks attempted to recover, Ruttman was left nowhere to go. The ensuing damage to Ruttman's right front was irreparable by the fledgling Stavola Brothers team in the remaining 80 laps of the race, and so a promising top 10 run for the startup organisation went down the drain for them.

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However, a number of other drivers had cause for celebration leaving Martinsville, chief among them being the aforementioned Rusty Wallace. The reigning ASA champion, Wallace entered the Cup series this year with the competitive Cliff Stewart Racing team, replacing the outgoing Geoff Bodine, and has already proven a wise choice for that car. Wallace led an impressive 36 laps during his late-race duel with Darrell Waltrip, having risen from the 27th starting position, winding up 4th at the finish. Greg Sacks secured another impressive finish for his family-run team by coming home 11th, while we would be remiss to not mention Neil Bonnett, who took home his 5th top 5 of the season already, as he seeks to establish himself as a major factor in this year's championship fight.

Tim Richmond now holds a slim 6 point margin over Dale Earnhardt, with Darrell Waltrip's win elevating him to 3rd, closing to 125 points behind his Junior Johnson stablemate. Neil Bonnett holds down 4th, 152 points back, with Harry Gant 5th, Bobby Allison 6th, Kyle Petty 7th, Geoff Bodine 8th, Ricky Rudd 9th, and Richard Petty's 2nd place finish moving him back inside the top 10 in points.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Stock Car Racing Magazine wrote:Calder Park Thunderdome Nearing Completion?
And now for some news from Down Under - reports from Australia suggest that construction of a 1.1 mile quad-oval based on the Charlotte Motor Speedway has progressed very well at the Calder Park facility, on the outskirts of the city of Melbourne. Initially on track for completion in 1987, a significant investment from Goodyear, as well as expertise from American speedway engineers, has seen that date close up to early 1985. Bob Jane, owner of the track, is optimistic about bringing the prospect of stock car racing to a brand-new audience - an optimism shared by NASCAR chief Bill France Jr.

In an interview with Mr. France, he expressed that he was keen to bring NASCAR racing before a whole new market. When the possibility of a clash with the already-existing and very popular Australian Touring Car Championship series, Mr. France downplayed those concerns.

"I think, when you look at the product you see from the ATCC, and compare that to the kind of product we have in NASCAR, I think they're two very different racing series, and I have no doubt that stock car racing and touring car racing can both exist side-by-side in Australia. In fact, I think it's quite possible that having the option of stock car racing in Australia could bring a lot of new people into motorsports in general, either because they perhaps weren't able to otherwise, or maybe weren't interested beforehand."

On the prospect of a Winston Cup race being held at the brand-new facility, Mr. France had this to say:

"Well, NASCAR is a growing series, and part of that is the addition of new races in new locations that we haven't been in before, so it's definitely something that we're strongly considering, but it has to be the right move at the right time for us. I have spoken to Bob Jane multiple times about how construction is going, and I'm very encouraged by what I've been hearing, so we'll see."

NASCAR is expected to release its 1985 racing calendar later this season.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

BODINE BREAKS THROUGH
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Through the first 8 races of the 1984 Winston Cup season, Geoff Bodine has led considerably more laps than any other driver. You might presume this would put the Modified star out of Chemung, New York, right in the midst of the title battle. However, you would be wrong - despite leading over 300 more laps than Tim Richmond, and nearly 600 more than Dale Earnhardt, Bodine took the green flag at Talladega mired 8th points, still seeking that elusive first win. Starting 7th, Bodine surged to the lead on the first lap, and would prove to be a fierce contender for the win throughout the whole race.

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A caution brought out on lap 73 whittled the amount of cars on the lead lap cars to a mere 12, with attrition and crash evasion a key factor in who would survive until the closing laps, to contend for the win. One by one, the Talladega would-be winners fell out of contention, until, with 50 to go, only 4 remained. They were the 4 car of Sterling Marlin, the 1983 Rookie of the Year racing for the rookie Morgan-McClure team, trying to break through into the big leagues. Another, was the 27 car of Mark Martin - the Blue Max team already established winners, but Martin desperate to prove the team was right to give him a career lifeline at the start of the year. The third was the 55 car of Benny Parsons, the 1972 champ, and the only driver to have won previously among the lead quartet, experience which he hoped would secure him a 21st career win. And of course, the 4th, was Geoff Bodine, for Richard Childress' #3 car, trying to make the step from race winners to title contenders.

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Not one of the lead 4 possessed a strong enough car to maintain an iron grip as the laps wound down, with all 4 drivers spending their fair share of time in the lead. But 4 would become 3 with 27 laps remaining, as an engine problem forced Sterling Marlin back on to pit road. Though some herculean efforts from the Morgan-McClure team saw them lose only 6 laps fixing the issue, it was more than enough to eliminate the Tennessee native from the hunt for victory.

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Having all pitted with just under 40 laps remaining, fuel mileage would be absolutely crucial if any of the remaining 3 would go on to win. It would prove to be the death knell for Mark Martin's hopes with an agonising 3 laps remaining, as the fuel warning light indicated that the tenacious youngster's hopes were done, despite an incredible effort on his part to recover a lap lost due to a punctured tyre. That would leave the wily veteran Benny Parsons in the lead, with the hungry young gun Geoff Bodine hot on his heels, with only the lapped car of Jody Ridley for drafting company.

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As it turned out, Parsons would be completely incapable of holding Bodine back. Within a lap of Martin peeling off into the pits, Bodine slipped past on the inside of turn 3, dragging Ridley along and creating a buffer between himself and Parsons that the 55 car would prove unable to overcome. However, the reason for that would not be what you might imagine - Parsons' car began to splutter and slow coming out of turn 2 on the final lap, as Bodine streaked away. The only car remaining that could deny Geoff Bodine his maiden victory was out of fuel. That proved to be incredibly fortunate for him, as Bodine himself used up the last of his fuel exiting turn 4, forcing him to coast through the tri-oval and over the line to a hard-earned, well-deserved victory.

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Though only a handful of drivers could make it to the closing laps to fight for the win, that is not to say that there weren't any other praiseworthy performances throughout the field. Joe Ruttman was an early contender at the front of the field, but an unscheduled stop for a vibration forced him to pit a second time shortly after pitting under yellow, trapping the Stavola Brothers car a lap down. Still, Ruttman would prove able to hang with the leaders for most of the rest of the race, ultimately coming home 3rd after Mark Martin had to retire, following a similar issue. Jimmy Means followed up his impressive run at the Daytona 500 with another top 10 on one of these huge 2.5 mile superspeedways - in his home state, no less.

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However, there was far more frustration than elation in the garage area following the race. A number of accidents took out lead contenders, including the one which brought out the lap 73 yellow which trapped many drivers a lap down. It would prove the end of the day for Richard Petty, who continues to experience a very up-and-down 1984 season. Points leaders Dale Earnhardt and Tim Richmond were also involved. Earnhardt stalled, and struggled to refire his car, which resulted in the 9 car losing a lap to the leaders, a lap which he never recovered. Although he finished 6th, Earnhardt was the dominant car in the early going, and was clearly disappointed after the race. Richmond, meanwhile, despite having lost the draft, was unable to fully avoid the wreck and wound up damaging his car beyond repair. Harry Gant assumed the lead after pitstops, only to then fall by the wayside himself, with a broken camshaft.

The chaos Talladega inflicted throughout the field sees Tim Richmond give up the points lead a single race after reclaiming it, with Dale Earnhardt now heading him by a full 85 points, as we near the one-third mark of the season. Darrell Waltrip continues to maintain touch with the leading duo, 135 back, with 83 champ Bobby Allison starting to work himself into contention - he now finds himself 4th, 171 out of the lead. Neil Bonnett slips to 5th, with Geoff Bodine's win moving him up to 6th, Gant dropping to 7th, Martin rising to 8th, while Bobby Hillin Jr and Bill Elliott round out the top 10.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

No, I didn't forget this existed, I just got stuck in Tales of Zestiria for like 2 weeks. :P

NEIL NAILS 'EM AT NASHVILLE
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When Bobby Allison made his shock decision to part ways with the DiGard Motorsports team immediately after securing his maiden championship with the team, Bill Gardner wasted no time in tapping fan favourite Neil Bonnett to take the reigns of the 22. Expectations were high for driver and team - DiGard had of course won the championship in 1983, and Bonnett himself had just finished 6th in the championship for the upstart RahMoc Enterprises team. However, despite being a regular fixture among the leaders with 5 top 5 finishes, Bonnett wasn't quite making the impression among the leaders that he or his team would've expected.

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It appeared to be more of the same at Nashville, as a 16th-place qualifying effort ensured that Bonnett would have to fight ferociously to make any kind of impact on the race at the notoriously difficult 6/10 mile oval. Struggles with traffic and pit strategy ensured that the 22 car was no threat at all to the leaders through the opening half of the race, dominated by Tim Richmond as he sought to retake the points lead from Dale Earnhardt. However, Richmond's own struggles with traffic would delay him after the second caution of the day, allowing teammate Darrell Waltrip to take command of the race, even putting the 12 car a lap down by lap 230. It was around this time that Bonnett started to make his impression on the field, finally cracking into the top 10 on lap 239, albeit one lap down himself.

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Green flag pitstops opened up soon after, and by smartly managing his tyres, Bonnett hoped that he would be able to catch a caution and get himself back on to the lead lap. Sure enough, a major crash soon brought out the 3rd caution of the day, when Ronnie Thomas' car lost power exiting turn 4, leading to him collecting an unawares Harry Gant and involving several other cars. It didn't get Bonnett back on to the lead lap, but it put him in a brilliant position to race his way back regardless, with the cars of Mark Martin and Joe Ruttman the only ones to stay on the lead lap.

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Bonnett's intentions were soon made clear, as the strength of his car on long runs enabled him to work his way through the order of those cars one lap down, even racing past Darrell Waltrip who had arguably the strongest car up to that point. Still, the tenacious Mark Martin was not going to allow anyone to get themselves back into the race without a fight, but a speedy pitstop under the 4th caution of the day gave Bonnett the prime position to charge back into the lead lap, which he did with gusto on the restart. As if the powers that be were smiling on Bonnett, another caution only laps later brought him right into contention.

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Sure enough, on the following restart, Bonnett surged past Martin and Ruttman, taking the lead of the race for the first time in the final 100 laps. Although Martin would continue to hound Bonnett, and Waltrip worked himself back on to the lead lap soon after, Bonnett refused to relinquish the lead from then on, leading the final 94 laps on his way to his 14th career victory, and only his 2nd on a short track. Darrell Waltrip recovered to 2nd, with Martin relegated to 3rd and Ruttman 4th.

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Praiseworthy performances went the way of Bill Elliott and Dick Trickle, as Elliott notched up his 2nd top five of the season - both on short tracks, which were thought to be something of a bugbear for the Georgia driver. Trickle, meanwhile, took a 3rd top 10 finish in what is turning out to be a very impressive season for the Wisconsin rookie. J.D. McDuffie also put in a very strong performance in his own equipment, finishing 15th and on the same lap as title contenders Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt.

Speaking of the title contenders, it was a race to forget for both of the main protagonists. Though Richmond was a dominant force in the early going, he struggled once he lost the lead, and ultimately fell 2 laps down after an engine issue caused him to stop out on track, bringing out the 4th caution of the race. Still, at least the 12 car showed it was competitive in the early going, which was more than can be said for Dale Earnhardt's #9. The Melling machine was a total non-factor all race long, finishing 14th and losing a portion of his points lead. As such, the likes of Waltrip, Bonnett, and Allison all closed in on the points chase, with Waltrip now 81 points out of the lead and only 15 behind teammate Richmond, with Bonnett 4th, 151 back, and Allison 5th, 168 behind.

Geoff Bodine holds on to 6th despite blowing a valve just past halfway, while a miserable race for Harry Gant sees him only treading water in 7th. They are now under significant threat from Mark Martin, who is on a real roll of solid performances and sits 8th in points, with Bill Elliott and Kyle Petty rounding out the top 10.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 68): #43, #48 spin backstretch
#2 (Lap 175): #21, #64 spin turn 2
#3 (Lap 249): #7, #26, #41, #43, #51, #52, #64, #88 accident frontstretch
#4 (Lap 309): #12 stopped turn 2
#5 (Lap 318): #64, #88 spin backstretch
#6 (Lap 352): #48 stopped frontstretch

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

GANT GETS EM AT DOVER
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The Budweiser 500 was very much a race of two halves. Throughout the first, it was a question of survival, as drivers sought simply to pick their way through a maelstrom of wrecks and carnage. Once the smoke cleared, though, it was a flat out dash to the finish between who remained. The chief rivals for the win over the back half of the race were Neil Bonnett and Harry Gant - both of whom had very different stories to tell. For Bonnett, his race was a tale of hard work and perseverance. A poor qualifying effort saw the #22 start from the tail of the field, and through his own determination, he fought his way through the pack to contend for the win. Once he hit the lead by about lap 300, it looked like Bonnett would be almost unbeatable, as he spent a total of 178 laps heading the field, more than anyone else, as he sought his 2nd straight victory

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As for Harry Gant, his race saw him rarely stray far from the lead. The polesitter could never be discounted from the fight for the win, even as Bonnett streaked away with the lead at one portion. The wily Gant has already made a name for himself on the high-banked speedways, and so it would prove to be here at Dover, as he relentlessly chopped away at Bonnett's advantage in the closing stages. Once he had caught the 22, there was no defense that could've prevented Gant from surging to the lead one final time on lap 493, as he ran right around the outside of Bonnett, and headlong towards his first win of the season, and the first for car owner Mike Curb. This victory, the 4th of Gant's Cup career, surely propels him into the championship conversation, as he continues a quietly consistent season.

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A thought must be spared, though, for some of the drivers eliminated from contention early in the going. Buddy Baker seemed a sure bet for a top 5, if not the win, until his lap 163 crash eliminated him from the race right there and then. Controversially, the crash was triggered by title contender Dale Earnhardt, who was struggling in 22nd at the time and had just been lapped by Baker. Earnhardt continued, regaining his lap in the process, and corrected the handling issues on his car, eventually rising to 4th by the race's end. Though NASCAR ruled that the crash was a racing incident and so no penalty was applied, many car owners throughout the garage area were quite displeased with Earnhardt's antics.

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Tim Richmond wasn't quite so lucky. Though the 12 car took the lead early on, and seemed to be a solid contender for a strong finish, that all quickly came to an end on lap 196. The 97 car of Dean Combs had been pitched into a spin by Dick May and came to a rest towards the bottom of the track. Though a number of cars took to the apron, or the high line, to avoid Combs, Richmond was unable to avoid his stricken car, and piled in in a heavy crash, which quickly took out a number of others. Similar to Earnhardt, Richmond came in for heavy criticism, as he had ducked to the apron too early and washed back up on to the racing surface. Richmond simply stated that he thought Combs' car would continue sliding down the track, and so that was why he didn't slow down further.

As a result of Richmond's misfortunes, he loses a significant amount of ground to Earnhardt in the championship chase. Darrell Waltrip picked his way through to a solid 3rd place finish, chipping 5 out of his deficit to Earnhardt, and seizing 2nd in the points from his teammate. Neil Bonnett continues to surge, now 3rd in the championship, 136 points out of the lead, with Richmond 4th, 156 behind. Bobby Allison continue his remarkably quiet and consistent season in 5th, 230 back, with Harry Gant's win putting him right on the defending champion's bumper in 6th. Geoff Bodine, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Bobby Hillin Jr make up the rest of the top 10 in points.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 20): #50, #51, #64 accident turn 1 & 2
#2 (Lap 97): #90 stopped backstretch
#3 (Lap 102): #7, #47, #70 spin turn 3
#4 (Lap 163): #9, #71 accident turn 1
#5 (Lap 196): #1, #7, #8, #12, #21, #35, #42, #52, #70, #88, #97 accident turn 1 & 2
#6 (Lap 206): #7, #15, #35, #47 accident turn 3
#7 (Lap 211): #35, #64 spin turn 4
#8 (Lap 240): #41 accident turn 1
#9 (Lap 246): #4, #25, #35 accident turn 4

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

Harry Melling wrote:Me and Dale had a scuffle and a talk after the race. We're tightening up the screws. Dale certainly can strike back at the competition, I know he can defend his points lead. I wouldn't of hired him if that weren't the case.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

CALE CAPTURES CHARLOTTE
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1984 did not start the way Cale Yarborough had anticipated. After winning 4 of his 16 appearances in 1983, Yarborough expected more dominance this year - but through 5 races, he was more an also-ran than the perennial threat to win that he has been for over a decade. That all changed, though, once the green flag dropped for this year's World 600, the longest and most grueling race on the NASCAR calendar. The one blemish on Yarborough's otherwise unimpugnable career record was a galling 0-for-18 record in the Memorial Day classic. He was determined to rectify that this year, and did so with gusto - after taking the first 50 laps to feel out his car, Yarborough gunned it past Richard Petty on the inside of turn 3, and never looked back.

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Yarborough would proceed to lead an astounding 332 laps - almost a full 500 miles, the 2nd most in the race's history (Jim Paschal led 335 en route to winning the 1967 edition). By the race's end, only one other car had managed to remain on the lead lap with Yarborough, but that car just so happened to have the Silver Fox at the wheel. Arguably the best driver at negotiating the treacherous 600-miler, David Pearson knew that he didn't have a car capable of fighting Yarborough at the end of the race, and was prepared to settle for a hard-fought 2nd place, when the caution flew for a final time with 10 laps remaining. With nothing to lose, Pearson gambled by staying out and praying that he could hold off the rampant 28 machine. For a brief moment, it appeared as though Yarborough would be denied victory once again in the World 600, but Pearson's tyres were simply too worn to hold Yarborough off, and Cale cruised home to a well-deserved victory, the 79th of his illustrious career.

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Points leader Dale Earnhardt saw this race as a brilliant opportunity to extend his margin over the rest of the field, after capturing pole position, having led over 450 laps in this event since 1979. Once again, though, he would be left wondering what might have been afterwards - a plug wire came loose on one of the cylinders before the race began, leading to some hairy moments as the 9 car was swallowed up by the whole field. Earnhardt stayed out on track for a few laps, hoping for an early caution to give his team the opportunity to fix the problem, but once he fell a lap down on lap 17, he dove into his pit stall. The Melling crew worked incredibly quickly to return their driver back out in only a couple of minutes, but the damage was done, as Earnhardt fell 5 laps down and could not recover.

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Earnhardt was not the only driver bemoaning mechanical issues, as the arduous race distance took its toll on the garage area. Neil Bonnett, in pursuit of his 3rd consecutive World 600 victory, was eliminated early with a blown valve, stunting the momentum he had built up over the past couple weeks. Bill Elliott, similarly, broke a camshaft very early in the race while leading. Had he run the full distance, there are some in the garage area who believe he could've denied Yarborough the victory. Darrell Waltrip's title charge also took a hit late in the going, as a broken valve spring took him out from a certain top 10 finish. Through all of that, Dale Earnhardt persisted, slowly picking his way through the field as his competitors slowed, broke down, or spun out, enabling him to salvage a 17th place finish from what had initially looked to be a disaster for the points leader.

All this chaos amidst the title protagonists enabled Tim Richmond to make up some ground in the championship chase once again - the 12 car had a strong, quiet run to 5th, moving him back up to 2nd in the points, 108 behind Earnhardt, whose lead has now technically grown despite his troubles. Waltrip finds himself relegated to 3rd, 4 behind his teammate, with Harry Gant continuing his impressive season for the new Mike Curb team in 4th. Neil Bonnett's failure to finish drops him back to 5th, with Bobby Allison 6th, Mark Martin 7th, Bobby Hillin 8th, Geoff Bodine slipping to 9th with his own mechanical difficulties, and Richard Petty moving back into the top 10.

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

RICHMOND RUNAWAY AT RIVERSIDE
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When Tim Richmond seized pole position by nearly two full tenths of a second for NASCAR's first trip out West this year, he laid down a challenge to the rest of the field that few could ever hope to measure up to. Richmond broke away from the pack in the opening stint of the race, and seemed to be cruising away to an easy victory at the track where he delivered his first two Cup victories back in 1982. However, Richmond wouldn't have it all his own way, as a lap 36 caution caused by Gary Mayeda's failed ignition box spiced up the race's strategy. This caution occurred right at the tail end of the first pit window, and so a number of drivers opted to stay out to gain track position. Richmond, however, as one of the first to pit, chose to gamble on new tyres, and his own skill to carve through the field.

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While Darrell Waltrip attempted to make his tyres and fuel last long enough to hold the rampaging Richmond at bay, his teammate was busy putting on an overtaking clinic, making several daring moves to haul himself back to the front of the pack. The fans cheered the #12 car on as the young gun cut through from 10th to 3rd within a handful of laps, leaving anyone on the same strategy as he was deep in his wake. Though it took several more laps of hard charging, Richmond would eventually catch his teammate Waltrip and battle him for the lead of the race.

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The two Junior Johnson cars have had more than their share of grief between them in the opening rounds of the 1984 season, so it doubtless came as no small relief to their car owner when Richmond calmly and cleanly slipped past his champion teammate on the inside of the final, banked curve at turn 9. With that move, Richmond made it clear that this race was his to win - right before the second caution waved. Pitting once more to secure his lead, and with only the 3 car of Geoff Bodine staying out to assume the lead, the race seemed to be over. Right up until Richmond ran wide at turn 2 on the restart, enabling Waltrip to take 2nd, and begin pressuring Bodine for the lead.

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However, Jaws wasn't able to convert that opportunity into anything more. Just a handful of laps later, Richmond rocketed out of turn 9 down the frontstetch, and bolted around the outside of Waltrip at turn 1 in an absolutely stunning move. Though Waltrip later claimed that Richmond was given a more powerful engine, and that was the reason he couldn't defend, it made little difference to the fans in the stands. 3 laps later, and Bodine was dispatched in the same manner, in a display of pure superiority from Richmond. One final caution flew on lap 72, and this prompted the final strategy call of the day. Richmond, of course, pitted again, having full confidence in his car and in himself. Waltrip, however, would remain on track, gambling that he could last the final 38 laps of the race on one tank of fuel, and hold Richmond at bay.

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It wasn't a realistic strategy, punctuated by the fact that Waltrip dove into the pits only a few laps later, with Richmond bearing down on him. What was perhaps more confusing was the amount of cars that opted to do the same, including points leader Dale Earnhardt and title contender Harry Gant. This left Richmond with a five second advantage over Geoff Bodine, and only 15 laps remaining, and so the Ohio-native cruised it home to his 3rd win of the year.

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Though the front of the field was mostly a Junior Johnson-benefit, this is not to say that there weren't a number of other drivers who starred in the California sun. Neil Bonnett suffered a puncture early that forced an unscheduled pitstop, but stayed out once everyone else pitted, and moved from 10th to 2nd - even leading a couple of laps. He remained in the top 5 for the rest of the afternoon. Joe Ruttman also performed admirably, and was a solid top ten contender all day. The final strategy miscue from some of the cars ahead of him enabled the Stavola Brothers to pick up an unlikely, but well-deserved, 3rd place finish.

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Easily the most impressive race, though, was that of Dave Marcis. The Wisconsin racer endured a difficult start to his 1984 season, and a mistake on his qualifying run saw him have to start the race from 35th and last. Despite this, he ran an an astoundingly disciplined race - making overtakes when he needed to, avoiding risky confrontations when he didn't need to, and staying on the correct pit strategy - to come through and finish a remarkable 5th place.

Following Darrell Waltrip's pit strategy on the final caution all but doomed Dale Earnhardt's race. The 9 car was in the mix for a top 10 finish, but instead he wound up a meager 18th, seeing his lead over Tim Richmond slashed from 108 points to only 32. Darrell Waltrip managed to chip a few more points away, himself, now just within 100 points of Earnhardt - though he lost many to his teammate. Bonnett climbs to 4th, 149 back, with Gant slipping to 5th but just about holding station, 183 behind. Mark Martin's 9th place run elevates him to 6th in points, with Bobby Allison's first DNF of the year dropping him to 7th. Geoff Bodine, Bobby Hillin Jr, and Richard Petty round out the top 10 in points.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 36): #64 stalled esses
#2 (Lap 55): #90 stalled backstretch
#3 (Lap 72): #02 stalled turn 9

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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

RICHMOND GOES BACK TO BACK AT POCONO
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A week after a crushingly dominant performance at Riverside, Tim Richmond followed it up with another strong showing at Pocono. Easily besting Harry Gant for pole position, Richmond's car was rarely headed by his rivals, save for a short interlude around lap 130 when Bill Elliott was able to get around him for the lead. For most of the afternoon, Gant was Richmond's closest competitor, leading 17 laps and spending much of the rest of the day trailing behind only the 12 car. So, when Gant's engine failed under the final caution of the day, the race looked to be in the bag for Richmond.

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Evidently, nobody bothered to inform Dale Earnhardt of this. Taking the final green flag in 4th place with 20 laps remaining, Earnhardt quickly dispatched Bobby Allison and Ricky Rudd before setting off in pursuit of the dominant Richmond. Despite having little success in keeping his biggest title rival in sight for much of the day, with the laps winding down, Earnhardt seemingly found another gear. He chipped away at Richmond's advantage, bit by bit, catching him with only 5 laps remaining. Though Earnhardt was unable to find a way past the rampant Richmond, he can certainly leave Pocono with his head held high - the damage to his small but crucial points advantage held to a minimum at one of Richmond's best tracks.

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Still, one has to wonder if the race would've played out quite the same if Bill Elliott had been given one final shot at dethroning Tim Richmond. Starting from 26th, Elliott swiftly worked his way solidly into the top 10 within the opening 30 laps, and led some laps during pitstop sequences, but it wasn't until past halfway when the Skoal Bandit car established itself as a key contender for the win. After the 4th caution of the day, Elliott worked his way from 4th to 2nd quickly, and began pressuring Richmond for the lead. Battling side-by-side with the 12 car for almost a full lap, Elliott finally seized the lead on lap 131, and Richmond seemingly had no counter. Elliott continued to hold the lead until the next caution, during which Richmond reclaimed the lead with a quicker pitstop. On the restart, the 33 was held up in traffic, while Richmond scampered away with the lead - and so, Elliott was forced to fight his way back through the field one more time. He recovered to 3rd, but the leading pair were just too far out of reach for him on the final run.

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That said, things didn't go all Tim Richmond's way at Pocono. On lap 160, while attempting to fight his way through a pack of cars on alternate strategies, Richmond attempted to tuck in behind Geoff Bodine on the entrance to turn 1, only to misjudge the distance between the two cars, triggering a crash while hampered Bodine's race, as well as that of innocent bystander Neil Bonnett. Neither Bodine nor Bonnett had particularly glowing words of the race winner after the checkered flag fell.

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One driver who did earn the praise of his peers, though, was Terry Labonte. Labonte qualified well in the top 10, and looked to be a strong contender throughout the race, but ran into trouble early in the going and lost a lap - indeed, almost 2 - in the opening 40 laps, due to tyre pressure concerns on the 5 car. His day seemingly over before it had really begun, Labonte nonetheless held his nerve and raced as well as he could given the circumstances. Once those problems were rectified, Labonte showed that his car was a match for anyone in the top 5. Sure enough, his diligence was rewarded with just over 50 laps remaining in the race, as Tim Richmond was delayed behind Lake Speed, whose damaged car restarted at the tail end of the lead lap. Labonte managed to regain his lost lap, and then caught a caution on lap 149 which enabled him to catch up to the rest of the lead lap cars. He wound up finishing 7th.

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One driver who really had a race to forget, though, was Darrell Waltrip. A week after being checkmated by his teammate on strategy, Waltrip lost a cylinder on lap 35, and spent the rest of the day trying to scrounge up what points he could to try and maintain his championship position. However, being down on power at Pocono is always a dangerous prospect, and so it was for DW, who was involved in a couple of incidents and eventually was forced to retire with 50 to go due to a burned piston. The failure to finish drops him to nearly 200 points out of the championship lead, while teammate Tim Richmond closes to now just 17 behind Dale Earnhardt.

Neil Bonnett's disappointing day sees him fall behind as well, just 1 point behind Waltrip in 3rd, as does Harry Gant in 5th. Indeed, misfortune seemed to strike many of the points leaders, with Geoff Bodine a major beneficiary as he rises to 6th, ahead of Bobby Allison and Mark Martin. Richard Petty and Bill Elliott round off the top 10 in points.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 5): #71, #90 spin turn 3
#2 (Lap 40): #4, #75 spin turn 2
#3 (Lap 80): #28, #71 accident turn 2
#4 (Lap 116): #27, #43, #52 spin turn 3
#5 (Lap 141): #1, #22 accident turn 3
#6 (Lap 149): #11, #27, #52, #70 accident turn 2
#7 (Lap 160): #3, #12, #22, #51 accident turn 1
#8 (Lap 175): #01, #6 accident turn 3

Full Results
Championship Standings
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Kinnikuniverse »

what a race by terry boy! this has been a tough and frustrating first season for mr. hendrick, woth the good practice and qualifying session always being nullified by mediocre races. but now, terry just made mr. hendrick smile! let's hope this is the beginning of a turnaround for us at all-star racing!
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

Harry Melling wrote:Dale's got to get under Tim's skin. That kid is quick, but we got half the season to go.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

JAWS DROP AS WALTRIP WINS
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With a dismal showing at Pocono weakening his position in the championship hunt, Darrell Waltrip needed to bounce back in a big way at Michigan. The final race in the first half of the 1984 Winston Cup season saw the '81 & '82 series champ remain in the hunt for the win all day long, but it wasn't until past halfway that Waltrip looked like he'd be one of the cars to beat on the day. Though brilliant pitstops and a fast car - especially at the start of a run - ensured that Geoff Bodine would be a tough competitor, Waltrip's long-run pace proved vital in a race where the yellow flag waved only once.

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Even so, knowing the odds were most certainly stacked against him, Bodine battled on, remaining hot on Waltrip's heels for the duration of this hotly contested 400-mile sprint. In the end, only the slimmest of margins was what separated the wily champion from the young upstart. Though Bodine would have to settle for 2nd in a season that has already seen too many of them for him, he continues to impress greatly in what is turning out to be a remarkable breakout season for the former Modified star. As for Waltrip, he succeeded in maximising his points haul on a day where doing so was of the utmost importance, as Dale Earnhardt suffered a punctured tyre early in the race and could only recover to 27th.

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Unfortunately for him, so did his teammate, as, ten seconds behind the duelling duo of Waltrip and Bodine, Tim Richmond headed a pack of cars, all fighting for 3rd through 14th. Though car owner Junior Johnson was doubtless grinning from ear to ear as the race went almost perfectly for him, Waltrip's progress in his bid to win a 3rd title was stunted as a result. Richmond, seemingly learning from his early-season mishaps, recognised that his car was not quite strong enough to fight for a third consecutive win, but remained in the hunt for a strong result regardless, and picked his way through the field at the right time to capitalise.

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Close racing wasn't hard to come by all day long, but by the end of the race, the cream rose to the top, as there were few surprises at either end of the grid. One pleasant surprise was Dave Marcis, who led the first 22 laps of the race from the outside pole, and narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish right at the finish, as the RahMoc car seems to be turning things around after a difficult start to the season. Bobby Allison's season seems to be going in the opposite direction, however. The defending champ entered Michigan without a top 10 finish since Talladega, but hoped to turn things around at what has been historically one of his better tracks. Allison led early, but while pitting under the lone caution period, his car stalled, leaving the 4-time Michigan winner a lap down. He would only finish 26th.

In the championship points standings, the halfway mark of the season sees Tim Richmond reclaim the lead, now a healthy 66 markers in front of Earnhardt. Waltrip's win sees him close in slightly, 171 behind, with Neil Bonnett 214 back and Harry Gant rounding out the top 5, albeit with Geoff Bodine now breathing down his neck. Richard Petty finds himself tied with Mark Martin for 7th, Petty's win at North Wilkesboro giving him the tiebreaker against the Arkansas native. Bobby Allison slips to 9th in the standings, with Bill Elliott now right behind him in 10th.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 54): #21 spin turn 4

Full Results
Championship Standings
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Now that we're halfway through the season, I'm thinking of introducing a little bit of interactivity.

Essentially, as we all know, driver contracts aren't all just determined in one big fell swoop at the end of the season, nor in public. So, what I was thinking of was a little system where you can privately negotiate with a driver to secure them for next year ahead of time. All you gotta do is PM me and say which driver you'd like to lock up for 1985 - you don't need to worry about salary or contract length, since I want to keep things simple (and if I instituted a budget system I might as well just hand Wizzie the trophy now :P ), but if you want to add a little bit of in-character flourish to your offer, by all means go ahead.

Of course, just because you fired off an offer to a driver doesn't mean they're bound to accept it. They all want to win, and nobody's going to rush into a contract while they think there's a realistic prospect they'll get a ride further up the grid. On the flip side, if they're happy with their current situation, they'll ask you for an extension sooner or later. Additionally, if there's a chance they can move up into a more competitive car thanks to an uncertain contract situation, an ambitious driver might just propose their services...

Hopefully that sounds reasonable to everyone, but if you've got any questions or objections, feel free to air them, and I'll try to answer them as best I can.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Kinnikuniverse »

i'd also like to propose something else. namely, to replace some of the second races at the same tracks (such as,for example, the Pepsi 500 at daytona and the various races at darlington and charlotte.) and replace them with road courses instead. with the success that Indycars and the IMSA GT series are enjoying at the moment, i feel that road courses does have its place in american racing, especially in the NASCAR winston cup. it would both proviclde a new, different challenge to the winston cup drivers and also prevent the schedule from becoming too long and monotonous, which is a frequent criticism of the winston cup from both fans and some team owners.

besides, IMSA is owned by mr. France and his family, and a good portion of the IMSA road courses belongs to ISC. we could easily replace some of the meaningless oval races of the calendar with the ISC-Owned road courses in order to bring some much-needed diversity in the cup's schedule.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

Salamander wrote:Now that we're halfway through the season, I'm thinking of introducing a little bit of interactivity.

Essentially, as we all know, driver contracts aren't all just determined in one big fell swoop at the end of the season, nor in public. So, what I was thinking of was a little system where you can privately negotiate with a driver to secure them for next year ahead of time. All you gotta do is PM me and say which driver you'd like to lock up for 1985 - you don't need to worry about salary or contract length, since I want to keep things simple (and if I instituted a budget system I might as well just hand Wizzie the trophy now :P ), but if you want to add a little bit of in-character flourish to your offer, by all means go ahead.

Of course, just because you fired off an offer to a driver doesn't mean they're bound to accept it. They all want to win, and nobody's going to rush into a contract while they think there's a realistic prospect they'll get a ride further up the grid. On the flip side, if they're happy with their current situation, they'll ask you for an extension sooner or later. Additionally, if there's a chance they can move up into a more competitive car thanks to an uncertain contract situation, an ambitious driver might just propose their services...

Hopefully that sounds reasonable to everyone, but if you've got any questions or objections, feel free to air them, and I'll try to answer them as best I can.



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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Kinnikuniverse wrote:i'd also like to propose something else. namely, to replace some of the second races at the same tracks (such as,for example, the Pepsi 500 at daytona and the various races at darlington and charlotte.) and replace them with road courses instead. with the success that Indycars and the IMSA GT series are enjoying at the moment, i feel that road courses does have its place in american racing, especially in the NASCAR winston cup. it would both proviclde a new, different challenge to the winston cup drivers and also prevent the schedule from becoming too long and monotonous, which is a frequent criticism of the winston cup from both fans and some team owners.

besides, IMSA is owned by mr. France and his family, and a good portion of the IMSA road courses belongs to ISC. we could easily replace some of the meaningless oval races of the calendar with the ISC-Owned road courses in order to bring some much-needed diversity in the cup's schedule.


Additional dates at alternate tracks are being considered for the future, and the goal for NASCAR is to replace most of our second dates with races at alternate venues in the coming few years. Foremost among considerations for 1985 are replacing one of the two Riverside dates with a race at Sonoma, adding a date at Watkins Glen, and expanding to include an event at Phoenix in addition to the race at Calder Park, as we attempt to expand and solidify our reach into new markets.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

KING RICHARD REIGNS SUPREME WITH REAGAN IN ATTENDANCE
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Richard Petty's 1984 may not have started quite the way he would've wished, but the 7-time Cup champion will surely never forget what happened on Independence Day. Having narrowly missed out on victory to his son, Kyle, at the Daytona 500, Petty was determined not to lose again, showing excellent pace throughout the buildup to the race start. Though King Richard was not able to leave a dominant mark on the race, he is widely known for his approach that the best a racer can do is put themselves in a position to win and allow circumstance to dictate the rest.

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On race day, Petty gave a clear lesson to the rest of the field as to the validity of his strategy. Maintaining a position on the lead lap all day, the 44 car began to truly make its presence known at the front of the pack in the final quarter of the race. He may not have been able to hold that position for terribly long, but his ability to carve back through the pack every time was undeniable in these latter stages, as Air Force One landed and President Ronald Reagan watched a masterclass in racing prowess - the first sitting US President to attend a NASCAR race. Manipulating the circumstances into his favour, Petty found himself in 3rd as the final lap began, with a strong push from behind coming from Tim Richmond, as he closed in on the leading pair of Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty and Sterling Marlin. Marlin quickly ducked to the inside of Kyle as the leaders navigated turn 1, with Richard following suit, paying his son back after their battle for the Daytona 500 back in February.

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Blocking Richmond at every turn, Petty's run at Marlin down the backstretch was assured, and a decisive move to the inside halfway to turn 3 ensured that the youngster would have to wait a little longer for that first victory. Though Richmond would attempt to tuck in behind the 4 car to try and slingshot himself into the lead, the tremendous run built up by The King could not be overcome. Petty filed around turns 3 and 4, and though Richmond valiantly gave everything he had to try and beat him back to the line, it was simply too late for him, as Richard Petty succeeded in winning a landmark 200th NASCAR Winston Cup Series race.

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Tim Richmond may have had to settle for 2nd, he likely won't be leaving Daytona too displeased about his performance. The Ohio native recognised in the races closing stages that Petty's car was the strongest, and resolved to work together with the 44 machine to maximise his own position. With his 5th successive top 5 finish, Richmond opens up his points advantage over Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip, despite strong runs from both title rivals placing themselves in the top 10. Waltrip in particular was disgruntled following the race - after leading the most laps, he was heading the field with as little as 10 to go, but got caught behind a slower lapped car, and was hung out to dry by the rest of the leaders. The loss of momentum ensured that Waltrip wasn't able to hold on to the lead draft, and so will have to continue his search for that elusive first points-paying Daytona victory.

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Another title contender ruing their luck at the World Center of Racing was Neil Bonnett. Ron Bouchard made contact with Bill Elliott in the middle of turns 3 and 4 on lap 15, triggering a major crash which eliminated Bonnett from competition, as well as Joe Ruttman and David Pearson. Bonnett flipped wildly out of control and had to be rushed to hospital, where it was found he broke several ribs, both legs, and fractured his shoulder blade. Thankfully, he avoided going into critical condition, but it seems likely that Bonnett will be unable to return to the cockpit for the remainder of the season.

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That crash was the only caution for the majority of the event, but a debris caution on lap 109 triggered another rash of incidents, as the field collectively realised that it was time to make their moves for the win. The yellow flag flew a third time on lap 117 as Ron Bouchard clipped the wall exiting turn 4. Bill Elliott had no opportunity to avoid the stricken 47 car, causing another multi-car accident - fortunately, nobody suffered as terrifying a crash as Neil Bonnett did. Predictably, few drivers had warm words for Bouchard after the race.

Tim Richmond's 2nd place finish extends his points lead to 94 over Dale Earnhardt and 198 from Darrell Waltrip. Geoff Bodine continues his upward momentum in the championship, rising to 4th in the standings, while Harry Gant continues to hang on to 5th. Bonnett slips to 6th, while Richard Petty's 200th win sees him climb to 7th, with Mark Martin, Bobby Allison, and Terry Labonte rounding out the top 10.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 15): #8, #16, #22, #23, #47, #51, #90 accident turn 3 & 4
#2 (Lap 109): debris
#3 (Lap 117): #1, #6, #01, #21, #33, #47, #66, #84, #95 accident frontstretch
#4 (Lap 137): #1, #27, #44, #55, #90, #98, accident tri-oval

Full Results
Championship Standings
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by CaptainGetz12 »

Harry Melling wrote:We here at Melling congratulate Richard Petty for his 200th NASCAR win, and hope that Neil Bonnett makes a swift recovery.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

LABONTE BONANZA AT NASHVILLE
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Despite showing a great deal of promise throughout the season, when it came to finishing, Rick Hendrick's All Star Racing team has been one of the biggest disappointments in 1984. Typically, the 5 car, driven by Terry Labonte has shown brilliant pace throughout practice and qualifying, only to suffer misfortune in one way or another throughout the race. Perhaps a mechanical failure, or getting swept up in a big wreck, or a pitstop miscue - whatever it was, it seemed to happened to Labonte every weekend, leaving him with few material results as we now forge into the second half of 1984.

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Labonte ran strongly in the top 10 early, but he surprised many when he darted past Tim Richmond for the lead on lap 45. The Texan then proceeded to control most of the opening 180 laps, but a miscue under the lap 183 caution for a crash involving Harry Gant and Ron Bouchard - one which left Bouchard with even fewer friends than he had after Daytona - meant that Labonte was mired back in the lower reaches of the top 10. There he remained, unable to solidly re-take the lead until a gutsy two tyre call from crew chief Harry Hyde. This happened to be during what turned out to be the final caution of the day, and was exactly what Labonte needed to jump back ahead of his rivals.

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From there, the 1980 Southern 500 winner ran out to a 6 second lead over his closest contender, Bill Elliott, before back it off in the closing laps, still securing his 3rd career victory by almost 3 full seconds. Behind them, it was a solid day for a lot of unfancied drivers - Greg Sacks turned a surprise top 10 starting spot into a 3rd place finish after duelling heavily with Elliott for 2nd, Harry Gant rallied to an impressive 4th to keep his title aspirations healthy, and Dick Trickle led late before fading to 6th. Morgan Shepherd also performed admirably while substituting for the injured Neil Bonnett, bringing the DiGard #22 home 8th despite getting caught up in a couple of incidents.

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For our title contenders, though, things were considerably more difficult. After losing the lead to Labonte early on, Tim Richmond struggled to keep himself in the picture for the win. Struggles to negotiate traffic eventually led to the 12 car closing the door on Joe Ruttman far too late, pitching the points leader into a spin which saw him collect Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty and Jody Ridley in a crash. The damage left Richmond a total non-factor, but he proceeded to keep out of trouble from then on, enough to take home a 10th place finish. Dale Earnhardt had a very strong run going and seemed to have one of the best cars, and may have posed a threat to Labonte - however, a battery failure under yellow necessitated a replacement. Though the Melling team performed superbly to only lose one lap, Earnhardt never could regain it, and he finished 11th, agonisingly short of beating Richmond to 10th.

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As for Darrell Waltrip, the race could not have been much more of a disaster. Clipped into a spin by his old rival Bobby Allison on lap 70, Waltrip was having to dig himself out of a 3-lap hole almost from the start, as his crew feverishly worked to repair the damage from his impact with the wall. To their credit, the 11 turned out to be one of the fastest cars on the track once those repairs were complete, and he managed to recover 2 of those laps by half distance. Still, getting back on the lead lap would be a tougher order, as the leaders cut him far less slack once it was clear that, as ever, Jaws was on a mission. Though he wouldn't succeed, there was little doubt that the 2-time champion hadn't lost any of his tenacity or skill yet. A special commiseration needs to go out to polesitter Ricky Rudd, though. A nightmare season for the Virginian driver in his first season with the Wood Brothers looked like it was starting to turn around when he secured the pole and led early, only for his driveshaft to fail while he was looking a lock for at least a top ten finish with just 60 laps remaining.

The relatively equal misfortunes of the top 3 drivers ensures that the picture remains much the same at the top, but Harry Gant's 4th place run sees him close back in slightly in the title chase. Geoff Bodine drops to 5th, but a 9th place finish from him sees him maintain his distance from Richmond, while Richard Petty continues his upward movement in the standings, now 6th, albeit nearly 400 points behind. Mark Martin is close behind in 7th, with Terry Labonte's win elevating him to 8th. Bill Elliott remains hot on their heels in 9th, with the injured Neil Bonnett hanging on to 10th.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 11): #64, #88, #98 accident turn 2
#2 (Lap 70): #11, #15 spin turn 2
#3 (Lap 134): #21 spin turn 2
#4 (Lap 152): #7, #8, #12, #84 accident frontstretch
#5 (Lap 174): #11, #17, #22, #27, #48, #64, #75 accident backstretch
#6 (Lap 183): #41, #43, #47, #84 accident turn 3
#7 (Lap 234): #27 stopped turn 4
#8 (Lap 243): #6, #11, #22, #27, #66, #98 accident turn 3
#9 (Lap 256): #7, #9, #41, #90 accident backstretch
#10 (Lap 333): #7, #22 spin turn 3
#11 (Lap 361): #21 stopped turn 2

Full Results
Championship standings
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Kinnikuniverse »

YEEEE-HAW!! Ataboy, terry!! the all-star racing curse is finally broken! what a call by harry hyde! that was worthy of the best stock car strategists! oh boy, you cannot believe how happy mr. hendrick was. no doubt about it, more and more sponsors are looking at us with interest after that amazing win!
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

MARLIN FISHES UP A BIG ONE
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Despite Sterling Marlin winning Rookie of the Year in 1983 in his car, Roger Hamby decided that his team would be better off signing Clark Dwyer, himself a rookie this year, for 1984. Left to fend for himself in the driver market, Marlin looked to be yet another in a long line of promising prospect who just couldn't quite make a name for themselves on the biggest stage in stock car racing. That was, until the startup Morgan-McClure team opted to take a chance on the youngster from Tennessee. Though it would be a slow start to the year for driver and team, they'd already shown some impressive pace heading into the second Pocono race, with a top five at North Wilkesboro, and some very impressive runs on the biggest tracks in the sport - Daytona and Talladega.

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Early in the race, it looked to be another strong run for Marlin, though the opening phases were again dominated by Tim Richmond, much as the point leader had done at this same track 6 weeks prior. However, Marlin emerged as a serious contender for the win on lap 116, as on a restart, he powered around the outside of Richard Petty to take the lead - a lead he would hold for 39 laps on the day, having led only 51 in his previous 59 starts. It would not prove to be smooth sailing for Marlin, though, as title contenders Harry Gant and Tim Richmond were among the many who also sought to impose themselves on the race lead. Indeed, Gant looked to be the favourite to win with 20 laps remaining, as short-pitting on the final set of green flag pitstops enabled him to gain a 5 second lead over Darrell Waltrip, with Marlin a full 10 seconds back.

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However, that strategy would prove to be the undoing for the Curb Racing team in their quest for their 2nd win of the season, as Gant began to struggle on his worn tyres. With a mere 10 laps to go, Gant lost to the lead to Richard Petty, who had caught and passed Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip and Marlin quickly followed suit, with a 3 car shootout for the victory. Against drivers with a combined 260 wins and 9 championships, few would favour the youngster Marlin, having only just turned 27 years old, racing for a team that made its first Cup appearance a little over a year ago. Fortunately for Marlin, those few just so happened to include his crew chief, Tony Glover, who had Marlin pit the latest of any of the leaders. Equipped with the freshest tyres of anyone, Marlin drafted past the champions ahead of him within 3 laps of passing Gant, and then held on for a sensational first Winston Cup victory.

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The race wasn't without its share of controversy, though. A brilliant run by Trevor Boys saw the Canadian take James Hylton's #48 car to an impressive 9th place - however, Boys incurred the wrath of title contender Dale Earnhardt in the process. Earnhardt lost 2 laps in the pits trying to get the car refired after stalling under a yellow flag pitstop, and was unable to unlap himself. Seemingly resigned to losing more points to title rivals Richmond and Waltrip, Earnhardt looked to gain points mostly through attrition, however, Boys tripped over the 9 car while running in 10th place, while Earnhardt was looking to pit for new tyres in the coming laps. Though the spin didn't damage Earnhardt's car, and he was able to at least salvage a 20th place finish, he had few kind words for Boys, who insisted that Earnhardt shouldn't have been trying to block a car in the top 10 2 laps ahead of him.

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Fortunately for Earnhardt, Tim Richmond ran into his own troubles late in the running as well. Despite tipping Bodine into a race ending incident around half distance, Richmond clearly had the best car all weekend, and looked to be one of the main contenders for the win as the laps wound down. The Ohio native led a race high 63 laps, only to run into the same tyre wear issues that Harry Gant had to face over the final stint. Ultimately, he had to settle for 12th, extending his lead over Earnhardt, but losing ground to Gant and Waltrip.

Dale Earnhardt's struggles see him leave Pocono 137 points back from Richmond, with Darrell Waltrip only 35 behind him. Harry Gant slid to 8th in the closing laps, but he still finds himself closing in slightly, 267 points off the lead, with Geoff Bodine hanging on the 5th, now 349 behind. Richard Petty continues to surge in the points, and is 16 points out of the top 5, with Mark Martin and Terry Labonte still in hot pursuit. Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty breaks back into the top 10 following a strong run to 4th, with Bill Elliott remaining 10th.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 23): #1, #98 accident turn 1
#2 (Lap 41): #22, #33, #47, #66, #90 accident Long Pond straight
#3 (Lap 70): #28, #84 spin turn 3
#4 (Lap 75): #15, #17, #23, #37 accident turn 2
#5 (Lap 111): #52, #84 accident turn 2
#6 (Lap 141): #9, #48 spin turn 3

Full Results
Championship standings
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

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Harry Melling wrote:Dale needs to take a good look at how he races, because he is in freefall right now. I know he has the pace, but he needs to tighten up the screws and avoid these costly mistakes if we're going to win this Winston Cup.
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

MARTIN MASTERFUL AT TALLADEGA
Image
One year ago, Mark Martin's Winston Cup career looked to have entered dire straights. Having sold off the team he co-owned with Bud Reeder, Martin hoped that he'd be able to make the move from promising upstart, to full-fledged front-runner. However, after only 7 races, Stacy released Martin from his ride - simply because he thought the Arkansas native was too small to make it as a Cup racer. Dejected, Martin spent the rest of the season scrambling for what starts he could make to keep his name in the garage, but as 1984 drew closer, it seemed like he would have to retreat to the ASA where he had made his name. Then, at the 11th hour, Raymond Beadle tapped the youngster to fill the hole in his team left by the departing Tim Richmond, and Mark Martin jumped at the chance to keep his career alive. Despite a shaky start to the year, Martin has meshed well with the 27 team and crew chief Tim Brewer, with a pole and 9 top ten finishes after 18 races leaving him solidly in the top ten in points

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But still, that elusive first win remained just out of reach. He was within half a second of winning at Atlanta in only his 4th race with the team, his pole position at North Wilkesboro ended in disappointment with a crash just past halfway, and dominated the closing stages at Nashville before losing the lead late to Neil Bonnett. Easily his most galling loss had to be at Talladega, however. Despite leading the most laps, Mark Martin ran out fuel only a couple of laps from the finish - and, so, he came into Talladega determined to right that wrong. Once again, the Blue Max #27 was the fastest car on NASCAR's fastest track, leading a total of 54 laps - 25 more than anyone else. Though the draft meant holding that lead was difficult, it was equally difficult for Martin's competitors to hold the young charger off.

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As the laps wound down over the final 52 lap green flag run, 2 things became clear. The first was that the race would be decided between one of 4 main contenders - Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, the polesitter, and arguably the strongest car in the field aside from Martin, Geoff Bodine, the winner of the previous race at Talladega, and Daytona 500 winner Kyle Petty. The second was that everyone would have to pit for fuel and tyres one final time, with about 20 laps to go. There would be no final lap fuel drama to plague Martin this time - it would simply be a question of who could manage the draft best, to minimise the time lost while pitting. Earnhardt was the first to pit on lap 161, with Martin following suit on 162. Bodine left his stop until lap 164, with Petty the final to pit on 165. All drivers opted for 2 tyres - but there was a key difference among them. Tim Brewer had faith in his driver's ability, and his car's handling, and chose to change only the left side tyres for this final run. Without his crew having to run around the car to change tyres, that saved the 27 car vital seconds, enabling him to stay with the group of lapped cars that they had all been drafting with. None of the other 3 were quite able to hang on, and so it was a clear run to the finish for Martin over those final laps, on his way to a well-deserved first Winston Cup victory. Just 25, he joins Kyle Petty as one of the youngest winners in NASCAR history.

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Another first-time winner didn't enjoy quite the same luck as his similarly-named rival on the track. Sterling Marlin, after a strong run in the Spring race at Talladega, was poised for another solid finish again on Sunday, and may have even been a threat to win back-to-back races, having led 25 laps, as incredible as that sounds. However, before the final set of pitstops kicked off, a blown piston sidelined the Morgan-McClure team - but they are surely making a statement about what is to come from them. Marlin was one of many to rue mechanical failures on race day, as a broken valve spring eliminated Cale Yarborough early, Richard Petty burned a piston on lap 32, and Morgan Shepherd's ignition failed just past half way. A.J. Foyt was also quite upset about the rate of mechanical failures - though in his case, it was more the failure of Buddy Arrington's Chrysler, which had dropped a cylinder. Foyt, in the midst of traffic, was unable to avoid Arrington in time and tripped over the longtime Mopar man, eliminating both cars from the running.

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Bright spots in the running order included Jimmy Means, who continues a superb season, notching his 3rd top ten of the season, and Trevor Boys, who follows up his 9th-place finish at Pocono with another one at Talladega - both coming from deep in the field. Elliott Forbes-Robinson picked up a solid 14th place finish for Robert Harrington, and Grant Adcox finished an impressive 16th despite having started only one Cup race in the last 5 years. Bobby Allison also finally ended his string of poor finishes with a 3rd place finish, stolen from Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt in dramatic fashion. Having just beaten Mark Martin to the line to stay on the lead lap for the last lap of the race, their pack of cars had just caught the pair of Bodine and Earnhardt in time to give the defending champ a single shot at passing them. Working with the Skoal Bandit Chevy of Bill Elliott, Allison breezed past Bodine in turn 1, and with a full head of steam, ran down Earnhardt and slipped past on the inside of the tri-oval, just before the finish line. If there were any doubts about the defending champ following his recent slump, he silenced them in a single lap.

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While elation overtook the Blue Max crew as they celebrated Mark Martin's first win, it was a weekend to forget for Junior Johnson's cars. Far removed from the 3-race win streak they enjoyed in June, they enter August with both drivers' relationship surely at breaking point - as well as their cars, and their health. A terrifying wreck erupted on only the 22nd lap, as Tim Richmond poked his nose underneath Darrell Waltrip as they jockeyed for position within the lead pack. Waltrip himself was looking inside of Richard Petty - who himself was underneath Mark Martin. In an ill-advised 4-wide situation, the King, unaware of the duelling teammates to his inside, moved low to try to give Martin a little more room to avoid an incident. Waltrip in turn moved down, but Richmond, already racing on the yellow line separating the racing surface from the apron, didn't have that luxury.

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The two Junior Johnson Chevrolets touched, and turned sharply to the inside of the track, slamming into the end of the pitwall at about 200mph. Thrown back across the racetrack, Waltrip crashed head-on into rookie Greg Sacks, with Joe Ruttman also wiped out in the incident, while Richmond rolled over before backing into the outside wall. Sacks and Ruttman were shaken but thankfully unhurt, as was Waltrip who only complained of dizziness and headaches after the accident. Tim Richmond, however, wasn't so lucky. Unable to move after the crash, Richmond was rushed to hospital to find multiple fractures in his legs. Though Richmond is expected to make a full recovery, this leaves his championship scenario in a dire situation. With Dale Earnhardt arresting his points slide with a solid top 5 run, Richmond hangs on to the lead by just 26 from Earnhardt, with Waltrip 163 back.

A flat tyre ultimately cost Harry Gant two laps, but by staying out of trouble, he picked up an 11th-place finish, moving to within 200 points of the championship lead, and only 23 behind Waltrip. Geoff Bodine has carved over a hundred points out of his deficit to Richmond, and is now within 250 of the lead. Mark Martin's win moves him up to 6th in the standings, with Bodine only 36 ahead. Terry Labonte continues to gather momentum following his win, with another top 10 finish moving him up to 7th, with King Richard Petty slipping to 8th after being swept up in an early wreck. Kyle Petty equals his father's record of top 5s this year with his 5th, which also solidified his points position in 9th. Bobby Allison's 3rd place finish also moved him back into the top ten in points

Caution record
#1 (Lap 22): #8, #11, #12, #51 accident tri-oval
#2 (Lap 32): #3, #14, #17, #22, #42, #44, #75, #84, #88, #98 accident tri-oval
#3 (Lap 44): #64, #77 accident turn 3
#4 (Lap 109): debris
#5 (Lap 124): #14, #67 accident turn 3
#6 (Lap 132): #3, #4, #5, #15, #84 accident backstretch

Full Results
Championship standings
Sebastian Vettel wrote:If I was good at losing I wouldn't be in Formula 1.
Everything's great.
I'm not surprised about anything.
Kinnikuniverse
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Joined: 04 Nov 2019, 12:57
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Kinnikuniverse »

oh boy, junior johnson's in big trouble right there! i knew this was only gonna end in ugly fashion.

congratulations on mark martin for a much deseeved first win, and terry boy keeps on truckin'!
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Salamander
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Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

Stock Car Racing magazine wrote:Darrell Waltrip announces he will not return to #11 in 1985
All throughout the season, one of the major storylines in NASCAR has been the duelling teammates of Darrell Waltrip and Tim Richmond. Two incredibly fast racers, both with serious championship aspirations, only Dale Earnhardt has been able to keep pace with the two Junior Johnson cars all year. While their on-track battles have thrilled fans across the country, ultimately, everyone knew it was only a matter of time until the show was over. On Wednesday, following a serious crash between the two early in the Talladega 500 which left Richmond in hospital with a fractured leg, Waltrip made the decision to call time on his relationship with car owner Junior Johnson.

"It's tough to have to do this," Waltrip stated, "Me and Junior have had a huge amount of success together, but after what happened Sunday, it just isn't smart to keep putting myself in this situation. I never really got along with Tim, but I sure didn't wish him to get hurt - I don't want anyone to get hurt. But because Junior kept letting us go at each other, even when I told him this was gonna happen, putting two good cars against each other every week, this was just inevitable."

Waltrip declined to state who he had spoken to about racing for in 1985, but indicated he was in talks with multiple team owners. He also made clear that he was open to approaches from any championship-caliber team - save DiGard, of course, with whom Waltrip won many races, but left at the end of 1980 following poor reliability. In the 3-and-a-half seasons since that he's spent driving Junior Johnson's cars, Darrell Waltrip has won 33 Winston Cup races and the 1981 and 1982 Cup titles.
Sebastian Vettel wrote:If I was good at losing I wouldn't be in Formula 1.
Everything's great.
I'm not surprised about anything.
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Salamander
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Joined: 29 Mar 2009, 20:59
Location: trapped on some prison island

Re: Alternate Classic NASCAR

Post by Salamander »

EARNHARDT RECLAIMS MOMENTUM AT MICHIGAN
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Though Dale Earnhardt has led the championship for most of the first half of the year after winning 2 of the first 5 races, he remained winless for the next 14. While it was enough for him to hold on to that lead, once Tim Richmond started to consistently rack up top 5s, Earnhardt's lack of a winning response saw him lose that hard-fought lead. However, like all streaks, Richmond's came to an end, and though nobody wanted to see him suffer the injuries he did at Talladega, they undeniably gave Earnhardt a shot at moving the championship back in his favour. Despite a mistake in qualifying which saw him roll off a lowly 30th on Sunday, the 9 car had turned many heads in practice, and was tipped to be the car to beat at Michigan.

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As soon as the green flag dropped, Dale Earnhardt went to work. By lap 30, he had already cracked the top 10, and less than 10 laps later, he broke into the top 5. On lap 54, Bill Elliott pitted from the lead, handing 1st to the rampant Earnhardt, who would tie Cale Yarborough for most laps led in the race at 53. In a race which was broken up only twice by cautions, green flag pitstops were paramount to staying up front, and the Harry Melling crew shined at the right time, getting their man up front for the final run to the checkered flag. Despite the best efforts of Bobby Allison, the Bud Moore entry was unable to pip Earnhardt to the line this time, as the 1980 champ took his 12th career win in style.

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Though the race was mostly run under the green, neither was early, which came much to the chagrin of Tim Richmond. The Ohio native's fractured leg meant that although he could start the event, attempting to finish it may have worsened his injuries, which resulted in Junior Johnson's decision to tap Wisconsin short track legend Dick Trickle to practice the car and take over from Richmond at the first pitstop. Since it was under green, the 12 team lost a lot of time changing drivers, and it seemed like it would simply be a run to limit the amount of damage Earnhardt would do to their points position. Things took a turn for the worst on lap 123, however, as a major crash erupted on the backstretch, taking out a good chunk of the field. The leaders had attempted to scramble around the slow car of Ron Bouchard, whose Buick had dropped a cylinder early in the race as he - much like Dick Trickle in the 12 car - simply tried to get as many points as he could out of the race. With cars slowing to try to avoid tripping over the wounded Bouchard car, Sterling Marlin and Harry Gant inadvertently found themselves in the middle of a 4-wide situation exiting turn 2. Unable to avoid pinballing off each other, as well as Benny Parsons on the inside and Buddy Baker on the outside, a spin was inevitable. Baker and Marlin were sent spinning down the backstretch, creating a huge plume of smoke which those behind had to navigate completely by chance.

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For the second race in a row, Greg Sacks was unable to avoid the biggest crash of the day, as he plowed completely unsighted into the side of Marlin's car. With the track completely blocked, those even further behind simply wound up swept into the melee. In total, 13 drivers were wiped out in the ensuing chaos, including Dick Trickle, who had only just managed to regain his lost lap during the first caution at lap 105, and was running 22nd. Though his team worked feverishly to get his car repaired, they were ultimately only able to complete a couple more laps, as the damage was simply too severe to get the car to compete at a safe speed. Amazingly, despite the violence of the crash, the only injury that came as a result was Buddy Baker, who cracked a rib when Jimmy Hensley's car piled into him.

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The other Junior Johnson car fared much better, as Darrell Waltrip drove the 11 solidly inside the top ten all day, walking away with a fine 6th place finish. Other notable performances include Morgan Shepherd, who continues to excel while substituting for the recovering Neil Bonnett, as he finished 5th, even challenging Earnhardt for the lead in the latter stages. Ricky Rudd emerged atop a fierce battle for 8th, as the Virginian seeks to turn around what has been so far a disastrous season for the Wood Brothers team. One driver who hoped to turn his own disastrous season around was Bill Elliott, but he wasn't quite so lucky. Though he took pole position for the race and led 15 laps early, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville was sidelined after 152 laps, as his engine failed while running in 3rd.

Dale Earnhardt's win propels him back to the lead in the championship battle, with a healthy margin of 80 over Tim Richmond. Darrell Waltrip holds station in 3rd, 172 behind Earnhardt, though Harry Gant and Geoff Bodine are close behind the two-time champ in 4th and 5th. Another top 5 finish for Mark Martin sees him maintain touch with those on the fringes of the title battle in 6th, while a disappointing 17th for Terry Labonte means he's dropped 99 points behind Martin in 7th. Richard and Kyle Petty are both neck-and-neck with Labonte in 8th and 9th, while back-to-back top 5s for Bobby Allison see the defending champ also close in on this tight points battle.

Caution record
#1 (Lap 105): #12, #16, #84 accident turn 3
#2 (Lap 123): #0, #4, #5, #8, #01, #11, #12, #17, #43, #44, #48, #51, #52, #55, #64, #66, #71, #95, #98 accident backstretch.

Full Results
Championship Standings
Sebastian Vettel wrote:If I was good at losing I wouldn't be in Formula 1.
Everything's great.
I'm not surprised about anything.
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