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