JUNIOR JOHNSON: With The 1986 Season Came Winds Of Change
The tone of the 1986 season was set, at least for Junior Johnson & Associates and driver Darrell Waltrip, after an incident at Richmond in February.
Call Danica Patrick’s Weekend At Darlington A Personal Success
The fact Danica Patrick was part of the lineup for the Bojangle’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was just about as riveting as all of the hype about how difficult and challenging the speedway is.
JUNIOR JOHNSON: With The 1986 Season Came Winds Of Change
The tone of the 1986 season was set, at least for Junior Johnson & Associates and driver Darrell Waltrip, after an incident at Richmond in February. Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt were involved in a frightening crash while racing for the lead. Theirs were two of four cars eliminated from the race, which was won by Kyle Petty. Junior fumed over the incident for some time. But he also realized that if his team was to win another championship, it was going to have to beat Earnhardt. That, indeed, turned out to be the case. Although Waltrip spent most of the remainder of the season second in points to Earnhardt he could not overtake him. In fact, the season was almost half complete before Waltrip won a race. He won only three times in 29 starts. Teammate Neil Bonnet won just once. It was one of the most lackluster performances for either of Johnson’s teams since the two-car operation began in 1984. But then, there seemed to be a very good reason for that. Junior’s contributions to www.motorsportsunplugged.com will appear every other Friday throughout the season. When I recall the Richmond incident, even today, I still can’t help but feel that Dale caused it. I think he did it on purpose. Dale just couldn’t stand for Darrell … [Read More...]
Fantasy Insights
Another Hot Night – Fantasy Insight All Star Edition
It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since that first “One Hot Night.” Putting lights up at a 1.5-mile speedway seemed like a crazy gimmick when promoter extraordinaire Humpy Wheeler decided to try it. That one move changed NASCAR forever! The first Winston under the lights, as … [Read More...]
Featured Stories
No Psychoanalysis Needed: Kurt Busch Still Has Some Issues
I’m certainly not a trained psychoanalyst so I’m not about to suggest that Kurt Busch has a “chemical imbalance” or suffers from some emotional malady. It’s been suggested he has both. But consider such “analysis” has come largely from angry, frustrated competitors after heated dustups with the veteran driver. Busch isn’t really all that different from any other race driver. … [Read More...]
Call Danica Patrick’s Weekend At Darlington A Personal Success
The fact Danica Patrick was part of the lineup for the Bojangle’s Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway was just about as riveting as all of the hype about how difficult and challenging the speedway is. Well, OK … For some folks, anyway. Patrick became the third woman to drive in a Sprint Cup race at Darlington, joining Janet Guthrie, who finished 16th in 1977, and Shawna Robinson, who was … [Read More...]
Featured Videos
Fans Angry at NASCAR for Daytona Rain Delay?
Tremendous stress is placed on fans and teams alike when NASCAR has to … [Read More...]
Daytona NASCAR Shootout and IndyCar Standing Starts?
This week NASCAR kicks into high gear with the Shootout on Saturday. … [Read More...]
Kurt Busch Most Disliked Driver in NASCAR, Courtney Force Debuts in Pomona
Kurt Busch came in #10 on Forbes.com's "Most Disliked Atletes in … [Read More...]
