NASCAR Classics: Races to watch before Dover
Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken‘s picks to watch before this weekend‘s Würth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway.
The 10th race of the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series campaign turned out to be a back-and-forth battle between the two hottest drivers on the circuit.
Darrell Waltrip entered the race as the two-time defending series champion, racking up 24 wins over those two seasons and sat at 54 for his career. He was coming off three wins over his previous four races.
Series points leader Bobby Allison was the runner-up to Waltrip in both 1981 and 1982, compiling 13 wins over that stretch. He also grabbed 53 top-10 finishes over his previous 71 starts.
When the series arrived at Dover, it was Joe Ruttman who put his No. 98 car on the pole. His qualifying effort came in the middle of a strong start to the season for Ruttman, who entered the race third in the point standings.
The Monster Mile chewed up and spit out 19 different cars on the day, five due to accidents and the other 14 due to mechanical failures.
It wasn‘t a surprise that the race for the win came down to Allison and Waltrip. The two drivers swapped the lead 12 times over the final 150 laps of the 500-mile endurance test. No other driver paced the field over that span.
Allison led the final 18 laps en route to his first victory of the season. He went on to capture the 1983 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
It was only fitting that Richard Petty was on the cusp of an important milestone as the NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Dover in early 1984.
Petty won his 198th career race at the end of the 1983 season and was looking to close in on his 200th victory at Dover.
Petty won the first two races at the track in 1969 and 1970, adding a third win over the first four races there. He won again in 1974, 1975 and 1979, entering the race weekend with six wins at the track.
He sat seventh in the season standings, with eight top-12 finishes but had yet to finish better than fourth. Petty put his iconic No. 43 car in fifth on the grid following qualifying, which saw Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott out front.
The race saw 26 lead changes and Petty continued to get stronger as the laps passed by. He led 126 of the final 221 laps, as he put himself on the cusp of history with his 199th career victory.
Tim Richmond finished second behind Petty, while Terry Labonte, Elliott and Dale Earnhardt rounded out the top five.
Harry Gant, who led a race-high 218 laps, retired after 392 laps due to mechanical issues.
The 1990 NASCAR Cup Series season kicked off with a shocking surprise as Derrike Cope captured the first victory of his career in dramatic fashion — passing Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the Daytona 500.
Two weeks later, Kyle Petty picked up the third victory of his career in a dominating effort at Rockingham. Petty led 433 of the race‘s 492 laps after starting the race on the pole.
The following month saw Brett Bodine pick up a controversial victory at North Wilkesboro, which was the first win of his career.
It wasn‘t a surprise when a handful of surprises occurred at Dover at the start of June.
1989 Rookie of the Year Dick Trickle put his Cale Yarborough-owned No. 66 car on the pole for the first time in his career. He promptly went out and led a career-high 63 laps and finished third. It was the fourth time he finished third in his career, the highest finish of his career.
Cope, who had struggled following his upset victory at Daytona, arrived at Dover 23rd in points. His 15th-place qualifying effort seemed like it would be just another week for the team but that was not the case.
He led 93 laps, including the final 55, on his way to the second victory of his career.
Morgan Shepherd, who quietly was battling a stomach bug, toughed out the 500-mile battle for a sixth-place finish. This, combined with engine issues from Dale Earnhardt, moved Shepherd into first in the season standings.
You can watch these three races and hundreds more by visiting NASCAR Classics.
