NASCAR Classics: Races to watch before Atlanta playoff opener

Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each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 Sunday‘s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

1986 Atlanta Journal 500:

It was a long time coming for Dale Earnhardt.

The 1980 NASCAR Cup Series champion seemed poised to continue his dominance after asserting his name as a championship threat but that was not immediately the case. Earnhardt bounced around after leaving the Rod Osterlund owned team he won the title with before finding a permanent home with Richard Childress in 1984.

His new home at Richard Childress Racing proved to be the correct move, as Earnhardt finished fourth in points in 1984 and won two races. Both of those numbers were his best since his championship season in 1980.

Unfortunately, the 1985 season saw mechanical issues plague the still-fast Childress team. Earnhardt failed to finish nine of the first 20 races but still finished the season with four victories. The rest of the Cup Series was on notice that if the budding superstar and team could put things together, 1986 could be dominated by Earnhardt.

The season-opening Daytona 500 seemed like more of the same for Earnhardt, as his fast No. 3 Chevrolet led 34 laps but ran out of fuel at the end, leaving him with a 14th-place finish. What followed was a torrid stretch that saw him finish outside of the top 10 just once until the start of July, cementing himself at the top of the series standings.

He continued at the top of the standings as the season progressed, arriving at Atlanta with the chance to clinch with Riverside still remaining on the schedule.

Everything seemingly went right for Earnhardt at Atlanta and he officially clinched his second series title when Darrell Waltrip blew an engine less than 100 laps into the race.

It didn‘t slow Earnhardt down, as he went on to lead 162 of the race‘s 328 laps en route to his fifth victory of the season. Richard Petty finished second, an entire lap behind Earnhardt.

1992 Hooters 500:

It seemed like everything aligned to ensure that the 1992 NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Atlanta would go down as one of the most memorable races of all-time. That was before the green flag even waved.

The amount of storylines were immaculate, some of which were not even known for a handful of years after the event itself.

Richard Petty was set to wrap up his legendary career, with the race at Atlanta being the final stop of his “Fan Appreciation Tour.” The entire weekend saw eyes on Petty, including Alabama holding a concert honoring Petty the night before the race at the Georgia Dome.

Beyond Petty‘s impending retirement, the race for the championship was tighter than ever. Six drivers were mathematically eligible to win the championship, with Davey Allison leading the way coming into the event after winning the previous week at Phoenix.

Allison was in the middle of a tough season, both on and off the track, so his resilience to even be in the hunt for the title was impressive. He was injured at Bristol in April. He won The Winston at Charlotte but by crashing across the line and ending the night in the hospital. July saw Allison‘s car fly through the air at Pocono, leaving Allison with multiple injuries including a concussion and a broken arm. To top it all off, his brother Clifford tragically passed away in a practice crash at Michigan. Allison put his emotions aside and brought his car home with a fifth-place finish. It almost seemed inevitable that nothing could conquer Allison‘s quest at capturing the Cup.

Alan Kulwicki, who owned the No. 7 car that he raced, sat 30 points behind Allison. Bill Elliott was 40 points behind in third, while Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Mark Martin all were still capable of capturing the title, depending what happened to the other contenders.

On top of everything, the race marked the Cup Series debut of an up-and-coming Xfinity Series driver, Jeff Gordon. The impact of Gordon‘s debut would not truly be felt for years but was noted during the broadcast.

When the green flag waved, things couldn‘t have gone worse for Petty or Allison. Petty was involved in a multi-car accident on the 95th lap, which resulted in his car erupting into flames. He was not injured in the crash but it seemed like it might mark the end of his career, with his car looking all-but destroyed.

As the laps passed by, Allison looked like he was in control of his own destiny. That was until an accident involving Ernie Irvan saw Allison‘s title hopes disappear when he slammed into Irvan‘s No. 4 car.

The race for the title came down to Elliott and Kulwicki, with the title coming down to the final set of green flag pit-stops. Kulwicki took advantage of those stops, putting him in position to capture the title. Elliott took the checkered flag but Kulwicki led 103 laps to Elliott‘s 102, giving Kulwicki the title by 10 points.

1996 NAPA 500:

Little did the Labonte family know but the 1996 season finale would go down as quite possible the biggest day in their already successful family‘s racing history.

Terry Labonte, the 1984 NASCAR Cup Series champion, found a bit of a career rejuvenation by signing to drive the No. 5 car for Rick Hendrick starting with the 1994 season. He visited Victory Lane three times that year, his first victories since 1989.

The next season saw Labonte win three more races in 1995, which was an incredible feat since Labonte had never plateaued above two victories throughout his first 15 seasons. He finished sixth in points, while his teammate Jeff Gordon captured the series title.

Labonte‘s season in 1996 started rather uneventfully, despite winning from the pole at North Wilkesboro in the spring. As the races passed by, Labonte and the No. 5 team became stronger, notching eight straight top-seven finishes through the halfway point of the season. This put Labonte on top of the season standings.

He continued throughout the season with his consistency, setting himself up to race for the championship at Atlanta. He entered the race with a 47-point advantage over his teammate Gordon and a 99-point lead over third-place driver Dale Jarrett.

His brother Bobby Labonte, the 1991 Xfinity Series champion, was in his second season driving the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. He won the first four races of his career in that car, one that seemingly found speed towards the end of the 1996 season. Bobby Labonte didn‘t have the finishes to back it up but he won the pole at Dover, Charlotte, Phoenix and Atlanta, giving him four poles over the final seven races of the season. It was a needed momentum boost for the No. 18 team.

The championship contenders hoped to finish their strong seasons by hoisting the Cup and backed it up in qualifying. Gordon qualified behind Bobby in second, while Terry followed in third and Jarrett was fifth.

The four drivers were the cars to beat on the final Sunday of the season, as they stayed up front throughout the race. In true storybook fashion, it was both of the Labontes coming out on top. Bobby led a race-high 147 laps for the fifth victory of his career, while Terry‘s fifth-place finish was enough to finish 37 points ahead of Gordon to capture his second title. The two drivers celebrated on the track together with a victory lap and later took pictures together in Victory Lane.