NASCAR Classics: Races to watch before Phoenix Championship Race

Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each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 Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock).

1994 Slick 50 500:

The NASCAR Cup Series arrived at Phoenix Raceway in October 1994 with a new seven-time champion.

Dale Earnhardt‘s victory in the previous race at Rockingham clinched the title for Earnhardt with two races remaining on the 1994 slate.

Earnhardt and car owner Richard Childress spent the week celebrating their success with a hunting trip that saw Childress escape serious injury after a fall.

When it came time to qualify, the field was quick to notice that Goodyear had the superior tire. Ward Burton, who had found success earlier in the season qualifying, claimed the highest qualifying spot for a Hoosier-powered driver with a 27th-place start.

Sterling Marlin, who was capping off his first season in the No. 4 car for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, put the car on the pole for the event. He narrowly beat out Rusty Wallace for the top spot. Wallace was just one week removed from officially being eliminated from having a chance at the title, despite another strong season from the No. 2 car.

Two other drivers who were in the first year of new partnerships, Ricky Rudd and Terry Labonte, looked to be two of the fastest cars out west.

Rudd led 99 laps in his own No. 10 car before slowly fading throughout the day. He eventually brought his car home with a respectable seventh-place finish.

Labonte, who replaced Rudd in the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports, continued his hot stretch by leading a race-high 112 laps en route to Victory Lane.

Mark Martin, Marlin, Jeff Gordon and Ted Musgrave rounded out the remainder of the top five.

Earnhardt came home 40th after engine issues ended his day early. He still left with a 379-point advantage over Wallace with one week remaining. He sat 75 points ahead of Martin for the runner-up spot in the standings.

1996 Dura Lube 500:

Phoenix Raceway was always a track synonymous with the success of Bobby Hamilton and the end of the 1996 season seemed fitting that another chapter of his story would take place at the track.

Hamilton made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the track in 1989, driving one of the “Days of Thunder” movie cars for Rick Hendrick.

The car was stripped of its camera equipment for the event, following an eye-popping fifth-place qualifying effort from Hamilton, which allowed him to go out and compete for a victory at the track.

He subsequently led five laps but engine issues left him with a 32nd-place finish. His flashes of success in the car led to Hamilton landing a ride in the No. 68 car for Mark Smith in 1990. Hamilton made the most of his time in the car, capturing the Rookie of the Year honors in 1991.

Hamilton showed signs of success over the next few seasons while driving for Smith, Dick Moroso, Aikins-Sutton Motorsports and Felix Sabates before the No. 40 team was purchased by Dick Brooks.

Much of his speed was shown at Phoenix, as he backed up his debut race with a 13th-place finish in 1991 after leading a lap. He returned to the track in 1992 with the Mark Smith-led team and finished eighth.

Hamilton did not race at the track in 1993 but returned in 1994 with an 11th-place finish.

All of his signs of promise led to him landing a dream ride in 1995, taking over the No. 43 car owned by Richard Petty, who retired from driving following the 1992 season finale.

The chance Petty took on Hamilton proved to be a correct choice, as he finished a career-best 14th in the season standings while battling for a handful of victories throughout the season.

Everything was looking up for the team in 1996, as they looked to build on the immediate success of their first full campaign together.

Adding to the excitement of the season was that it marked the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Petty and his longtime sponsor STP. The team rolled out a handful of throwback paint schemes for Hamilton to race throughout the season, honoring the success between Petty and the sponsor through the years.

The team didn‘t find as much improvement as they had hoped for the 1996 season but the race at Phoenix turned out to be one to remember for everyone involved.

All of the focus at Phoenix was on the championship battle between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, as well as Dale Jarrett of Robert Yates Racing.

Labonte entered the weekend up 32 points on Gordon and 76 on Jarrett, as there were just the races at Phoenix and Atlanta remaining on the schedule.

Unfortunately, Labonte didn‘t seem to have the luck on his side, as he broke his left hand during a practice crash at the track on Friday. The break put a damper on the important weekend for Labonte and his team but they did manage to catch one good break.

Heavy winds sent sand blowing through the air, postponing qualifying until the following day.

When the teams were able to qualify on Saturday, it was Labonte‘s younger brother Bobby who put his car on the pole for the race. Gordon and the elder Labonte both struggled during qualifying, as they started 19th and 30th respectively.

Jarrett on the other hand, took advantage of the Hendrick Motorsports struggles and put his No. 88 car fifth on the board. Hamilton qualified a quiet 17th.

The race on Sunday proved to be another instance of championship-level grit, as Labonte made his way up through the entire field with his injured hand to lead 61 laps.

It looked like Labonte had the car to beat late, as he led two long stretches late before giving up the lead to Geoff Bodine for fresh tires with just about 50 laps remaining.

The ensuing restart saw Hamilton eventually take advantage and put the No. 43 Petty Enterprises car back in Victory Lane for the first time in 13 years.

It was Hamilton‘s first career Cup Series victory, coming in his 167th start, ironically at the same track he made his series debut at just a handful of years earlier.

The points battle saw Labonte shrug off his pain and finish third, a few spots ahead of Gordon and Jarrett, who both finished inside the top-10.

This set up the season finale for the championship, with Labonte entering the weekend 47 points up on Gordon and 99 on Jarrett, as he chased his first Cup Series championship since he won it in 1984.

2020 Season Finale 500:

The end of the unique 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season saw 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 way into the battle with enough points through the Round of 8.

The weekend was also bittersweet, as it marked the final start as full-time Cup Series drivers for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2003 series champion Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.

It looked like the weekend couldn‘t have got off to a better start for Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports team, as they won the pole for the race, narrowly beating out the rest of his championship rivals in qualifying.

Elliott‘s supreme start to the weekend went sour quickly, as he failed pre-race inspection twice and had to start at the rear of the field.

He took the early adversity and swept it to the side, as he worked his way through the field before taking command of the race in dominating fashion. He already made his way to third by the end of the first stage.

Elliott led 153 laps after starting from the rear, the first championship-deciding race that was held at the track, en route to the first Cup Series championship of his career.

His championship, teamed with his father Bill‘s in 1988, helped them become the third father and son duo to win Cup Series titles. They joined Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett.

All of the championship contenders showed up strong, as Keselowski, Logano and Hamlin finished second, third and fourth in the race.

Johnson, who was competing in his last race in the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports, finished fifth.