Bristol is where the legends win. Darrell Waltrip won a dozen times there. Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, and Rusty Wallace each had nine. Then there is Kyle Busch, who’s victory on Saturday night pushed him to six, one more than his brother Kurt and David Pearson. Each one in the Hall of Fame, or will be. No exceptions.
When it comes to extraordinary television, sit on the edge of your seat excitement, Dover under green will not exactly get your heart racing. In fact, Sunday’s race was more of a cautionary tale. When the yellow waved, the interest spiked.
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Darlington paid tribute to the Timmonsville, South Carolina native, Cale Yarborough, Saturday morning in a special ceremony at the track. In his honor, the Darlington Raceway Sprint Cup Garage was renamed the Cale Yarborough Garage.
Michigan. A big track, a fast track. Sadly, not exactly a legacy event, like winning at Daytona or Bristol or Talladega or Indianapolis or Darlington or either road course. What it is, is a track where legends have celebrated since 1969. In fact, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Richard Petty, Dale Jarrett, and Bobby Allison have combined for 46 victories there. That is a lot of suds for a lot of Hall of Famers.
After the re-start, Johnson moved down to the line, hugged it tight, and came up to Harvick’s rear quarter-panel. A bit of side drafting tugged Luthor...ahem...Harvick...back enough to set Johnson sailing right by and into the lead.
I loved watching Cale Yarborough in the No. 11 and Richard Petty piloting the No. 43. How I miss seeing Dale Earnhardt in that black No. 3. I wish I could see Rusty Wallace again in that blue deuce though my reasoning is that him driving means there was no way in hell he would be announcing.
In honor of the Southern 500, the biggest race in NASCAR in the 1950s and the first fully paved oval, being moved back to Labor Day weekend, I have decided to list my top five Cup Series drivers of all time.
Jimmie, and Kevin, and Dale, oh my. Jimmie, and Kevin, and Dale, oh my. Last Saturday night was a good one if you happened to be a fan of one of the above-mentioned drivers. Johnson was the class of the field, leading 128 laps, including the final one.
After a one-year sabbatical, Matty's Picks is back for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. I had a great year last year, enjoying a few races from the stands as a fan, but I'm back in action this year on the keyboard and behind the camera lens bringing you my less than expert picks for the races each Sunday.
The distance run and the sponsors may have changed, but for thirty years the gateway to summer race at Daytona was known as the Firecracker 400 (250 for its first four runs). It might not be as big as the 500 or have the glamour of the Southern 500, but winning this one means something. Its name should mean something as well.
