Little known and interesting facts

Bowtie3

Bowtie3

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I was thinking it would be neat to have a thread to share some little known facts about NASCAR or its drivers. Maybe give some newer fans some interesting info and refresh some of our memories.

For example, I doubt many people realize that from the start of the Busch Series in 1982, until 1995, no Busch Series champion won a Winston Cup race. Bobby Labonte was the first.
 
Danica is more like her dad than mom.
Danica on her dad
"Oh, dear," she said. "Very fiery, passionate, caring, giving, unconditional, fun. That's how he is, and I guess I'm like those things."
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Danicas dad raced snow mobiles.
Danica dropped out of high school and raced formula fords in England

Danica-Formula-Ford.jpg
 
Another on Bobby Labonte. Bobby was the first driver to claim wins at a single track in all three national series when he won a truck race at Martinsville in 2005. He won in the Busch Series at Martinsville in 1992 and in the cup series in 2002.
 
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the only active driver who won a Cup race in 2015 but hasn't done so in 2016.
 
Do you remember the "Tobasco Fiasco?" In 1998 the #35 Tobasco Pontiac had several drivers including Todd Bodine (who started the season) as well as Loy Allen Jr and Wally Dallenbach before Bob Hancher sold the team to Tim Beverly who then installed Darrell Waltrip. After the sale went through the Grand Prix's were re-skinned as Monte Carlo's and raced as such at Watkins Glen and Indy. Tobasco was having none of it and launched a lawsuit claiming that a lot of their advertising was based on the Grand Prix so the Monte Carlo was re-skinned as a Pontiac for the rest of the season at which point Tobasco left Nascar. So there you have it.........an abridged version of the Tabasco Fiasco. The Tobasco car was also painted in a variant that I believe was used for night races.

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Skoalbandit33 said:
Do you remember the "Tobasco Fiasco?" In 1998 the #35 Tobasco Pontiac had several drivers including Todd Bodine (who started the season) as well as Loy Allen Jr and Wally Dallenbach before Bob Hancher sold the team to Tim Beverly who then installed Darrell Waltrip. After the sale went through the Grand Prix's were re-skinned as Monte Carlo's and raced as such at Watkins Glen and Indy. Tobasco was having none of it and launched a lawsuit claiming that a lot of their advertising was based on the Grand Prix so the Monte Carlo was re-skinned as a Pontiac for the rest of the season at which point Tobasco left Nascar. So there you have it.........an abridged version of the Tabasco Fiasco. The Tobasco car was also painted in a variant that I believe was used for night races.

View attachment 19860 View attachment 19861

View attachment 19862
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I mean I was 7 during that season, but I feel like every race that car wrecked
 
Petty Blue was invented by accident. Lee Petty told his son Richard to repaint Lee's #42 car, but Richard realized he didn't have enough of Lee's traditional dark blue paint. So he mixed in white to stretch the paint, and Petty Blue was born. The distinctive bright blue color was an instant hit with the Petty family and fans as well.
 
In 1991, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin were teammates for one race, in the BGN Series at Hickory. They both raced Carolina Ford sponsored T-Birds for Bill Davis. Jeff in the 1 car, Mark in the 01.

In 1993, Jack Roush fielded a Chevrolet Lumina for Mark Martin at the Daytona BGN race. They failed to qualify their #60 Thunderbird, but Dale Jarrett sold them his #32 Lumina for the race. So Jack and Mark raced a Winn Dixie Chevy.

In 1994, Dale Jarrett failed to qualify his #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet for the Winston Cup race at North Wilkesboro, then won the following week at Charlotte. I believe this is the last time a Cup driver won a race immediately after a DNQ.
 
Morgan Shepherd used to roller skate on the track race morning, NASCAR stopped him because the fans like it.
 
Up until Saturday, the Cup winners at Kentucky were a palindrome (KyBu, Brad K, Kenseth, Brad K, KyBu)
 
Rafe hollister said:
Morgan Shepherd used to roller skate on the track race morning, NASCAR stopped him because the fans like it.
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I remember a practice/qualifying telecast a few years ago where they showed Morgan rollerskating down pit lane. He wiped out and it was hilarious (start at 3:48).
 
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Jimmie Johnson's car number (48) is double Jeff Gordon's number (24), but it was almost the other way around. Jeff Gordon was originally going to run #46, but licensing conflicts with Paramount for Days of Thunder (Cole Trickle's number in the movie) prevented it. Jimmie Johnson was originally going to be #23 (probably to fall in line with the 24 and 25 cars at HMS at the time), but Bill Davis Racing beat HMS to the punch on applying for the number for the 2002 season.
 
ToyYoda said:
Jimmie Johnson's car number (48) is double Jeff Gordon's number (24), but it was almost the other way around. Jeff Gordon was originally going to run #46, but licensing conflicts with Paramount for Days of Thunder (Cole Trickle's number in the movie) prevented it. Jimmie Johnson was originally going to be #23 (probably to fall in line with the 24 and 25 cars at HMS at the time), but Bill Davis Racing beat HMS to the punch on applying for the number for the 2002 season.
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I knew about the 46, but had no idea about the 23. Very cool
 
What does the Toyota logo represent?
Toy_Logo_ID_376.gif


In 1990, Toyota debuted the three overlapping Ellipses logo on American vehicles. The Toyota Ellipses symbolize the unification of the hearts of our customers and the heart of Toyota products. The background space represents Toyota's technological advancement and the boundless opportunities ahead.
 
Revman said:
In 1990, Toyota debuted the three overlapping Ellipses logo on American vehicles.
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Thought it was their tribute to Dillon in his cowboy hat.........

Do know the void space within the ellipses is a pain in the a$$ to keep clean.
 
Not sure if it's ever happened before or since, but Dave Marcis won a race at Richmond in 1982 without having led a single lap under green.

He took the lead for the first time in the race under caution and, before they could go green again, the race was stopped due to rain.
 
If you go to your local short track on any given Saturday Night, chances are you'll see a #69 car running mini-stock, pure-stock, etc. But Cup teams have stayed away from the number for obvious reasons. You have to go back a ways to find the last time a #69 car made a start in Cup.....24 years in fact. Denny Wilson (in his only career Cup start) ran the number at Watkins Glen in August 1992, and it hasn't been run in the Cup series since.
 
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