1990s - Winning NASCAR finish backwards (184mph) - Earnhardt & Labonte?
I need help from ANY and ALL NASCAR fans who may know this.
In the early 90s (maybe 93' - 94') I walked in from work one night and the sports highlights were on TV (maybe SportsCenter...can't quite remember.) Anyway, I remember seeing how this race ended and I swear they said it was Earnhardt who won and it certainly looked like something he would do. For the life of me I can't remember the other driver though I know Labonte and Earnhardt had a big rivalry on the track during their careers and to tell the truth I'm not sure if it was Earnhardt who won but I can't find any videos of this finish to prove to my buddies that this was one of the GREATEST finishes to a race there has ever been. Let me explain....
Right when I looked at the TV it showed the two cars had just come out of turn three and were rounding the far end of the track. The cars were side by side, just neck and neck. Then when they were coming into turn four the inside car dropped real low on the inside track actually skimming the black and white painted edge of the track and I believe he even touched a little bit of grass on the infield. It made you think the driver was almost taking himself out of the race because the move made it seem as if he lost ground and the car that stayed in the middle of the track seemed to edge forward. It was a deceptively brilliant move because when they cleared that fourth turn and began straightening up the inside car gunned it and came up next to the car in the middle of the track but he was at a slight angle which gave him an advantage that you just didn't see coming. Now mind you this is all happening at top speed and all within a matter of a few seconds. The car in the middle of the track was just straight on heading for the finish line but the inside car was angled just a bit, maybe 5 or 10 degrees where it appeared he was going straight towards the other car to bump him out of the way. What happened though, was the inside car came charging toward the other car and when their bumpers touched the inside car was angled where his front passenger corner was just in front of the driver side corner of the other car. At that point you found out what the driver had planned. He went low on that fourth turn so he could come up to the other car in the straight away at an angle and when he did and their bumpers touched he cranked that steering wheel hard to the right and it allowed him to use the front of the other car as a fulcrum which spun his car around putting him IN FRONT of the other car BACKWARDS and he crossed the finish line first at 184mph. It was hands down the most amazing finish to ANY car race I have ever seen and it certainly sounds like something Earnhardt would have done.
I don't know what race this was, who the drivers were or the exact time and place but I would love to know so I can prove to my buddies I'm not crazy. They just don't believe me and I know I saw this but the highlight was so quick I didn't catch the full story about it but I know the sportscasters were talking about Earnhardt and that's why I have always associated this with him though I've never been able to prove it because I can't find a video of it anywhere.
If ANYONE can help me with this it would be greatly appreciated and I would love to see that film clip again.
. Lemme think of a new question...
