why were rusty and dale so bad in 1992?

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jasn88cubs

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both finished outside the top 10 in points

1 win for each

11 combined top 5's
1 pole for each

they each had just 9 lead lap finished in 29 races

in 91 earnhardt won the title, while rusty struggled still finishing 10th in ponts with 2 wins

but in 93 they were dominant again winning 16 races between them and finishing 1 and 2nd in points

in fact earnhardt finished 1st again in 94 and 2nd in 95

while wallace was still a factor for wins and the title hunt

why was 92 such a down year for them? they were in the prime of their careers
 
I'd be curious to know what other factors were present from those with better memories (I was 13), but the Fords were really dominant that year. When Earnhardt won the 600, it was the first non-Ford victory of the season.

Also, Penske had just returned to NASCAR in 1991 with Wallace, and it took them a few years to get their program up to snuff. It was not the Penske team we think of today, very hit and miss.
 
gnomesayin said:
I'd be curious to know what other factors were present from those with better memories (I was 13), but the Fords were really dominant that year. When Earnhardt won the 600, it was the first non-Ford victory of the season.

Also, Penske had just returned to NASCAR in 1991 with Wallace, and it took them a few years to get their program up to snuff. It was not the Penske team we think of today, very hit and miss.
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true in 93 rusty was dominant winnig 10 races and finishing 80 points behind earnhardt

if he hadnt have had his 2 bad accidents at dayotna and talladega he could have won the title
 
wins in 92 by manufacture

16 ford (first 9 races)
8 chevy 3 by d.w. and irvan
2 oldsmobile
3 pontiac
 
Ford was just much better in 1992. Elliott in a Junior Johnson Ford dominated the early part of the season, and Davey Allison was faster the rest of the year.
Still hard to believe that neither one won the title that year. Davey was faster than the stats indicate. He probably would have won the Winston Million as well if it had not been cut short by rain.
 
The Robert Yates Texaco was fast in that era, probably unequaled. They had a great shot at winning the 1994 championship too, prior to Ernie Irvans 1994 injury at Michigan.
 
Wasn't 1992 the first year if a new car design that was very aero intensive in development? Referred to now as Gen 4. Maybe Chevy and Pontiac got a slower start in the wind tunnel?
 
that was the year nascar went to the redial tire. Dale and RCR couldn't figure out the redial tire, and it was the last year for Kirk as crew chief.
 
BOWTIE GUY said:
that was the year nascar went to the redial tire. Dale and RCR couldn't figure out the redial tire, and it was the last year for Kirk as crew chief.
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I think the radial tire was the culprit. I well remember the old bias ply tires squealing and smoking, but the radials changed the racing.
It took a bit for the die-hard bias ply drivers to adjust.
 
Greg said:
The Robert Yates Texaco was fast in that era, probably unequaled. They had a great shot at winning the 1994 championship too, prior to Ernie Irvans 1994 injury at Michigan.
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I wonder what the record books would look like today if Tim Richmond, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki didn't die and if Ernie Irvan hadn't been in that near fatal crash at Michigan.


Irvan might've won in 1994 had he not got hurt. Dale and Ernie had a great championship battle going on. Another ****** year ****** Mark Martin ****** finished ****** second in ****** points. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
LewTheShoe said:
Wasn't 1992 the first year if a new car design that was very aero intensive in development? Referred to now as Gen 4. Maybe Chevy and Pontiac got a slower start in the wind tunnel?
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I believe that is right. I thought the radial tire came in sometime around 89 or 90.
 
DanicaFreak said:
jeepers....done trolling the danica fans moving on to rusty and dale?
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Seems like a valid question and, as someone who was following Nascar at the time, I find it interesting. I wouldn't consider this trolling.
 
DanicaFreak said:
jeepers....done trolling the danica fans moving on to rusty and dale?
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1992 was just an uncharacteristically bad season for both Dale and Rusty. They both scored just one win that year and finished 12th and 13th in points respectively. They got it figured out in '93 though, 16 wins between them and a 1-2 points finish.
 
I'm pretty sure that Earnhardt broke his sternum in a wreck leading up to the Watkins Glen race that season. He qualified on the pole for that race and then had a sub driver take over for the race. Who knows what kind of effects that injury had on the rest of his season? This was the pre-waiver era of NASCAR. When every race mattered. It's hard to imagine that after what has become of the sport.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I wonder what the record books would look like today if Tim Richmond, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki didn't die and if Ernie Irvan hadn't been in that near fatal crash at Michigan.
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I think about this quite often, sadly. Richmond, Davey, AK, Dale, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, etc. So many great/promising drivers in the modern era who couldn't go out on their terms due to tragic accidents. And guys like Irvan, Steve Park, Tim Steele, and many others forced into early retirements due to injury. And obviously the hundreds of other lives taken in racing over the past several decades. Thankfully, death and injury are occurring much less often nowadays.

It really makes you wonder what might have been. I was still in diapers when Richmond got sick, but I remember AK and Davey passing away and thinking how crazy it was that two of the sport's top racers both lost their lives just a few months apart. I remember Dale's death like it was yesterday, and it really made nascar tough for me to watch for a while after. I wonder how different nascar might look today if not for all these terrible accidents. I'm willing to bet Allison would have won a couple titles, and how Dale's involvement in the sport after retiring as a driver would have impacted this and that.

I try not to think about this stuff because it's more depressing than anything, but sometimes it's interesting to ponder.
 
2 Sweet said:
I think about this quite often, sadly. Richmond, Davey, AK, Dale, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, etc. So many great/promising drivers in the modern era who couldn't go out on their terms due to tragic accidents. And guys like Irvan, Steve Park, Tim Steele, and many others forced into early retirements due to injury. And obviously the hundreds of other lives taken in racing over the past several decades. Thankfully, death and injury are occurring much less often nowadays.

It really makes you wonder what might have been. I was still in diapers when Richmond got sick, but I remember AK and Davey passing away and thinking how crazy it was that two of the sport's top racers both lost their lives just a few months apart. I remember Dale's death like it was yesterday, and it really made nascar tough for me to watch for a while after. I wonder how different nascar might look today if not for all these terrible accidents. I'm willing to bet Allison would have won a couple titles, and how Dale's involvement in the sport after retiring as a driver would have impacted this and that.

I try not to think about this stuff because it's more depressing than anything, but sometimes it's interesting to ponder.
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I would pay $$$ to hear Dale's thoughts on some of the racing we've seen the past 10 years. If they had him in the TV booth, that'd be some entertaining ****. :XXROFL:
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I would pay $$$ to hear Dale's thoughts on some of the racing we've seen the past 10 years. If they had him in the TV booth, that'd be some entertaining sh!t. :XXROFL:
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Things would be different, for sure. I think Dale would've had the stroke to basically dictate how the sport is run. I can't imagine what the relationship with Dale and Brian France would have been like, but it would certainly be entertaining. Lord knows Dale loved to speak his mind, and he could get away with it too.
 
2 Sweet said:
Things would be different, for sure. I think Dale would've had the stroke to basically dictate how the sport is run. I can't imagine what the relationship with Dale and Brian France would have been like, but it would certainly be entertaining. Lord knows Dale loved to speak his mind, and he could get away with it too.
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It'd look something like this:

 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I wonder what the record books would look like today if Tim Richmond, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki didn't die and if Ernie Irvan hadn't been in that near fatal crash at Michigan.


Irvan might've won in 1994 had he not got hurt. Dale and Ernie had a great championship battle going on. Another ******* year ******* Mark Martin ******* finished ******* second in ******* points. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
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I do wonder how things would of worked out if Tim never died and how it would of changed the NASCAR landscape. Does Gordon even end up with Hendrick? I also think about Adam Petty and much different RPM could be today if Adam was around
 
Greg said:
The Robert Yates Texaco was fast in that era, probably unequaled. They had a great shot at winning the 1994 championship too, prior to Ernie Irvans 1994 injury at Michigan.
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As I said on another thread watching those Robert Yates engines pull from the middle of a corner down the straightaway was a thing of beauty.
 
The Fords were just better at the start. I think NASCAR made some concessions for the other makes it and it appeared a Ford wouldn't win the rest of the season. The Junior Johnson and Robert Yates teams were the class of the field all year long. Alan Kulwicki just out-consistented them all.

I remember DW in the Darlington VL laughing about costing Davey the Winston Million with his rain win........I wished Davey would have knocked his ass out.

The next year it was comical and it seemed everyone was switching to Ford except Childress, Hendrick, Morgan-McClure and DW.
 
Ford 222 said:
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I remember DW in the Darlington VL laughing about costing Davey the Winston Million with his rain win........I wished Davey would have knocked his ass out.

The next year it was comical and it seemed everyone was switching to Ford except Childress, Hendrick, Morgan-McClure and DW.
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If my memory is correct DW pulled out a chair and umbrella and took a seat on the front stretch as it rained at Darlington.

Then there was deal at Pocono with DW and Davey flipping for what seemed like an eternity. Life is loaded with the if's or should haves, could haves, but Davey most likely would have won that race, I believe he had the feild covered.
He lost a lot of points at Pocono, destroyed an incredibly good car, and entered the next race severely bruised to say the least.

And I am not crying about it, I am a chevy fan but thats the way I remember things.
 
Greg said:
If my memory is correct DW pulled out a chair and umbrella and took a seat on the front stretch as it rained at Darlington.

Then there was deal at Pocono with DW and Davey flipping for what seemed like an eternity. Life is loaded with the if's or should haves, could haves, but Davey most likely would have won that race, I believe he had the feild covered.
He lost a lot of points at Pocono, destroyed an incredibly good car, and entered the next race severely bruised to say the least.

And I am not crying about it, I am a chevy fan but thats the way I remember things.
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Bobby claimed it was intentional....he appeared ready to kill DW if he got the chance. There is a half hour show on FS1 and they show it at rain delays about the 28's season that year. Crazy what he went through that year.....

And seeing what a first rate garage looked like back then......shows the teams have come a long way.
 
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