Photo – Emily Horos/AP
The traditional Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway found itself in an unusual spot in 2004. A big shake-up in the Cup schedule moved the Labor Day date to the second-to-last race in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup.
The 2004 championship was coming down to the wire. Kurt Busch held the points lead over Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and others. Inclement weather during the weekend cancelled qualifying, giving Busch the pole. Continue reading
Photo – Ford
Jeff Burton came so close to winning at Darlington Raceway in August 1997. He rubbed fenders with Jeff Gordon in the final laps, but Gordon hung on to win the race and the Winston Million.
Burton won a race in the first three races of the 1999 season by picking up the victory at Las Vegas.
He was still looking for his first win at Darlington. Rain was going to be an issue in the 1999 edition of the TranSouth Financial 400. On lap 43, the race was stopped because of Mother Nature. Continue reading
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler celebrates his win in the Samsung /RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Photo – Sherryl Creekmore for NASCAR
Elliott Sadler was looking to visit victory lane again in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. 2004 was his second year working with his No. 38 Robert Yates Racing team.
Sadler grabbed his lone Cup victory with the Wood Brothers at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2001.
He and the No. 38 team were looking for more in 2004.
2000 Cup champ Bobby Labonte won the pole for the race with a surprising driver coming in second. It was Bill Elliott, who scaled down to a part-time ride for Evernham Motorsports.
Elliott wrestled the lead from Labonte and led the first 19 laps. Continue reading
Lewis Hamilton celebrates his victory in Malaysia
Photo – Getty Images
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton led flag-to-flag to claim his first win of the 2014 Formula One season in Malaysia. It was the driver’s first victory in the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix.
Hamilton won the pole for the race despite wet conditions in qualifying. Once the green flag dropped, the 2008 champ was out on a Sunday drive. Continue reading
Photo – Chris McGrath/Getty Images
For this week’s feature, I decided to recap the last Cup race run on my friend’s birthday, the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 from Martinsville Speedway, which was on March 30, 2008.
Seven-time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon won the pole for the race, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin starting right beside him. Continue reading