After reading Ed Hinton’s 12-part series on who would make the field of the ultimate Indianapolis 500 (if you like open-wheel racing check it out here), I was inspired to construct a similar list for NASCAR. This is part three of a four part series that will list who would make the ultimate 43-car starting grid. If you missed part 1, click here. Part 2 of the ultimate line-up can be found here.
To spice it up a little bit, I tried to look at individual seasons as opposed to overall careers. For example, instead of simply plugging in Richard Petty, I am taking Petty from the year that I thought was his best. A driver could only qualify once for the list (this prevents five years of Jimmie Johnson from clogging up the ranks). In order to make it, a driver had to accomplish at least one of four things.
- Win the Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup Championship
- Win a bunch of races
- Have some form of cultural impact (in other words, does anyone remember them?)
- Have been the main character in a motion picture
Without further ado, here is the third set of 11 drivers to make the cut.
22. Bobby Labonte, 2000, #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac
Watching Bobby Labonte race the past five years makes it hard to believe that just 11 years ago he won the Winston Cup. Labonte held off Dale Earnhardt for the series championship in what turned out to be Dale’s final full season.
21. Junior Johnson, 1965, #26 Ford
Johnson is better known as one of the most infamous bootleggers in the south back in the late 1940s and early ‘50s. Speeding away from the police translated well to the racetrack for Johnson. He never competed for the season championship, but still managed to collect 50 career victories. His best season was 1965, when he won 13 of the 36 races he entered. Even more impressive is the fact that he led 3,984 of the 7,144 laps he drove that season (for the mathematically challenged, that means he led almost 56% of the laps he raced). Johnson went on to become a very successful car owner, first winning three championships with Cale Yarborough in the 1970s, and then three more with Darrell Waltrip in the ‘80s.
20. Alan Kulwicki, 1992, #7 Hooter’s Ford
It’s impossible to relate Alan Kulwicki to any other modern day athlete (much less another race car driver) because there simply has been no one else like him. Kulwicki sold almost all of his worldly possessions in order to move from Wisconsin to Charlotte (which for those not in the know, is where you want to be if you want to have any kind of NASCAR career). He was the first Winston Cup driver who had a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Alan was able to win the Rookie of the Year and a pair of races running his own makeshift team in the late ‘80s (none more famous than his first career win at Phoenix, where Kulwicki introduced “The Polish Victory Lap”).
After the 1990 season, Kulwicki lost Zerex as a primary sponsor. Car owner Junior Johnson offered Alan a $1 million signing bonus to become the driver of his second car. Faced with the choice of joining a potential super group or continuing on with his under funded team, Kulwicki declined Johnson’s offer. He felt he owed it to his small number of employees (Kulwicki fielded a 10 man staff, which is roughly 2% of the total employees Hendrick Motorsports has) to soldier on with his own team (SHAMELESS LEBRON BASHING ALERT: Is it wrong of me to suggest that it would’ve been nice to see King James make a similar choice last summer?).
Alan’s loyalty paid off in the 1992 season. Kulwicki won at Bristol and Pocono, but a crash at Dover left him 278 points behind Bill Elliott in the season’s standings with six races to go. However, 5-top 12 finishes combined with a late-season swoon by Bill Elliott brought Kulwicki within 30 points of Davey Allison going into the final race at Atlanta.
For those that aren’t in the know, the 1992 season finale was arguably the most important race that wasn’t a Daytona 500 in NASCAR history. The race doubled as the final race for Richard Petty, and the first race for Jeff Gordon (Gordon’s rainbow painted ride looked like it came from Mars compared to the other cars back in ’92). Six drivers started the day with a mathematical chance to win a championship (which is a feat that has never been duplicated by The Chase). Davey Allison needed to finish in at least sixth place to clinch the championship, but was taken out in an accident (more on that at the #15 spot). The race and championship came down to Bill Elliott and Kulwicki.
Before the race, Kulwicki got permission from both NASCAR and Ford to rename his Ford Thunderbird the “Underbird”. Elliott, who was in his first year in the #11 Budweiser Ford, was driving for Junior Johnson, the same man who tried to lure Kulwicki onto his team almost two years before (Quick Question: Does anyone else remember that Awesome Bill drove the Budweiser car? The dude won four straight races early in ‘92. You could argue that if teammate Sterling Marlin did not cause this accident in the season opening Daytona 500, Elliott would’ve won the first five races and the Winston Cup. This is even crazier when you factor in that Marlin was driving the car that Junior Johnson wanted Kulwicki to drive. Someday I’m going to write a book about the 1992 Winston Cup season that will be read by 7 people). Elliott needed to finish two spots ahead of Kulwicki to overtake him in the final standings. Bill won the race, but Kulwicki finished in second to win the Winston Cup by 10 points.
Tragically, Kulwicki only ran five races in 1993 before losing his life in a plane crash on his way to Bristol. We will talk more about the tragic ’93 season for NASCAR at #15 as well. Here though is the tribute Rusty Wallace did for his fallen friend.
19. Tim Richmond, 1986, #25 Folger’s Chevrolet
Richmond’s off the track exploits were so notorious the main character of “Days of Thunder” was loosely based on him. He only ran one full season for Rick Hendrick, but it was a good one. Richmond won seven times, and enjoyed a stretch in the middle of the summer where he took him the checkered flag six times in nine races. If Richmond didn’t contract AIDs, there’s a good chance he would’ve won Rick Hendrick’s first Winston Cup title instead of Jeff Gordon.
18. Matt Kenseth, 2003, #17 DeWalt Power Tools Ford
He will forever be known as the man who won the last Winston Cup title. Kenseth only won a single race in 2003, but so thoroughly dominated the standings that NASCAR instituted The Chase the following season.
17. Ned Jarrett, 1965, #11 Ford
More famous now for his broadcasting work in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Ned Jarrett was arguably the greatest short track driver in NASCAR history. He won 13 races and the Winston Cup in his final full season.
16. Bobby Allison, 1983, #22 Miller High Life Buick
The leader of the famed “Alabama Gang”, Allison was one of the best drivers of the 1970s, but was never able to capture a Winston Cup (you can thank Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough for that). That trend looked like it would continue in the 1980s as Allison finished second in the season standings to Darrell Waltrip in both 1981 and 1982. However, Bobby was finally able to bring home a championship in 1983 by 47 points over Waltrip.
Allison’s life and career after his championship season is filled with some highs, but mostly incredible lows. In 1987, Bobby’s car almost landed in the seats at Talladega. His crash led to NASCAR forcing cars to use restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega.
In what both men would call the greatest moment of their racing careers, Bobby and his son Davey finished 1-2 at the 1988 Daytona 500.
Sadly, Allison would not have any memory of winning the Daytona 500 after a near-fatal crash at Pocono the following summer that ended his career.
This should’ve been enough hardship for Allison to bear, but our next driver story will detail that he was forced to deal with much more.
15. Davey Allison, 1992, #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford
You could not ask for a more humble superstar than Davey Allison. He always had kind of an “aw-shucks” attitude that made him one of the more likeable drivers in NASCAR history. His breakout season was 1991. He posted five wins (a career high) and finished third in the final points standings. Davey started 1992 on a high note, dodging a wreck that wiped out over half the field and winning the Daytona 500.
Allison won three more races during the first half of the season, but also made a habit of taking a physical beating. He suffered a badly bruised shoulder in a crash at Bristol, and then broke a few ribs in a crash at Martinsville. Two more spectacular incidents would top those crashes.
During that year’s All-Star Race (the first time it was run under the lights), Davey won, but as announcer Buddy Baker said during the live telecast, “He won the race, but he sure paid the price.”
Allison was knocked unconscious. He suffered a concussion, a bruised long, and further aggravation of his previous injuries. When Allison woke up in the hospital, the first thing he asked was, “Did we win?” Just under two months later, Allison endured another horrific crash at Pocono (the same track where his father’s career ended).
Davey suffered another concussion, as well as a broken arm, wrist, and collarbone. Amazingly, Allison was able to start the very next race thanks to his team installing Velcro on the steering wheel and shifter knob, which put less pressure on his arm. Allison started the next two races, but let a relief driver take over during the first caution of each event. Just to put things in perspective, here is the list of injuries Davey endured up to this point.
3 broken ribs
2 concussions
1 broken arm
1 broken wrist
1 broken clavicle
1 bruised lung
The pain from these injuries was topped by the loss of his brother Clifford, who died in a practice crash for a Busch Series race at Michigan. Racing in almost a catatonic state, Davey drove to a fifth place finish just two days later.
In spite of all the physical and emotional pain he had to deal with, Davey still stayed in championship contention, and as mentioned at the #20 spot on this list, entered the final race of the season with a 30 point lead over Alan Kulwicki. Unfortunately, a championship wasn’t meant to be. Ernie Irvan cut a tire, spun out, and Davey had no place to go but directly into the side of Irvan’s car.
It would’ve been very easy for Davey to blame Irvan for the incident. However, listen to Allison’s interview after he walked out of the in-field care center.
How do you think Kyle Busch would’ve handled that interview? Or Kevin Harvick? Or for that matter, anyone else? Of all the old NASCAR videos I’ve watched in putting this ultimate grid together, this one sticks out the most for me.
Sadly, Davey would only run 16 more Winston Cup races. He was seriously injured in a helicopter crash at Talladega, one day after finishing third in the first Winston Cup race at Loudon, NH (which also doubles as the first Winston Cup race my Dad and I ever went to. I was seven years old). He died the following day (for those that haven’t connected the dots, this meant that Bobby Allison lost two sons within a year). Here is Allison’s last television interview, which took place after the race at New Hampshire.
One final thought to conclude Davey and Alan Kulwicki’s story…could you imagine if Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant died within three months of each other? That’s essentially what NASCAR had to deal with in 1993 when Alan and Davey passed away. Only the 2000-2001 stretch was as painful for NASCAR (when we lost Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Dale Earnhardt). Kulwicki probably wouldn’t of won another championship (he was 38 at the time of his death) unless he joined forces with a larger team. Allison could’ve absolutely stolen a few championships from Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. Davey was twice the driver Ernie Irvan was, so I have no doubt that he would’ve clobbered the field in ’94 (remember that Irvan was only 27 points behind Earnhardt when his season ended at Michigan).
(EDITORS NOTE: One more final thought, and I mean it this time…)
I remember my Dad having a hard time explaining to me that Davey would never drive again. He was engaging, probably too nice, and just a genuine good guy. Even a youngster could pick up on that. I was happy to see that interview of him after he lost the championship in ’92. It reminded me of every reason why he was the favorite driver of a young boy in New Hampshire.
14. Bobby Isaac, 1970, #71 K & K Insurance Dodge
38 top-10s in 47 starts propelled Bobby Isaac to the 1970 championship. 28 of his 37 career wins came between 1969 and 1970.
13. Tony Stewart, 2005, #20 Home Depot Chevrolet
Smoke is the only driver to win under the old points system and in the Chase era. Stewart won five out of seven races during the summer, including his first career win at Indianapolis.
12. Tim Flock, 1955, #300 Mercury Outboards Chrysler
Two digits weren’t enough for Tim Flock. He had to go the extra mile and go with car number #300.
11. Cole Trickle, 1990, #46-#51, City Chevrolet/Purolator/Mello Yellow Chevrolet
I could probably fill four Microsoft Word pages with thoughts about “Days of Thunder”, but I already went way over my standard word count waxing poetic about Davey Allison. Here are some super quick thoughts though about the movie famously called “Top Gun on Wheels.”
- It’s a shame that Rowdy Burns didn’t exist in real life, because he would’ve been the most awesome driver in NASCAR history.
- Either Nicole Kidman’s character was the female version of Doogie Howser, or the writers of this movie neglected to consider that it would be virtually impossible for Kidman to be a neurosurgeon at her age.
- I’m not going to sit here and outright say that the major crash scene was excessive, but Cole probably should’ve died three different times during his flip.
- This could go in the book as either a compliment or an insult (depending on your point of view), but no other actor on Earth could’ve played Cole Trickle better than Tom Cruise.
- This movie was certainly guilty of awful writing, but nothing in cinema history will ever top this rant from the team owner.
"I'm with sponsors in the stands. I'm holding their hand and trying to show them a good time, and what do we do?! We wind up lookin' like a monkey f***in' a football out there!"
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