DownNDirty
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I had done these last year before Daytona and thought I would share them here on this forum too. Be warned, I try to be detailed so they are pretty long but again I tried to give a detailed account of these races too.....
I don't claim to be a good writer or entertainer - just thought this might get a little friendly discussion going.
The show opens up with Chris Economaki holding this strange device called a restrictor plate. This new fandangled thing was mandated by NASCAR when Bobby Allison tried to enter the grandstand at Dega the previous Summer. Oh, that NASCAR and their crazy ideas. Wonder what ever happened to the plate?
Big news story about Tim Richmond and NASCAR banning him from competition for testing positive for Sudafed and Asprin. That still sticks me because no one can convince me they didn't really screw him over back then. By the way cheap plug for his book as it's an excellent read about the career of the man, in my opinion, who would have kept Earnhardt from winning a few of those titles.
Onto the show with Schrader and Davey Allison leading them to green. Bobby Allison and DW in the second row as they both won Gatorade 125s a couple of days before. Bobby Allison takes it 3 wide on the first lap and pushes into the lead at the line. Schrader didn't expect that move as he backed off quite a bit. Bobby slips back and DW to the inside and by both Allison's pulling Rusty into 2nd. 3 wide for 6th on about the 5th lap pretty dicy. The top 5 all getting away with DW, Rusty, Davey, Bobby, and Lake Speed all pulling away. Those 5 stay the same over the next several laps with DW and Rusty trying to pull away. DW very stout early and to commercial.
Back from break and Bobby Allison has took the lead and now DW back to 5th. Earnhardt and Schrader lead the second pack of cars about 2 seconds behind. Morgan Shepherd in the AC Spark Plug 97 behind the wall. A few laps later and the Allisons and Lake Speed up front with DW and Rusty hanging onto the pack. You can see the Schrader led pack closing up and catching the leaders. 14 laps in and now Davey by Bobby and then DW by both of them - Waltrip has a good piece early that's for sure. Quick observation - I like the 1988 in car camera views better than today's views. You can see them really fighting the wheel in the corner and watch the driver work the wheel and draft. Hmmm the Stroh's Light car and this new kid Mark Martin has just blew up on the backstretch and the caution is out.
Interview with JD McDuffie from the hospital who had a bad wreck on Thursday and got burnt pretty bad. It was a nasty fire and they said the steering wheel was melted in the car. He had 3rd degree burns on his hands and legs but was upbeat and would return a few weeks later. Tragically, we lost JD a few years later in a horrible crash at Watkins Glen. Back to green and a shot from the flagstand shows that Harold Kinder I presume as the flagman has a cigar in his mouth - awesome. Lake Speed in the lead and Dave Marcis slows up down the backstretch. They keep talking about Bill Elliott and he's not running too good now - it's like everytime someone passes him they go nuts. Little did they realize his dominance on the Super Speedway's was over. Speed, Sterling Marlin in the 44 Piedmont car, and Rusty Wallace lead them. Pretty much single file in the top 15 but cars are moving out of the draft and picking cars off one at a time - actual strategy taking place. Marlin to the lead as he passes Speed right as they go to break.
Lap 33 and back from commercial Marlin still leading with Speed 2nd, Wallace 3rd, Neil Bonnet in the 75 Valvoline car in 4th, and DW in 5th. Best friends forever Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt run 6th and 7th - there are 11 cars in the lead pack. David Hobbs in the Unocal 76 sign on the backstretch with a spotter. Yes, he was IN the sign in an opening with a NASCAR spotter. I miss the Unocal signs. DW up to 4th from 10th on the restart and still looking very strong. DW by Wallace for 3rd dragging Earnhardt with him. DW to 2nd Earnhardt to 3rd and the top 5 are trying to break away. Connie Saylor crashes out of turn 4 and we have another caution. Speed shot replay shows it looks like he had a tire go down out of 4. Chris Economaki comments the Frenchman Jacques Debris has made an appearance - and there is a big hunk of metal shown. That's the first time I remember hearing anyone say that - but it's been popularized on the forums in the last couple of years.
Back to green with Waltrip, Schrader, Bonnett, and Bobby Allison leading them down. Sterling and Lake Speed have fell to 18th and 19th due to pitstops. Cale Yarborough in the Hardees 29 car has slammed the wall out of 4 and takes it straight to the garage. DW won't let Dave "Bowser" Marcis get his lap back racing back to the caution. They interview Cale and he said he blew a tire. Despain mentions they are making a movie of his life story - or maybe it was an analogy. Regardless, I never remember a movie about the life of Cale. DW and Schrader pit and most everyone else stays out.
Back to green Allison, Bonnett, and Harry Gant lead them down to the green. Another quick observation - I know it's nice to always know where everyone is running I guess but to see a Cup race with a full screen and no busy graphics is a nice change from the over crammed screens we get now. Nothing flashy but a FULL screen capturing the racing. Ken Squier, Jarrett, and Economaki are doing a good job in the booth. Squier hasn't yet deteriorated into a crazy old man at this point in his career and Ned and Chris were both on top of their games. Man a cool in car from Davey Allison in the pack shows a couple of crazy moves in front of him and a near crash that was avoided. Economaki comments that Brett Bodine, new to the Bud Moore ride, has been underwhelming so far. Boy Chris didn't hold back. Speaking of that car that old Crisco scheme was one of my all time favorite paint jobs. Same order at the front with Phil Parsons and Bill Elliott also in the top 5. Nine car lead draft that also includes Geoff Bodine, Earnhardt, and Rusty. Interview with Ernie Elliott on pit road and you can tell he's frustrated with restrictor plate racing. They used to take interesting shots of people watching the race at random times didn't they. It's like well there's not a great deal going on so let's show this drunk watching the race with a goofy look on his face. Oh, racing - 2 by 2 by 2 near the front. Bobby Allison is so strong he's about to pull away from the pack by himself. Now David Hobbs is in the infield with a bunch of fans who are chopping wood and making fires. This old man tries to grab David - this stuff is GREAT. He says boy they are having a jolly old time down here - cue for get me the heck out of here. To commercial...
Back and Lake Speed has crashed but no caution. Inconclusive shot from Davey's car but it appears Speed has got crunched pretty good. Too bad, he was running well. Bobby Allison now has pulled a good 2 seconds ahead of everyone. He was flying. 65 laps in. Lake says something happened to the engine causing someone to run into him. He's done. Chuck Ryder buys Michael Waltrip into the race after he crashed in the 125. They say that Ryder paid the staggering amount of $50,000 to buy Jim Sauter's ride. Country Time wanted to be in that race bad - and I guess in 88 50k for one race was a HEFTY price. Mikey actually running well in that car though just outside of the top 10. Jim Sauter in the pits being interviewed not exactly happy he's not racing. DW shown picking his way back through the field up to 6th. Allison still out front alone with Earnhardt, Bonnett, Gant, Rusty, and DW all chasing. Over the next few laps the pack closes bit by bit on Bobby. They finally run Bobby down and DW has blew by two more into 3rd. Commercial.......
Back with Bobby leading, Earnhardt 2nd, DW 3rd, Bonnett 4th, Gant in 5th. Rusty 6th, Geoff Bodine 7th, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, and Sterling Marlin round out the top 10. Green flag stops begin....pitstops keep happening and to commercial eventually. Back with DW who was leading in the pits. After the cycle DW is in the lead with Bobby chasing a few seconds behind and Earnhardt in his tracks. Halfway and Neil Bonnett in 3rd on Hoosiers hasn't changed tires yet and has minimal wear, interesting. Not much happens in this segment as they are spread way out after the pitstops. Allison, Earnhardt, and Neil continue to chase but DW about 5 seconds out front. They go to commercial...
1988 DAYTONA 500
I don't claim to be a good writer or entertainer - just thought this might get a little friendly discussion going.
The show opens up with Chris Economaki holding this strange device called a restrictor plate. This new fandangled thing was mandated by NASCAR when Bobby Allison tried to enter the grandstand at Dega the previous Summer. Oh, that NASCAR and their crazy ideas. Wonder what ever happened to the plate?
Big news story about Tim Richmond and NASCAR banning him from competition for testing positive for Sudafed and Asprin. That still sticks me because no one can convince me they didn't really screw him over back then. By the way cheap plug for his book as it's an excellent read about the career of the man, in my opinion, who would have kept Earnhardt from winning a few of those titles.
Onto the show with Schrader and Davey Allison leading them to green. Bobby Allison and DW in the second row as they both won Gatorade 125s a couple of days before. Bobby Allison takes it 3 wide on the first lap and pushes into the lead at the line. Schrader didn't expect that move as he backed off quite a bit. Bobby slips back and DW to the inside and by both Allison's pulling Rusty into 2nd. 3 wide for 6th on about the 5th lap pretty dicy. The top 5 all getting away with DW, Rusty, Davey, Bobby, and Lake Speed all pulling away. Those 5 stay the same over the next several laps with DW and Rusty trying to pull away. DW very stout early and to commercial.
Back from break and Bobby Allison has took the lead and now DW back to 5th. Earnhardt and Schrader lead the second pack of cars about 2 seconds behind. Morgan Shepherd in the AC Spark Plug 97 behind the wall. A few laps later and the Allisons and Lake Speed up front with DW and Rusty hanging onto the pack. You can see the Schrader led pack closing up and catching the leaders. 14 laps in and now Davey by Bobby and then DW by both of them - Waltrip has a good piece early that's for sure. Quick observation - I like the 1988 in car camera views better than today's views. You can see them really fighting the wheel in the corner and watch the driver work the wheel and draft. Hmmm the Stroh's Light car and this new kid Mark Martin has just blew up on the backstretch and the caution is out.
Interview with JD McDuffie from the hospital who had a bad wreck on Thursday and got burnt pretty bad. It was a nasty fire and they said the steering wheel was melted in the car. He had 3rd degree burns on his hands and legs but was upbeat and would return a few weeks later. Tragically, we lost JD a few years later in a horrible crash at Watkins Glen. Back to green and a shot from the flagstand shows that Harold Kinder I presume as the flagman has a cigar in his mouth - awesome. Lake Speed in the lead and Dave Marcis slows up down the backstretch. They keep talking about Bill Elliott and he's not running too good now - it's like everytime someone passes him they go nuts. Little did they realize his dominance on the Super Speedway's was over. Speed, Sterling Marlin in the 44 Piedmont car, and Rusty Wallace lead them. Pretty much single file in the top 15 but cars are moving out of the draft and picking cars off one at a time - actual strategy taking place. Marlin to the lead as he passes Speed right as they go to break.
Lap 33 and back from commercial Marlin still leading with Speed 2nd, Wallace 3rd, Neil Bonnet in the 75 Valvoline car in 4th, and DW in 5th. Best friends forever Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt run 6th and 7th - there are 11 cars in the lead pack. David Hobbs in the Unocal 76 sign on the backstretch with a spotter. Yes, he was IN the sign in an opening with a NASCAR spotter. I miss the Unocal signs. DW up to 4th from 10th on the restart and still looking very strong. DW by Wallace for 3rd dragging Earnhardt with him. DW to 2nd Earnhardt to 3rd and the top 5 are trying to break away. Connie Saylor crashes out of turn 4 and we have another caution. Speed shot replay shows it looks like he had a tire go down out of 4. Chris Economaki comments the Frenchman Jacques Debris has made an appearance - and there is a big hunk of metal shown. That's the first time I remember hearing anyone say that - but it's been popularized on the forums in the last couple of years.
Back to green with Waltrip, Schrader, Bonnett, and Bobby Allison leading them down. Sterling and Lake Speed have fell to 18th and 19th due to pitstops. Cale Yarborough in the Hardees 29 car has slammed the wall out of 4 and takes it straight to the garage. DW won't let Dave "Bowser" Marcis get his lap back racing back to the caution. They interview Cale and he said he blew a tire. Despain mentions they are making a movie of his life story - or maybe it was an analogy. Regardless, I never remember a movie about the life of Cale. DW and Schrader pit and most everyone else stays out.
Back to green Allison, Bonnett, and Harry Gant lead them down to the green. Another quick observation - I know it's nice to always know where everyone is running I guess but to see a Cup race with a full screen and no busy graphics is a nice change from the over crammed screens we get now. Nothing flashy but a FULL screen capturing the racing. Ken Squier, Jarrett, and Economaki are doing a good job in the booth. Squier hasn't yet deteriorated into a crazy old man at this point in his career and Ned and Chris were both on top of their games. Man a cool in car from Davey Allison in the pack shows a couple of crazy moves in front of him and a near crash that was avoided. Economaki comments that Brett Bodine, new to the Bud Moore ride, has been underwhelming so far. Boy Chris didn't hold back. Speaking of that car that old Crisco scheme was one of my all time favorite paint jobs. Same order at the front with Phil Parsons and Bill Elliott also in the top 5. Nine car lead draft that also includes Geoff Bodine, Earnhardt, and Rusty. Interview with Ernie Elliott on pit road and you can tell he's frustrated with restrictor plate racing. They used to take interesting shots of people watching the race at random times didn't they. It's like well there's not a great deal going on so let's show this drunk watching the race with a goofy look on his face. Oh, racing - 2 by 2 by 2 near the front. Bobby Allison is so strong he's about to pull away from the pack by himself. Now David Hobbs is in the infield with a bunch of fans who are chopping wood and making fires. This old man tries to grab David - this stuff is GREAT. He says boy they are having a jolly old time down here - cue for get me the heck out of here. To commercial...
Back and Lake Speed has crashed but no caution. Inconclusive shot from Davey's car but it appears Speed has got crunched pretty good. Too bad, he was running well. Bobby Allison now has pulled a good 2 seconds ahead of everyone. He was flying. 65 laps in. Lake says something happened to the engine causing someone to run into him. He's done. Chuck Ryder buys Michael Waltrip into the race after he crashed in the 125. They say that Ryder paid the staggering amount of $50,000 to buy Jim Sauter's ride. Country Time wanted to be in that race bad - and I guess in 88 50k for one race was a HEFTY price. Mikey actually running well in that car though just outside of the top 10. Jim Sauter in the pits being interviewed not exactly happy he's not racing. DW shown picking his way back through the field up to 6th. Allison still out front alone with Earnhardt, Bonnett, Gant, Rusty, and DW all chasing. Over the next few laps the pack closes bit by bit on Bobby. They finally run Bobby down and DW has blew by two more into 3rd. Commercial.......
Back with Bobby leading, Earnhardt 2nd, DW 3rd, Bonnett 4th, Gant in 5th. Rusty 6th, Geoff Bodine 7th, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, and Sterling Marlin round out the top 10. Green flag stops begin....pitstops keep happening and to commercial eventually. Back with DW who was leading in the pits. After the cycle DW is in the lead with Bobby chasing a few seconds behind and Earnhardt in his tracks. Halfway and Neil Bonnett in 3rd on Hoosiers hasn't changed tires yet and has minimal wear, interesting. Not much happens in this segment as they are spread way out after the pitstops. Allison, Earnhardt, and Neil continue to chase but DW about 5 seconds out front. They go to commercial...
