The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a Cup Series event scheduled for that weekend.
David Carl Allison was an American NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the oldest of four children born to Bobby and Judy Allison. The family moved to Hueytown, Alabama, and along with Bobby Allison's brother, Donnie, Red Farmer and Neil Bonnett, became known as the Alabama Gang.
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. As of 2021, the track hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, with a length of 2.66 miles (4.281 km), compared to the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The total peak capacity of Talladega is around 175,000 spectators, with the main grandstand capacity being about 80,000.
William Clyde Elliott, also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He won the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnered 44 wins in that series, including two Daytona 500 victories in 1985 and 1987, three Southern 500 victories in 1985, 1988, and 1994, one Winston 500 victory in 1985, one Brickyard 400 victory in 2002, one "The Winston All-Star Race" win in 1986, and a record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986.
Terry “Texas” Labonte is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series. A two-time Cup Series champion and 1989 IROC champion, he is the older brother of 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, and the father of former Nationwide Series driver Justin Labonte. He also co-owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina with Rick Hendrick. He appeared on the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984, where he played an unnamed pit crew member.
Harold Phil Gant, known for his many nicknames such as "The Bandit", "High Groove Harry", "Hard Luck Harry", "Mr. September", and perhaps mostly as "Handsome Harry", is a retired American stock car racing driver best known for driving the No. 33 Skoal Bandit car on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series circuit during the 1980s and 1990s and his 4-race win streak in 1991.
Greg Sacks is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.
James Robert Yates was a NASCAR engine builder and former owner of the Sprint Cup Series team Yates Racing, owned since 2007 by his son Doug. He purchased the team from Harry Ranier in 1988, with driver Davey Allison. In 2018, Yates was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Melling Racing was a Championship-winning NASCAR Winston Cup Series race team owned by Harry Melling and his son Mark Melling. Harry Melling ran the team from its inception in 1982, to mid-1999. When Harry died after a heart attack in mid-1999, his son Mark then took over Melling Racing until the team closed in 2003. The team was most notable for fielding cars for Bill Elliott in the 1980s, where he won the 1985 Southern 500 at Darlington to claim the first ever Winston Million bonus, claiming the fastest qualifying lap in NASCAR history at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 212.809 mph in 1987, and winning the 1988 Winston Cup championship. Melling won 34 career NASCAR Winston Cup races, all of them with Bill Elliott.
The 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 44th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 21st modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 9, 1992, and ended on November 15, 1992. Independent owner/driver Alan Kulwicki of AK Racing won the Winston Cup championship.
The 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 37th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 14th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Sunday, February 10 and ended on Sunday, November 17. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, was crowned champion at the end of the season. Bill Elliott, driving for Harry Melling, had won 11 races in 1985, but lost the title by 101 points to three-time race winner Waltrip. This was the first season where all races were televised in some form.
The 1992 Daytona 500, the 34th running of the event, was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Davey Allison of Robert Yates Racing won the race after leading 127 laps, including the final 30. Sterling Marlin won the pole, driving the No. 22 Ford for Junior Johnson & Associates. Richard Petty gave the command to start the engines from the cockpit of the famous #43 Pontiac for his team in his final appearance in the race as a driver. This would also be the final Daytona 500 start for 1972 winner A. J. Foyt, who would also start his final Indianapolis 500 later that year. Rick Wilson made his final start for the Stavola Brothers. This was Rahmoc Enterprises last race. It marked the debut of the Generation 4 car. It also marked the debut of Joe Gibbs Racing in the form of the green and black No. 18 Chevrolet, with Dale Jarrett as the driver.
The 1992 Hooters 500 was the 29th and final race of the 1992 NASCAR season. It was held on November 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is widely considered the greatest NASCAR race of all time, with three stories dominating the race: the debut of Jeff Gordon in the Winston Cup Series, the final race of seven-time champion Richard Petty's thirty-five-year career, and the battle for the series points championship with six drivers mathematically eligible to win the title.
The 1985 Summer 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 21, 1985, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.
Ranier Racing with MDM, formerly known as Ranier-Lundy, was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the K&N Pro Series East, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing team until 1987, fielding Cale Yarborough during the 1980s late in its operations. The team later became Robert Yates Racing after Yates, an engine builder and crew chief with the operation, bought the team in 1988. The team largely fielded General Motors vehicles for its various drivers until switching to Fords in 1985.
The 1985 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 5, 1985, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama as race number 9 of 28 of the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.
The 1998 Pepsi 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on October 17, 1998, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally scheduled to be held on the Fourth of July, the race was postponed until the fall due to widespread wildfires in central Florida; it was the first superspeedway race to be held at night, and the first time there were two consecutive points-paying restrictor plate races, with the Winston 500 being run first on October 11.
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, when the series began leasing its naming rights to the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, it was referred to as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1971–2003). A similar deal was made with Nextel in 2003, and it became the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007). Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005, and in 2008 the series was renamed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2008–2016). In December 2016, it was announced that Monster Energy would become the new title sponsor, and the series was renamed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (2017–2019). In 2019, NASCAR rejected Monster's offer to extend the current naming rights deal beyond the end of the season. NASCAR subsequently announced its move to a new tiered sponsorship model beginning with the 2020 season similar to other US based professional sports leagues, where it was simply known as the NASCAR Cup Series, with the sponsors of the series being called Premier Partners. The four Premier Partners are Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO, and Xfinity.
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series era was the period of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) from 1971-2003. In 1971, NASCAR leased its naming rights to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company who named the series after its premier brand "Winston". The series was referred to as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from that point forward. Many view the Winston Cup Series Era as a time in which NASCAR entered the modern era of spectator sports. During this era, NASCAR experienced a significant rise in popularity that persisted until Winston left the sport after the 2003 season.
The 1986 The Winston, the second running of the NASCAR All-Star Race, was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 11, 1986. The only time The Winston was held at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, the 83-lap race was the second exhibition race in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing led the most laps (82) and won the caution-free race and US$200,000, along with US$40,000 for leading laps 20, 30, 50, and 60.
