by Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, the sanctioning body’s director of historic content, will offer his suggestions on which historic races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in anticipation of each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008, but has been involved in the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with various tasks. This includes calculating “points as they go” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch ahead of this Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway.
When the lights come on at Richmond Raceway, fireworks always follow – and it was no different in 2003.
The championship race was quiet at the top of the standings, as Matt Kenseth of Cambridge, Wisconsin, led the rest of the field by 389 points with just a handful of races remaining on the schedule.
The battle behind Kenseth wasn’t as quiet, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick were separated by less than 30 points for second in the standings. Other close battles peppered the rest of the top half of the standings.
The weekend started with a positive story, as the series returned to the track for the first time since Jerry Nadaeu was seriously injured in a practice crash at the track in May.
Former Truck Series champion Mike Skinner, making his fifth start in Nadeau’s No. 01 car, put the car on pole. Unfortunately, the team’s comeback didn’t last long, as Skinner crashed in the final practice session of the event, forcing him to start at the back of the pack.
The race saw 13 different drivers lead for the first 200 laps, with no single car emerging as the dominant driver in the field.
One of those drivers, Ryan Newman, took the lead with 124 laps to go and hit the road, including a handful of late restarts.
Third-year driver Kevin Harvick gave Newman a hard time with just under ten laps remaining until the usual Richmond fireworks began to unfold.
Ricky Rudd hit the back of Harvick, sending him crashing into the wall in turn one. It wasn’t the first time the two drivers had clashed, having battled for victory at Richmond in 2001.
Newman held off Jeremy Mayfield on a final restart to claim his sixth win of the season. His victory was overshadowed by Harvick and Rudd, who let their anger boil over in the pit lane.
Harvick was subsequently fined $35,000 and placed on probation for the remainder of the season. His crew chief and two other crew members were also fined, while two of his teammates were fined and suspended.
Rudd’s team only saw crew chief Pat Tryson fined $5,000 for the altercation.
After Newman and Mayfield came Rudd, Jeff Burton and Rusty Wallace.
The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series season was the first to end under the new playoff format, with the points of the top 10 drivers in the standings being reset for the final 10 races.
The regular-season finale in Richmond couldn’t have been scripted any better, with the race for the final playoff spots on the line. Ryan Newman entered the race seventh in the standings, just 76 points ahead of Kevin Harvick, who was in 15th place in the standings.
The eight drivers who were expected to battle for the final three playoff spots were Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Jeremy Mayfield and Harvick.
As the laps ticked down, Kurt Busch led the field, with Mayfield close behind. Mayfield appeared destined to finish second until Busch ran out of gas with less than five laps to go, opening the way for Mayfield to leapfrog those drivers in the standings and secure a crucial appearance in the NASCAR playoffs.
“I love your new points system! You couldn’t have come up with a better one than that,” Mayfield said after his decisive victory.
His teammate, Kasey Kahne, wasn’t as lucky. He fell from ninth in the standings after a 24th-place finish, missing the playoffs altogether.
Martin, Mayfield and Newman were the three drivers who rounded out the 10-driver playoff field, but it was McMurray and his team who were left wondering, “What could have been?”
McMurray was penalized 25 points earlier in the season by NASCAR at Bristol for a infraction. He missed the playoffs by just 15 points.
The final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season always involved intense battles for the final playoff spots, with drivers looking to clinch the championship.
The 2013 regular season finale was no different, as chaos ensued, resulting in one of the most unique situations in NASCAR history.
Fast forward to the final laps of the race, and Ryan Newman was leading the pack with a clear hold on a playoff spot for himself, while Michael Waltrip Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. appeared to be on the outside looking in.
With just under 10 laps to go, another Michael Waltrip Racing driver, Clint Bowyer, spun and triggered the caution, resetting the field in the process.
That allowed Carl Edwards to finally take the checkered flag, with Kurt Busch coming in second and Newman third. Truex Jr. was able to grab the playoff spot, while Newman walked away empty-handed.
NASCAR quickly began examining Bowyer’s team’s onboard audio and video systems, as well as Michael Waltrip Racing’s communications, after another of their cars pitted late in the event.
Michael Waltrip Racing was fined a historic $300,000, along with fines, suspensions and probation for several team members. The biggest blow was to Truex Jr., who inadvertently eliminated the team from the playoffs, allowing Newman to compete for a championship.
At the time of the incident, Gordon was battling with Joey Logano for a playoff spot and had the advantage at the time of the incident in question. The replay eliminated Gordon from the playoffs, but he was added as the 13th playoff entrant due to the alleged manipulation.
Bowyer and his team also received a 50-point penalty, but they had accumulated enough points during the regular season to qualify for the playoffs.
