Brad was always known as a "ladies man" to those who knew him best~ He just loved staying up late, and partying with women all night long.. even if he had a race the next day~ This is basically what led to the demise of his Cup ride with Bob Clark's #31 team, probably the most competitive Cup ride he ever had.. and that isn't saying much~
Teague was one of the most solid racers I'd ever seen.. but he just couldn't keep his mind off of women long enough to get the real job done~ Had he drove the car the way I know he could have, he would have been in the Cup series for much longer than he was~ He did win a BGN series race with the Henderson Motorsports team back in 1987.. but Teague never ran with a competitive Cup team.. he basically threw his 1 shot out the window, and I'm sad about that~
Teague stands beside the #38 car before the Goody's 300~
By the start of the 1991 season, Teague found himself without a ride, after being dumped by Henderson Motorsports the season before~ He got in touch with his good friend Tim Weiss, and the 2 formed Teague-Weiss Racing~ They picked up sponsorship from the Bonfire Restaurant, located in Bristol, Tennessee, and CJR Products~
Judging by the color of the car, I think this car was purchased from Henderson Motorsports.. a leftover from the U-Can-Rent car, from the season before~ I'm not saying that for certain, it's just my theory, and it makes sense~ The newly formed team arrived at Daytona with high spirits.. Brad had always been a decent qualifier, for the equipment he had available~
Back during this time, NASCAR was in its prime, and drivers from all over the nation flocked to Daytona for a chance to make the biggest race of the season~ It wasn't odd to have 50 or more drivers trying for a chance to make the field, at any given track~ In this particular event, there were 58 drivers attempting to make the 43 car field~ Would my hero, Brad Teague make the field?~ We shall find out, my friends~ :)
My very cherished Teague-Weiss hat, signed by the man himself~
At the time of this race, I was a 7 year old, almost 8.. and I had so much anger towards the Food Country team for firing Teague after his brief stint in the #75 U-Can-Rent car~ This man was my hero.. I saw him in the shop working on these cars on a regular basis~ So the #75 Food Country car was my sworn enemy at the time, and I was very vocal about it to team owner, Charlie Henderson~ He obviously didn't care what a little kid had to say, though Teague would return to the Henderson Motorsports team several times during his career after this season~
Well it was qualifying day, and good ol' Brad did his job, qualifying 28th in the 43 car field~ David Green won the pole in his #8 TIC Financial Oldsmobile, his first career BGN series pole... and several well known drivers failed to make the race, including Jeff Gordon, Phil Parsons, Bobby Labonte, a very young Steve Park, Jeff Green, etc.~ But I'll always remember my favorite part about that qualifying session... our old pals in the #75 Food Country Oldsmobile (being driven at this time by Ward Burton), failed to make the field!~
Being a young kid, who had just had your little heart crushed... this was like a dream come true~ The first hero I'd ever had in my life had just made the race, and the team that tossed him away failed with their fancy schmancy "hired gun" Ward Burton~ This would also mark a decline in the Henderson Motorsports team (with the exception of Butch Miller's time in the car) that would continue until their departure from the BGN series~
My equally cherished Bonfire Racing hat, also signed~
During the start of the race, Bobby Labonte, who was driving the #94 Penrose/Sunoco Oldsmobile, (which was supposed to be the #94 Sunoco Oldsmobile, driven by his brother, Terry... because he was trying to win the 1991 BGN series championship.. and he did) caused a 13 car crash, which took out 9 cars, including Labonte~
Pole sitter David Green led the first 11 laps, but Dale Earnhardt dominated the event, leading 91 laps of the 120 lap race~ I would like to mention, because he hardly ever gets mentioned.. that Tom Peck picked up an impressive top 10, with a 6th place finish~ This was also the first career BGN start for Tracy Leslie, and the iconic #72 Detroit Gasket car~
Sadly, Brad's car didn't run well in the race~ And if my theory that he bought the car from Henderson Motorsports as a leftover is correct, that makes perfect sense~ He lasted all of 37 laps before handling issues forced him out of the event~ Thanks to two large crashes though, he was still able to finish in 26th place~ The team won $3,500, while Steven Grissom, who finished 25, was awarded $8,896.. and Jimmy Hensley, who finished 39th.. was awarded $6,146~
That never made sense to me.. a smaller team finishes better than a well known team, and gets rewarded less money for their effort~ I know it's all politics, but politics piss me off.. and it angers me that a lower tier team gets awarded less money, even if they finish higher than the higher tier team~ Anyway.. this was the only time the team ever ran a BGN race~ I don't think Weiss co-owned another BGN team, but his name isn't even listed on RacingReference as ever being an owner at all.. although I know he was, for at least this one race~
Teague's lone Cup start of 1991~
Oddly, that would be Teague's only BGN start of the 1991 season~ He also ran one Cup race during 1991, in the Mello Yello 500, driving Ralph Ball's #99 Kellogg's Corn Flakes Chevrolet~ The above picture was the only one I could find of the car~ Brad would make 2 more Cup starts for Ball, one in 1992 (Pepsi 400 - Started 39th - Finished 29th), and the last in 1993 at Darlington, for the Mountain Dew Southern 500, where he started, and finished in 38th place~
The day Brad Teague retired from racing was a sad day for me~ It was the end of my childhood hero.. my first hero.. and it hurt me to say goodbye to him~ I was proud of him for finishing in 26th place in a Carl Long car~ That was amazing for that car.. I think the best finish of their season~ Things change, people get older.. but some people, even though it may not be a lot... dream of the days gone by, and live in the moments passed~ I'm okay with living in the past.. I miss these guys.. their grit.. their personality.. I just miss real men racing real cars~
Brad Teague #38 Bonfire Restaurant Oldsmobile~
Well, I'll start off by saying that my Photoshopped version doesn't really look like the real version of the car~ The decals I used were from a 1/64 kit car, that was made by SCM, aka "Stock Car Miniatures"~ The real car didn't say "Model & Hobby World", or "White's Fresh Foods", which was a local grocery store in my part of the woods~ But for some reason, that's what the SCM decals were~
I got lazy because it took a long time to make the second picture (which I made first), that I just cut it out, and shaped it into the first picture.. so it looks dumb in the first picture.. but oh well, at least it looks good in the second picture~ The last picture is what the SCM verison of the car looks like~ I'm not good at putting decals on, so I have a friend who is gonna help me with it.. but he's covered up with stuff at the moment~ Whenever I send it to him, and he finishes it.. I'll post it on this post, so just check back every now and then~
This post was a lot of fun for me, and it took me all day to get it done.. well, it's 11:36 PM.. and I'm still working on it~ lol~ It was hard to find pics, so I just found the one, really.. and it took a while to make the car in Photoshop~ That's why I rushed with the car on the stand~ My first born son is gonna be born tomorrow morning.. and I wanted to get this done before then~ lol~ I'm excited for the morning.. I wanna finally hold my son~ I'm gonna tell him about Brad Teague when he gets older.. and he'll carry on the memories after I'm long gone~
I love this car, even though it isn't really accurate.. and it wasn't ever really made by Racing Champions~ It was nice to look back on that day, and that time period of my life.. I enjoyed making this car~ I'm gonna give it an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, because I like the U-Can-Rent car better.. but this is still a cool looking car~ Below I've posted some random NASCAR clips, as there were no clips of the 1991 Goody's 300, or the 1991 Mello Yello 500~ Thanks for stopping by the blog, and please share via Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site~ :)
Crazy pit rules of 1991~
1991 All-Star Race highlights~
1991 NASCAR commercial featuring Teague in the #75 U-Can Rent car~
1991 Richmond 400 finish~
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