This is a blog about NASCAR Racing Champions 1/64 scale die-cast cars, along with the history of the cars and drivers~ Most of the posts are based on the Winston Cup, and Busch Grand National era~ To contact the blog owner, email me at: buttermilkjug@yahoo.com
Rodney Combs was a heck of a dirt track racer, as well as a 2 time ASA National Tour Champion~ His venture into the Winston Cup series went about as bad as it could have gone, and today, I'm gonna be writing about his tenure in the Mueller Brothers #89 Evinrude Outboards Pontiac~
His first start in the car was in the 1989 Daytona 500, where he qualified 30th, and finished in the 37th position, due to a crash on lap 72~ He then drove several races for Ken Allen, in the #34 Allen's Auto Glass Buick~ Combs returned to the #89 Evinrude car for the Miller High Life 400 @ Michigan, qualifying 35th, and finishing in 40th, due to engine troubles~
Following a 1 race deal with Lake Speed @ Darlington, Combs was back in the Evinrude car for the All Pro Auto Parts 500 @ Charlotte, where he qualified 31st, and finished 32nd, again due to engine malfunctions~ In the Autoworks 500 @ Phoenix, Combs qualified in 40th place, and finished in 27th, his highest finish of the season for Mueller Brothers Racing~ In his last race of the 1989 season, Combs qualified 32nd in the Atlanta Journal 500, and finished in 41st, due to oil line issues~
Rodney Combs promo card~
The start of the 1990 season didn't fare any better for Combs, who failed to make the field for the Daytona 500~ In his first start of the season, he qualified 39th in the Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte, and finished 33rd due to engine issues~ In the Miller Genuine Draft 400 @ Michigan, Combs started and finished the race in the 40th position, due to a bad piston~
He didn't race again until the next Michigan race, the Champions Spark Plug 400, where he qualified 23rd, but due to oil line issues, finished in 34th~ He qualified 31st for the Checker 500 @ Phoenix, and finished a season best 27th~ In the final race of the season, the Atlanta Journal 500, Rodney qualified 38th, and finished in 30th place, in what would be his final career Cup start~
Rodney Combs #89 Evinrude Pontiac~
Click pics to enlarge~
I did a post a while back on Jim Sauter's version of this car, and while both of them look similar, there are a few differences between them~ The #89 on this version is red, where on the Sauter car, the numbers are pink~ Rodney's version also has the silver coned rims, which I always think is a plus~ I probably have a stronger connection to Sauter's version, because that's the one I had when I was young~ I never had the Combs version back then~
As I said with the Sauter car, I love the white stripe along the bottom of the car, and that blue color is one of the coolest looking colors on a Racing Champions car, in my opinion~ The Pontiac cars were always pretty crude back then, but this is a fairly decent one~ Overall, I give the Evinrude car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ Could have been an A+, but Combs is looking like a total creeper on the card, so that knocks a few points off~
I have to admit, there are a lot of older drivers that I miss being in the sport, but Rodney Combs just isn't one of them~ He was always so boring, and he never amounted to much even in the BGN series, and he had decent rides back then~ Even though I don't really miss him, I do enjoy his old Racing Champions cars, especially the Lance Crackers one~ Below are some videos featuring Rodney during his time in NASCAR~ Thanks for stopping by the blog~ :D
Joe Nemechek, despite being very quiet personality wise, and slightly ugly, has managed to continue racing in the major ranks for over 25 years~ Joe is a decent driver, but his stats say otherwise, due to his recent years with start and park teams~ Throughout his career, minus the Hendrick ride he had in Cup for 1 season, Nemechek drover for sub-par teams~ He did manage to win 4 races in the Cup series, but today, I'm gonna be looking back to his time in the #87 Texas Pete Sauces Chevrolet he won the BGN series championship with in 1992~
At the age of 28, Nemechek started the 1992 BGN season off with newly acquired sponsor, Texas Pete Sauces, fielding his own #87 Chevrolet~ He qualified on the outside of row 1 for the Goody's 300 @ Daytona, but was involved in a fiery crash on lap 75, resulting in a 31st place finish~ Nemechek was pulled out of the burning car by Todd Bodine and Tom Peck, and probably would have died if not for them~ He raced the next 6 weeks with severe burns on his back~
His first top 5 in the car would come in the third race of the season, the Hardee's 200 @ Richmond, where he rolled off from the 4th spot, and finished in 5th~ His next top 5 came in the Miller 200 @ Martinsville, where he started 13th, led for 58 laps, and finished 2nd to Kenny Wallace~
Joe Nemechek #87 Texas Pete promo card~
Nemechek's next top 5 came in one of the craziest races I can recall, and for some reason, they were calling this race the Mountain Dew 500 on tv, but it was a 300 lap event at Hickory~ The race was a total mess from the very start, as the owners of the track paved turns 3 and 4 the day before the race~ Chunks of the track were coming up all day, resulting in multiple red flags, along with 26 cautions~ Nemechek held on to finish in 4th place, and series veteran Tommy Houston won the race~
Joe scored another top 5 in the very next race, the Nestle 300 @ Lanier, where he started in 7th, and finished 5th~ He finished 5th again in the 13th race of the season, the Goodwrench 200 @ Dover~ In the Roses Stores 300 @ Rougemont, Nemechek qualified 15th, but charged to the front, leading 4 laps, and finishing 2nd to race winner, Robert Pressley~
Joe proved he could run well on all types of tracks with a 3rd place qualifying effort in the Lay's 150 @ Watkins Glen~ He stayed up front all day long, and though he didn't lead a lap, he finished in 4th place in the event~ He backed that strong run up the following week in the X-1R Firecracker 200 @ Volusia County, with another 4th place finish~ Nemechek picked up his first career BGN victory in the Kroger 200 @ IRP, with his Mom cheering him on in the pits~ He led for 58 of the 200 laps~
Joe passing Dale Earnhardt for the win @ Loudon~
Joe followed up his win @ IRP with his first career BGN pole in the aptly titled Texas Pete 300 @ Rougemont~ He led for 59 laps, but finished 2nd to race winner, Jimmy Spencer~ Nemechek pulled the car into victory lane for the 2nd, and final time of the season in the New England Chevy Dealers 250 @ Loudon, where he qualified 10th, and led 43 laps, beating out the legendary Dale Earnhardt on the final lap for the win~ At this time, Nemechek had been the points leader for the BGN series, but a 26th place finish in the Gatorade 200 @ Darlington, dropped him back to 2nd place, 8 points behind Todd Bodine~
Nemechek regained the top spot in the following race with a 5th place finish, while Bodine finished in 7th, giving Nemechek a 1 point advantage~ However, in the SplitFire 200 @ Dover, Nemechek finished 15th, while Bodine finished 13th, putting Nemechek 5 points behind Bodine~ Bodine then crashed out of the All Pro 300 @ Charlotte, resulting in a 37th place finish, while Nemechek finished 11th~
Nemechek regained the points lead, and never looked back the rest of the season~ In the Winston Classic @ Martinsville, Nemechek picked up his final top 5 in the Texas Pete car, finishing 5th~ He finished 6th in the final event of the season, winning the championship by 3 points over Bobby Labonte~
Joe Nemechek #87 Texas Pete Sauces Chevrolet~
Click pics to enlarge~
This is actually one of the harder Racing Champions cars to find out in the wild, and as with many of the cars I post, one of my favorites~ For an earlier RC car, this one has a lot of stuff on it~ It's plastered from end to end with logo's and contingencies, and I find that very appealing~ The bright mustard yellow, along with the white stripe down the middle and along the sides of the car, really clash well with the red number and Texas Pete logos~ I always loved the little lasso man Texas Pete has on the bottle, so I was happy to see him on a car~
Lozito's Pharmacy was a secondary sponsor on the car to some degree, for the entire season~ This specific car didn't get the best tires or rims, as you can see in the pics above, the lettering is off on the tires, and the yellow on the rims was put on horribly~ Other than that minor flaw, the car and card are both amazing~ The card reminds me of the Butch Miller Food Country card, with Joe smiling in some shop~ I give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, and it would easily be an A+ if not for the minor flaws mentioned on this specific car~ I have another in the package still that has perfect tires and rims, so it would be an A+ version~
As I said earlier, Nemechek was a decent driver in the sport, but I do think he never got to show what he was fully capable of in the Cup series~ He drove turds to victory lane.. that says something right there about how good he is~ He just was too quiet, never showed any personality, and was too ugly for major sponsorship dollars~ That's one thing I can't stand about NASCAR these days~ You have to look like a queer boy, and have a rich Dad who coddles you, to be able to be a NASCAR driver, and it makes me want to puke~
Had Joe been a racer in the 70's, or even the 80's, he wouldn't have had that "image" problem, and that's a shame~ Drivers used to look like men, because they WERE men, and that day is done and gone~ That's what I love about the old Racing Champions cars~ I can sit around and look at all the real men that used to drive in the sport, and get a little bit of happiness knowing what it used to be~ That's why I do this blog, for people like me who remember, or want to remember the good times of NASCAR~ The days when we were younger, and our sport was bright, vibrant, and full of life~ Below are some clips on Joe's career, including all his Cup wins~ Thanks for stopping by the blog!~ 85 days till Daytona!~ :D
Today is the first official day of Jeff Gordon's retirement from NASCAR racing~ It seems like it wasn't that long ago that "the kid" was taking NASCAR by storm, but now the storm has settled, and his historic career has come to an end~ This post is about Gordon's time in Bill Davis's #1 Baby Ruth Ford~
The 1992 BGN season would be Gordon's second and last full time season in the series, and he was sponsored by Baby Ruth candy bars~ His first qualifying attempt in the car was a failure, with Gordon qualifying 44th in the 44 car field for the Goody's 300 season opener @ Daytona~ He stormed hard toward the front, gaining great track position, before his engine gave out on lap 102 of 120, resulting in a 23rd place finish~
He turned things around the following week @ Rockingham, in the Goodwrench 200, grabbing the pole, and finishing 9th place after leading 22 laps~ The following week, in the Hardee's 200 @ Richmond, Gordon again won the pole position, and finished 8th, after leading 142 laps~ He then won his 3rd pole in a row in the Atlanta 300, leading the race for 180 laps, in his first victory of the season~ This was the first BGN event held @ Atlanta, and was also the race that caught the eye of Rick Hendrick, who quickly signed Gordon to a Cup deal~
Gordon in victory lane @ Atlanta~ 3-14-92~
Gordon followed up his Atlanta win with a 6th @ Martinsville, followed by a 26th place finish @ Darlington, in the Mark III Vans 200~ Following the Darlington race, Jeff picked up another top 5 finish with a 5th @ Bristol in the Budweiser 250, after qualifying on the outside pole~ He grabbed another pole in the Nestle 300 @ Lanier, leading 134 laps, and finishing 10th~ This was followed up by a 5th place finish in the Granger Select 200 @ Dublin~
In the Pontiac 200 @ Nazareth, Gordon qualified 5th, and led for 34 laps before his engine let go, resulting in a 26th place finish~ He turned things around the following week @ Charlotte, in the Champion 300, where he started on the pole, leading 58 laps on his way to his 2nd victory of the season~
Jeff qualified 2nd in the Goodwrench 200 @ Dover, leading 75 laps, but late race issues resulted in an 18th place finish~ He would finish 5th in the next 2 races, the Roses Stores 300 @ Rougemont, and the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle Beach, racking up another pole in the Myrtle Beach race~ He won the pole again for the X-1R Firecracker 200 @ Volusia County, but was involved in a late race crash, resulting in an 18th place finish~
Jeff Gordon with the Baby Ruth team~
In the next event of the season, the Budweiser 300 @ Loudon, Busch North driver Tony Hirschman entered the race with the #1~ Under the rules at the time, the driver who qualifies highest, has the right to use the number in the race~ Jeff qualified 44th in the 46 car field, with Hirschman qualifying 22nd, giving him the right to use the #1 for the race, which forced Gordon to run the #4~ This was the first and only time during this season that he wasn't in the #1 car, and he finished in the 29th position~
Gordon won the pole for the Detroit Gasket 200 @ Michigan, but had in ill handling car all day, resulting in a 19th place finish~ The next event was back in Loudon, and this time Gordon had better luck, qualifying 8th, and finishing in 4th place~ He led 120 laps of the Food City 250 @ Bristol, after starting on the outside of the front row, but was involved in a crash on lap 156, resulting in a 19th place finish~ The next race was in Darlington, for the Gatorade 200, where Gordon started, and finished in 3rd place~
He won the pole for the SplitFire 200 @ Dover, leading 35 laps, and finishing 12th~ In the All Pro 300 @ Charlotte, he started from the pole, and led 90 of the 200 laps, on his way to win his final race of the season~ He won his final pole of the season in the AC-Delco 200 @ Rockingham, leading 44 laps, and finishing in 2nd place~ In his final full time BGN start, Gordon qualified 2nd in the Pantry 300 @ Hickory, led for 32 laps, and finished in the 11th position, 1 lap down~ He finished the season with an amazing 11 poles, 3 wins, 10 top 5's, and 15 top 10's, while finishing a BGN career best of 4th place in the final points standings~
Jeff Gordon #1 Baby Ruth Ford~
Click pics to enlarge~
Sometimes, simplicity says it best, as with this paint scheme~ Simple, yet very noticeable, this paint scheme stands the test of time, and holds up quite well~ Anytime I was watching a BGN event back then, I instantly knew where Gordon was, the same goes for Jeff Burton when he drove the #8 Baby Ruth car~ If not for the words "Baby Ruth" on the car, it would look like the most common of un-sponsored cars, but that bright red really catches your eye, and draws you to the car~
I always thought it was funny seeing Jeff Gordon with a mustache back then~ He's the one guy I know that doesn't even look manly with a stache~ :P And I guess that's the one thing that kept me from being a fan of his~ I wanna root for a man, and Gordon just doesn't fit the mold, at least he didn't back then~ As he's gotten older, and had kids, and a family.. he's become more of a man, he may not look like much, but it takes a real man to be a family man~ :)
In closing, as far as quality goes, I'd give this car/card an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale~ The card is nice, and brings back memories... and the car does the same, with no major, or even minor flaws paint wise~ Jeff did things in a race car that most will never duplicate, and I personally think injuries and concussions took a lot away from him starting around 1999-2000~ The guy won 13 of 33 races in 1998.. I mean heck, in 3 years, he won 33 Cup races~ That's 1/3 of all his wins in 3 seasons~
I never thought I'd end up pulling for Gordon, but as the years went by, and he was getting older, and not winning as much.. I kinda started pulling for him if he was doing good in a race~ Now that he's retired, I feel a little sad.. it doesn't seem that long ago, when I would boo him, while Dale Sr. was winning another race, or getting one stole by Jeff, and now, they're both gone... the guy we once called "The Kid" is now considered an old man, and that's just odd to me~ Thanks for stopping by the blog, below are some videos based on Gordon's earlier career~
