Bobby Dotter #08 Team R Buick

    Welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions 1/64 diecast blog~ Today's blog post was supposed to be done on July 11th, because that's Bobby Dotter's birthday (as well as my own), so I wanted to do a special "double birthday" post~ I forgot to do it last year, and again this year on the 11th, so I'm just gonna go ahead and do the post now, because I know I'll forget again next year~ :P

    Bobby Dotter basically ran the "Team R" sponsorship when he didn't have a primary sponsor~ Team R was what he called his race team, which was owned by Ed Reizen.. so it wasn't like that was a paying sponsor~ When he could get someone to pay him to put their company logo on the car, he gladly accepted, but when the offers dried up, it was back to ol' trusty Team R on the car~ Anyway, let's get on with the post... our story begins all the way back back in the 1989 BGN season~

                                       Bobby poses with his car, and his lone BGN trophy~

    Bobby's first race in the #08 Team R Buick came in the 1989 "Winston Classic" @ Martinsville~ After starting the race in 16th, Dotter was able to battle his way to a 9th place finish~ This was the only race he ran during the season~ He drove nearly the entire 1990 season, mostly in the Team R Buick, and the occasional Oldsmobile, but also managed to pick up sponsorship for a few races from Old El Paso, and a one race deal with Progresso Soup~ He also moonlighted in the #00 C.L. Loven Oldsmobile during the Granger Select 200, driving the Mark Beard owned car to a 16th place finish~

    Dotter's first good run of the season again came in the "Winston Classic" at Martinsville, where he finished in 6th place after starting the race in the 15th position~ He had his best race of the season in the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle Beach, where he started from 3rd, and finished in the 4th position, picking up his first, and only top 5 of the year~

    Bobby finished the 1990 BGN season with 29 starts, 0 wins, 0 poles, 1 top 5, and 8 top 10's, while finishing 14th in the final points standings~ This wasn't enough to secure funding for the next season, so the team would again run the #08 Team R Buick to start the season~ The team would eventually pick up sponsorship with 10 races remaining in the season, with a 10 race deal from "Cling Free"~

                                      Dotter in the Old El Paso sponsored #08 Buick~ 1990~

    For the first time in his BGN career, Bobby made the season opening race @ Daytona, by qualifying in 41st place~ He finished the race six laps down, in 18th place~ He also led for the first time in his career in the Pontiac 200 @ Darlington, leading 5 laps before fading away to a 15th place finish~ He qualified 6th in the Carquest 300 @ Boston, and led for 22 laps before being pushed back to finish in 4th place~

   Dotter had an all around solid race in the Granger Select 400 @ Hickory, qualifying in 10th, and remaining in the top 10 all race long, while finishing in 9th place~ He picked up his last top 5 of the season in the True Value 250 @ Oxford, with a 5th place effort~ He ran the Granger Select 200 @ Dublin in the #64 Sunbird Boats Pontiac, owned by Dennis Shoemaker, and finished in 17th place~ The rest of the season, he drove the #08 Cling Free Buick, with a best finish of 11th, in the Kroger 200 @ IRP~

    Bobby finished the 1991 BGN season with 31 starts, 0 wins, 0 poles, 2 top 5's, and 4 top 10's, with 27 laps led, and finished 14th in the final points standings~ Before the start of the 1992 BGN season, the team picked up sponsorship from Jeno's Pizza, in what was supposed to be a 10 race deal~ He ended up getting one more race out of them, before eventually going back to the Team-R sponsor~

                                     Bobby at the lake with his #08 Jeno's Pizza Oldsmobile~

    Bobby mostly had average finishes in the Jeno's car, with the exceptions of the Budweiser 250 @ Bristol, where he finished in 3rd place, after starting in 8th, and the Granger Select 200 @ Dublin, where he picked up his lone BGN victory, after leading 58 of the races 200 laps~ Jeff Burton, who actually won the race, was stripped of his victory for using a non-approved rear end carrier assembly, and finished in last place as a result of the penalty~

    After the 10 race deal with Jeno's ended, Dotter raced the Champion 300 @ Charlotte in the Wade Day owned #16 31-W Insulation Chevrolet~ He finished the race in 32nd, due to oil line issues~ He picked up sponsorship for the Kroger 200 @ IRP from Payless Markets/Lucy's, and finished in 9th place in the car~

    He then moonlighted once more for Dennis Shoemaker, driving the #64 Shoemaker Racing Pontiac in the SplitFire 200 @ Dover, where he finished in 16th place~ In the AC-Delco 200 @ Rockingham, Dotter drove the #08 "Debby Honyotski" Oldsmobile~ He started the race in 26th, and finished in the 29th spot~ He drove the remainder of the season in the "Team R" sponsored Buick/Oldsmobile, with a best finish of 9th in the "Winston Classic" at Martinsville~

    Dotter finished the 1992 season with 28 starts, 1 win, 0 poles, 2 top 5's, and 4 top 10's, leading a career high 116 laps, and finishing 16th in the final points standings~ Before the 1993 BGN season began, Bobby picked up sponsorship from DeWalt Tools, although he would still revert back to the "Team R" sponsor during three events~

                                            Dotter with the #08 DeWalt Tools Lumina~

     The 1993 season was the final time Dotter ran the "Team R" sponsor~ His first race in the car came in the Fram Filter 500K @ Talladega, where he started 25th, and finished in 11th place~ He had his best finish in the "Team R" car at Bristol, for the Food City 250~ He started the race in 11th, and charged his way up to a season best, 3rd place finish, behind Joe Nemechek, and race winner Todd Bodine, who was driving the #34 Fiddle Faddle Chevrolet, owned by Frank Cicci~

     Bobby ran his final race in the "Team R" car in the Autolite 250 @ Richmond, where he started the race in 19th, and finished out his time in the "Team R" car with a respectable 6th place finish~ He ran the remainder of the season with the DeWalt sponsor, with the exception of some one off races with "Arizona Iced Tea", "Dew's Hardware", and "Tedder Hardware"~ He won the pole in the Arizona car, in the Havoline 250 @ Milwaukee, but only managed a 14th place finish~

    His best races in the DeWalt car that season were the NE Chevy 250 @ Loudon, where he finished in 3rd, the Polaroid 300 @ Rougemont, where he came home in 5th, and the Pantry 300 @ Hickory, where he finished in 6th place~ He won the pole for the All Pro 300 @ Charlotte, but never led a lap, and finished in the 9th spot~

    Dotter finished out the 1993 season with 2 poles, 0 wins, 3 top 5's, and 8 top 10's~ He didn't lead a lap all season long, but finished a career high of 7th in the final points standings~ Dotter ended his BGN career in 2004, after 14 season, 209 races, 4 poles, 1 win, 12 top 5's, and 42 top 10's~ He may not be the most remembered driver in the sport, but I always enjoyed seeing him out on the track~

                                                      Bobby Dotter #08 Team R Buick~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

    As soon as I found out this car was made by Racing Champions, I obsessed about it constantly until it was in my collection~ I finally found it one day at the flea market for a dollar~ Talk about happy!~ I rushed home, and ripped it out of the package.. imagining how cool it was gonna look on the blog~ Then I turned the card over, and noticed he had the same birthday as I did ~ I then decided to save the car, and post it on my birthday~ It never worked out, but I'm so glad I finally got this post done~

    I love pink race cars~ I don't care if that sounds "gay"... I just think they look awesome~ This car wasn't nearly pink in real life, it was actually red.. but Racing Champions decided it would be pink, and I'm gonna give them mega props for that decision~ Such a simple paint scheme, but it does the job.. much better than the current paint schemes, that tend to go a bit overboard, and make the car look gaudy~

  I hope you all enjoyed today's post, and I appreciate each and every one of you who stop by the blog~ If you have any suggestions on how to improve the blog, or want to see your favorite driver/car get their own post, feel free to leave a comment down below, you don't even have to make an account to comment here~ Below are some clips featuring parts of Bobby Dotter's career~ Enjoy, and please remember to share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site~ :D

                                  1989 ARCA Daytona - Bobby jumps out of his moving car~

                                           Bobby and Chuck Bown crash @ Dover - 1992~

                                   1994 Goodwrench/AC Delco 200 @ Dover - Dotter crash~

                                                 1985 Slinger Nationals featuring Dotter~

   

Bill Elliott #94 McDonald's Mac Tonight Ford

    Welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ While I was browsing through the news the other day, I seen where Jamie McMurray was gonna have a special "Mac Tonight" paint scheme for the throwback race @ Darlington this season~ This got me so excited that I decided to do a post on Bill Elliott's version of the car today~ I loved Mac Tonight, he was awesome.. and the car Bill drove was even more awesome~

    I miss the days when McDonald's had all their little characters~ Mac Tonight, Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, and so on.. these characters were designed to make kids scream for hours that they wanted to go to McDonald's, and it worked~ If you were a parent in the 80's and 90's, you know quite well how many "Happy meals" were purchased during this time~ McDonald's even sold plates, cups, and basically anything they could put Ronald McDonald and the gang's faces on~

   Bill had some awesome "special" paint schemes, but my favorite was probably this one, although the Batman Forever car was pretty dang cool too~ This car wasn't ran in that many races, but it was in more than the Batman Forever car, or the Piggly Wiggly car of Kevin Lepage~ Well, what am I waiting for?~ Let's dive into this thing, so I can get to McDonald's for a Big Mac!~ :D

                                        The wonderfully cool Mac Tonight, doing his thing~

   Mac Tonight was first used nationwide in 1987, and he was created to boost McDonald's sales after 4 PM~ He sang a song that was similar to the tune "Mack the Knife", a song made popular by Bobby Darin~ In 1989, Darin's son filed a lawsuit against McDonald's, stating that the song infringes upon his deceased father's trademark without prior permission~ McDonald's was then forced to remove the song from all TV and radio advertisements~

   Everyone loved "Mac" however, as sales at some McDonald's boasted a 10 % increase in evening/late night sales~ I remember getting a little toy Mac in a Happy meal when I was young, I think he was riding a moped or a bike~ Eventually, the Mac Tonight commercials seemed to just fizzle out~

    He was brought back in 1997 for the 10 year anniversary of his nationwide debut~ Bill Elliott was currently being sponsored by McDonald's, so his car would sometimes feature the special "Mac Tonight" theme~ I remember the first time I saw him live in this car at Bristol, in the 1997 Goody's 500~ That was actually the debut of this new paint scheme~ I watched that car all night long too, I had never seen a car with stars all over it, and a dang moon head guy wearing sunglasses on the hood~ This was great!~ :D

                                      Bill Elliott hero card featuring the #94 Mac Tonight Ford~

     When I found out that Bill was gonna be running this car for the first time at Bristol, I couldn't wait to get to the track to see it!~ I had already seen pictures of it, but I wanted to see the real thing~ And man, was it sharp out there.. under the lights of Bristol!~ Elliott started 36th that evening, and was able to salvage a 16th place finish, albeit three laps off the pace of race winner, Dale "Boring" Jarrett~ I was so mad that Jarrett won, because he bores me to death, and I was pulling for Dick Trickle, who managed to finish in 3rd place~

     Bill's next race in the Mac Tonight machine was in the Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 @ Richmond, where he sat on the pole in what would turn out to be his final pole position as an owner/driver~ After leading 43 laps during the early parts of the race, Elliott's car began to fade away, and he eventually finished in 30th place... 5 laps down to race winner, Dale "Boring" Jarrett~ This was also the Cup series debut of Kenny Irwin, who sat on the outside pole for the event, and led 12 laps, finishing in 8th place~

                                           The #94 Mac Tonight Ford awaiting the race~

    Next up was the CMT 300 @ Loudon, where Elliott qualified in the 10th spot~ He had a decent race, remaining on the lead lap and finishing in 11th place~ Steve Grissom, who finished a career high 4th place in the first race at Loudon earlier in the year, again finished 4th, tying his Cup series best effort~ Jeff Gordon was the race winner, followed by Ernie Irvan, Bobby Hamilton, Grissom, and Ricky Craven rounded out the top 5~

    The series next stopped @ Dover for the MBNA 400~ Bill qualified in 13th place, and again ran decent during the race~ He never led, but was able to hold on to an 8th place finish~ Mark Martin won the event, which only had one caution (for "Dum Dum" Michael Waltrip), while Kyle Petty, who led for 191 laps, finished 3rd after having to pit for a splash and go with only a few laps remaining~ It would be his last top 5 finish until the 2007 Coca-Cola 600~
                                                     
                            #94 Mac Tonight Ford with #33 Skoal Chevrolet~ Richmond - 1997~

    The final race of the season for the Mac Tonight theme came in the Hanes 500 @ Martinsville~ Elliott qualified in 16th, and was able to pull off a top 5 finish, with a 5th place run~ Rusty Wallace dominated the event, leading 226 of the 500 laps, but was black flagged (wrongly, I must say) by NASCAR for jumping the start, and finished in 15th, as the last car on the lead lap~ This gave the win to Virginia's own, Jeff Burton~
 
    Bill drove the #94 Mac Tonight Ford for one more race in the 1998 Cup season, the Goody's 500 night race @ Bristol~ I think it's cool that I was at the first, and last race he ever ran this car in~ I knew about the first race, but I didn't actually know his last race in the car came at Bristol until I wrote this post today~ I just remember being there and seeing it again.. watching it shine in the night as it went around the track~

    Elliott started 27th in the event, and was only able to salvage a 19th place finish out of the deal~ The race was won by Mark Martin, who led 190 of 500 laps, and had just lost his father the week before~ A still grieving Martin celebrated in victory lane, in what had to have been a very special moment for him after the loss~ Jeremy Mayfield led a surprising 173 laps, and ended up finishing in 8th place, and Kevin Lepage picked up his first career top 10, with a 10th place finish~

                                           Bill Elliott #94 McDonald's Mac Tonight Ford~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

                                      Bill Elliott #94 McDonald's Mac Tonight Ford Truck~

                                                                 Click pics to enlarge~

                                 Bill Elliott #94 McDonald's Mac Tonight 1/24 scale version~

    Well, I just decided to throw a few more items down here this time~ This isn't even all of the Mac Tonight diecasts that I've got~ I've got the gold one, and I think somewhere I have a hauler, or a Dually truck~ :P I really love this truck the most out of all of them~ Its little hood opens, and its tail gate goes down, so that's pretty cool too~

    I love all of the Mac Tonight cars, and they really look awesome all displayed together~ The card I used for these was from the gold car.. I don't have cards for the 1/64's.. I think they didn't come with one~ I thought about making a custom card, but I couldn't find many pics of the Mac Tonight car to work with, and I couldn't waste one, because I needed them for the post~

    I'm excited we're gonna get to see this paint scheme back out on the track, I just hope Jamie McFlurry doesn't fudd it all up~ I'm not a big fan of his, but I'll pull for him during that race, just for the sake of the car~ The Bojangles Southern 500 @ Darlington is gonna be an awesome event, and I just can't wait to see all the awesome paint schemes, especially the Tide car!~ (Even though I don't like Kenseth)~ I'm gonna easily give this car an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, as it's one of the coolest, and at the time, most innovative paint schemes of all time~

    I'd like to thank everyone for stopping in for a bit, I hope you enjoyed the post, and please remember to share it via Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of social media out there~ I'm looking forward to the Bristol races this weekend, especially the truck race tonight!~ Go #75!~ Below are some videos featuring Elliott and his career in NASCAR~ Enjoy them, and have a great weekend!~ :)

                                               Funny Bill Elliott McDonald's commercial~

                                           Ford Thunderbird commercial featuring Elliott~

                                                   McDonald's Mac Tonight compilation~

                                                     Finish of the 1994 Southern 500~

Derrike Cope #37 Poison Ford

    Hello again diecast fans, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ Today's post is one I'm pretty excited about, because it features one of my favorite all time drivers (Derrike Cope), as well as one of my favorite 80's bands (Poison)~ I've always wanted to do a custom of this car, but didn't know how to write the blog for it, since it only ran in one race during the 2002 season~ Since then, I've figured out ways to work around that, so I figured now is as good a time as ever for this post~

    When I was a little kid, my cassette player was always blasting Poison~  The "Look What the Cat Dragged In", "Open Up and Say... Ahh!", or "Flesh & Blood" albums were my favorites~ All three albums rock out, and I suggest you give them a listen if you never have, or haven't in a while~ They still hold up to this day as classic albums~ Now that you've got some good background music to listen to, let's dig into Derrike Cope's lone race in the #37 Poison Ford~

                                  Custom Derrike Cope #37 Poison Racing Champions Card~

     Following the 1999 season, when he made 15 Cup races, and failed to qualify for another 15, the 1990 Daytona 500 winner was having a hard time finding sponsorship, or even a team to drive for~ He didn't even have a ride to start the 2002 Cup season, but was contacted by Ed Campbell to drive his #57 CLR Ford in the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400 @ Las Vegas~ Derrike failed to make the race, and was let go from his driving duties with the team~

    He next tried to make the field in the Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte, but again failed to qualify in his self-owned #37 Sound Moves/Ozzfest Ford~ Cope was back to try again the following week in the MBNA Platinum 400 @ Dover, but he again failed to make the race, again driving the #37 Sound Moves/Ozzfest Ford~

                                      Bret Michaels poses in front of the #37 Poison Ford~

     Cope's first race he actually made came in the Sirius Satellite Radio 400 @ Michigan~ This time, he was driving Warren Johnson's #37 Ford, sponsored by the country music band "Alabama"~ Cope's car was ill all week long, and he qualified 42nd in the 43 car field~ Dale Jarrett won the pole in his #88 UPS Ford, and he also led a race high 70 laps, while finishing in 2nd place~

    The race was eventually won by Matt Kenseth, in his #17 DeWalt Power Tools Ford~ Although Cope was able to finish the race,  his car just wasn't up to speed like it needed to be, and he finished in 38th place, six laps down~ The next race on the schedule was the Pennsylvania 500 @ Pocono, and this is the race Cope ran the Poison car in~

                                              Cope on track in the #37 Poison Ford~

     Poison was about to release their 6th studio album in 2002, and decided to use some marketing money to get the word out~ They contacted Cope, who gladly put their logos all over his car, and man was this car a beauty!~ Cope enjoyed getting a little extra attention, with lead singer Bret Michaels at the track for added publicity, it must have felt like winning the Daytona 500 all over again.. or at least Dover~ :P

    Derrike was eager to show his stuff out on the track, but his qualifying effort was pretty poor, and he would start the race from the 41st spot~ The race ended up being red flagged due to rain 150 laps in, and didn't end until 8:00 PM, when it was called due to darkness~ Cope lasted until lap 154, when his engine blew up~ He would finish the race in 35th place~ Bret Michaels cried, and threw his Poison water bottle at Dr. Jerry Punch (not really), and Poison never sponsored another car again (really)~

    The race was won by Bill Elliott, who also started on the pole for the last time in his decorated NASCAR career~ It was called with 25 laps remaining, and Sterling Marlin probably should have won, but I'm glad he didn't~ I didn't really like him, and I was happy for Elliott, who was always a fan favorite~ All in all, the race lasted dang near eight hours, in one of the most boring races I can recall, besides Bill winning the thing~ 

                                                Derrike on pit road in the #37 Poison Ford~

   The Copester then started driving for Beth Ann Morgenthau, in the #49 Dodge~ In his first race with the team, Cope crashed out in the Pepsi 400 @ Michigan, finishing in 37th~ He then drove the #49 Billy Ray Cyrus Dodge (for real) in the Sharpie 500 @ Bristol~ I lol'd the entire race watching Cope turn laps with Billy Ray Dorkus on the hood of his car, well.. not really the entire race, as Cope would crash out, and finish 41st, after only running 162 laps~

    He then drove the #49 BAM (Beth Ann Morgenthau) Racing Dodge in the next two races, with a best finish of 37th in the NAPA 500 @ Atlanta~ In the season finale Ford 400 @ Homestead, Cope drove the #49 Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resorts Dodge~ He started dead last in the 43 car field, and finished a season high (for real) 34th place~ Cope finished 53rd in the final points standings~

                                                     The Hollyweird album by Poison~

    Although they're considered an "80's band", the Hollyweird album was quite an enjoyment back in 2002~ It was the first album featuring the original line-up since "Flesh & Blood" (1990)~ The album sold 11,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at number 103 on the Billboard 200 chart, and number 8 on the Independent Albums chart~

    The album combines their classic old style with a fresh, new feel that go together nicely~ They also do a pretty cool cover of "Squeeze Box" by The Who~ I never was much of a fan of The Who, because Pete Townsend is a douche tunnel, but I do like "Squeeze Box"~ If you've listened to Poison before, but never listened to Hollyweird, check it out here~ If you like their old stuff, you'll enjoy this~ Stinky ol' Bret Michaels just does solo tours now, so a Poison show is out of the question for now, but if Guns n' Roses can get back together, these guys can do it too~ :)

                                                       Derrike Cope #37 Poison Ford~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    I was very pleased with the outcome of this one~ I've gotta quit being so lazy with the first picture though~ That's starting to get on my nerves.. it just takes a long time, so I get lazy and just warp it on there in Photoshop~ lol~ One of these winter days coming up, I'll fix them all.. but I'm not worried about it currently~ This just has to be the coolest Derrike Cope car in the history of ever!~ I love that color of green, and when it's paired with purple and black, it's super amazing!~

   This car was easier to make than I had first thought it would be, so don't get discouraged if you're trying to make Photoshop customs of your own, just because it looks like it would be hard to do~ Sometimes, I'll start on a car that I think will be easy, and I'll end up spending 4 or 5 hours tinkering around on the two pictures, that is, if I do them both the right way~ I have often time spent over eight hours on a single blog post~ If it's a rare driver, or a one off car, it's hard to track down information and pictures, then I have to edit all of them~ It's hard work, but the finished product is worth it~

    I don't know how much longer Derrike Cope will continue racing, but I hope he is like Morgan Shepherd and races till he's nearing 80~ He's one of the only racers still out there from my childhood, and I enjoy seeing him out on the track, regardless of what position he finishes~ I get sad when he doesn't make the race, and I always look forward to seeing him in the next one~ Thank you all for stopping by the blog again~ If you liked this post, check out my other post on Derrike here~ Below are some videos ranging throughout Cope's Cup career, as there is no videos of his Poison car~ Please share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or any other form of social media~ :)

                                                          Top 10 Derrike Cope crashes~

                                               Derrike Cope on the pole?~ (ends up 5th)

                                                            Both of Cope's Cup wins~

                                        Derrike's car explodes to death~ 2016 Watkins Glen~

       

Jimmy Means #52 Turtle Wax Pontiac

    Good evening, and welcome to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ In today's post, I'm gonna be breaking the rules again with this Jimmy Means #52 Turtle Wax Pontiac~ This car was ran partially in the 1987 Winston Cup season, so it came before Racing Champions were producing cars, however I just couldn't resist doing a Photoshop custom of it for the blog~ Besides, Racing Champions did the same thing with Sterling Marlin's #44 Piedmont Oldsmobile~

    Means was one of my all time favorite Cup racers, along with Brad Teague~ He never won a race, but he was a mainstay on the Winston Cup circuit for 18 years~ He never fooled with the BGN series, besides a three race stint in 1989, where he picked up a 10th place finish @ Darlington.. Means followed the philosophy of "Go big, or go home", and he dedicated nearly 20 years to the Winston Cup series~ Let's get into this post, and see what Means was able to do with his time in the #52 Turtle Wax Pontiac~

                                           Custom Jimmy Means Racing Champions card~

   
    Means was heading into the 1987 Winston Cup season basically unfunded when he picked up sponsorship from Turtle Wax~ Although it wasn't a season long deal, it was definitely a much needed break for the Means Racing team~ Means qualified 40th in the 1987 Daytona 500, his first start in the Turtle Wax car~ He managed to squeak out a 24th place finish, despite running with lesser quality parts/equipment than most teams had~

    He qualified 26th in the car at Rockingham for the Goodwrench 500, and finished in 22nd place, several laps off the pace of race winner, Dale Earnhardt~ Means' best finish in the Turtle Wax Pontiac came the following week in the Miller High Life 400 @ Richmond, where he finished in 14th position, after starting 23rd~

                                           Means on track in the #52 Turtle Wax Ponitac~

     Jimmy qualified in 33rd for the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, but was involved in a crash on lap  234 involving A.J. Foyt, and Neil Bonnett~ Foyt and Bonnett were able to continue the race, while Means was knocked out, resulting in a  32nd place finish~ Ricky Rudd won the race in Bud Moore's #15 Motorcraft Ford, after Dale Earnhardt's #3 Wrangler Chevrolet suffered electrical problems~ Earnhardt, who finished the race in 16th, led a race high 196 laps before the issue occurred~

    Moving on to the TranSouth 500 @ Darlington, Means qualified the car in 31st place, but his engine expired after only 85 laps, and he would finish the race in the 36th position~ Dale Earnhardt, who had lost the previous race due to electrical issues, dominated the race, leading 239 of the 367 laps on his way to the victory~ Earnhardt was challenged late in the race by Bill Elliott, and Bill eventually passed Earnhardt for the lead, but would run out of gas on the final lap, allowing Earnhardt to coast by him for the win~

                                   The #52 Turtle Wax Pontiac getting prepared for the race~

    The next race on the Cup schedule was the First Union 400 @ North Wilkesboro~ Means qualified the car in 27th, and was holding on pretty good during the race, but he cylinder head issues that ended his day after only 74 laps~ He finished the race in 30th place~ Dale Earnhardt also won this race, leading 319 of the race's 400 laps, in a runaway victory over 2nd place Kyle Petty~

     Up next was the very first race I ever attended, the 1987 Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol~ I don't recall much of the race, because I was four years old.. but I remember it rained, Dale Earnhardt won again, and my Mom went crazy~ lol~ She loved him~ I don't remember seeing the Means car, but I'm sure I did~

     Means qualified 21st for the race, but was involved in a crash on lap 130, and finished in 29th place in the 30 car field~ Sterling Marlin was leading the race at one point, but was punted out of the way and crashed by Dale Earnhardt~ A lot of fans starting putting the label of "dirty driver" on him following this race, while many cheered him for his hard charging approach~

                                              Means with his good friend, Tim Richmond~

                                                                Colorized by me~

     Jimmy would be sponsored by "Hots V Carolinas" for the Sovran Bank 500 @ Martinsville, where he qualified 26th, and finished 14th~ He would return to the Turtle Wax sponsorship the following week for the Winston 500 @ Talladega, and qualified 41st in the 41 car field~ He would suffer wheel bearing problems in the race after only 61 laps, which resulted in a 33rd place finish~ Davey Allison won the race, having led for 101 of the 178 laps in his first career Winston Cup victory~

    The Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte would turn out to be Means' last race with the Turtle Wax sponsorship~ He rolled off dead last in the 42 car field, as he battled and clawed his way to a 15th place finish~ Kyle Petty actually won the race, as only 17 cars were remaining on the track at the end of the race~ Bill Elliott had the dominant car all evening long, but his engine gave out on lap 267~ Following this race, Means ran the next four races in an un-sponsored #52 "Means Racing" Pontiac, with a best finish of 13th at Dover, in the Budweiser 500~

    He then race two races in the #52 Voyles Auto Salvage Chevrolet, with a best finish of 29th in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 @ Daytona~ For the remainder of the season (minus one race) Means drove the #52 Eureka Vacuum Cleaners Pontiac/Chevrolet, posting a 9th place finish in the Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 @ Richmond~ He also led a career high 21 laps during the event, in what was arguably his greatest NASCAR race ever~ He ran down Earnhardt and passed him for the lead, but in doing so, he ran his tires out and Earnhardt was able to get back, and eventually win the race~

                                                     That one good shot with a great car~

    Following the medical issues of Tim Richmond, Means was called upon by car owner Rick Hendrick, who asked Means to drive Richmond's car in the 1987 Oakwood Homes 500 @ Charlotte~ Jimmy jumped at the offer to drive a Hendrick car, and as news got out, everyone was cheering for him to do well in the race, and he was getting lots of publicity about the whole ordeal~

   Means was fast every time he was out on the track during the week leading up to the race~ He actually qualified a career high of 5th place for the race~ If he did this good during the race, he was bound to get a racing deal with a good team, and he was determined to get it done~ Sadly, fate got in the way of Means' dream, and crushed him, as well as all his cheering fans, like little bugs~

   On the 20th lap of the race, Means was caught up in a crash involving Derrike Cope, Buddy Baker, and Greg Sacks~ All four drivers suffered so much damage that they couldn't continue the race, with Means finishing in 40th position~ Though heartbroken, Means chugged on in the #52 Eureka Pontiac for the remainder of the season, with a best finish of 20th in the AC Delco 500 during the three race span~ He finished the 1987 season with the lone top 10, while finishing 23rd in the final points standings~

                                                    Jimmy Means #52 Turtle Wax Pontiac~

                                                                     Click to enlarge~

    I think this car turned out pretty good, at least the second picture~ I used this Pontiac body because the older Racing Champions Pontiacs were ugly, and these have a little more curve to them~ I would probably use Turtle Wax on my car if they would sponsor a NASCAR team again, but until they do, I'll just let the rain shine it for me~:P

   I've always been a fan of green cars~ I know there are superstitious drivers who won't drive one, but that's just a bunch of poppycock~ I'm sure Derrike Cope would drive a green #13.. because he loves to be out there racing...he doesn't care about superstitions~  I give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, again the points taken off were because of my own mistakes, not the car~ I still pull for the #52 Means Racing team in the what I call "Busch" series~ Driver Joey Gase does a great job with the equipment he's given, and brings the car home in one piece at the end of the day~

   Drivers like Means, Marcis, and Teague were always my favorites~ They didn't have to win a lot to gain my respect.. I could see all the hard work they put in to get to where they were~ These days its all about who your father or mother is.. that's what it requires to drive in NASCAR~ You have to have rich parents who will pay your way, unless your a minority~ haha~ I'd like to thank you all for again stopping in to check out the blog, below are some random NASCAR clips that I think you'll enjoy, and please remember to share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media sites~

                       Last race at "Good Richmond"1988 Pontiac Excitement 400 - Means crash~

                              Mike Wallace crashes driving for Means in the 1991 Hardee's 500~

                              1987 Bud at the Glen - Moise/Christman crash, then Means spins~

                 1987 Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 highlights~ Means lead/top 10 race~ *42 mins*

          
                                                        

   

Kevin Lepage #71 Vermont Teddy Bear Chevrolet

    Well hello there, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ In today's post, I'm going to be coming back into "reality" with a car that was actually produced by Racing Champions~ That car is the #71 Vermont Teddy Bear Chevrolet, owned and driven by Kevin Lepage~

    I really enjoyed this car when I would get to see him race it at Bristol~ I had never seen a car with quite the same paint scheme as this one, and I thought it looked pretty amazing out there~ I was sad that he missed the race once at Bristol, but I still got to see him during qualifying~ Kevin's actually a pretty cool guy, he's talked to me a little on Twitter when I'd ask him a question, or post a photo of him, and he's always been more than happy to answer me, or respond in some way~

    I'm dedicating this post to my wife, because this is her favorite car, since she's a huge TY Beanie Baby fan, and only collects the bears~ This is the closest thing there is to a TY Beanie car, for now at least~ ;) So let's get into this thing and see what ol' Kevin did during his time in the #71 Vermont Teddy Bear Chevrolet~

                                                       Custom Kevin Lepage hero card~

    Kevin ran his first race in the Vermont Teddy Bear car in the second race of the 1994 BGN season @ Rockingham in the Goodwrench 200~ He attempted to make the season opener @ Daytona, but DNQ'd~ Lepage started 27th at Rockingham, but his engine gave out only 50 laps into the race, and he finished in 37th place~ He fared much better the following week in the Hardee's Frisco 250 @ Richmond, picking up a 12th place finish~ He would then fail to qualify for the Busch Light 300 @ Atlanta~

    In the NE Chevy 250 @ New Hampshire, 65 drivers attempted to make the 44 car field, and Lepage started the race in 21st~ He led for a total of 7 laps during the race, marking the first time in his NASCAR career he'd ever done that, and finished in 9th place, for his first career top 10~ He would have finished better, but he got a flat tire with 2 laps to go, and just parked the car to prevent damaging it~ Derrike Cope actually won the race, with his very underfunded #82 Sports World Ford, picking up his only BGN career victory~

    To say the least, Kevin Lepage had a pretty lackluster season from here on out, only finishing in the top 15 one more time, with a 15th place finish in the Fays 150 @ Watkins Glen~ He also failed to qualify for 5 events (Goody's 300 - Daytona, Busch Light 300 - Atlanta, Champion 300 - Charlotte, Ford Credit 300 - South Boston, and the Pantry 300 @ Hickory), picking up the lone top 10 @ New Hampshire, and finishing 24th in the final points standings~

                                                 Lepage's car sits as the track is being dried~

   Vermont Teddy Bear remained with the team for the 1995 BGN season, and while Lepage did improve, he again failed to qualify for the season opening Goody's 300 @ Daytona~ He finished 18th in his first start of the season in the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham, and 19th in the Hardee's 250 @ Richmond~ He qualified 31st in the Mark III Vans 200 @ Darlington, but charged his way to his first top 10 of the season, with a 9th place effort~

    He would then fail to qualify for the Goody's 250 @ Bristol~ I was there that day, and I was so sad that he didn't make it into the race~ If you ever saw this car in person, on the track.. you know how awesome it looked~ I was looking forward to seeing him in the race, and he let me down~ I would get my chance later in the season, though~ :)

    Lepage picked up another top 10 in the Red Dog 300 @ Charlotte, with a 10th place finish~ He qualified a season high of 4th in the Carolina Pride/Red Dog 250 @ Myrtle Beach, and led his only laps (4) of the season during the race, however he would only muster a 21st place finish~ He got another top 10 finish in the Ford Credit 300 @ South Boston, finishing 10th in the event~

                                           Signed hero card featuring Kevin with the car~

    In the Food City 250 @ Bristol, I finally got my chance to see the car in person again, and Lepage didn't let me down, scoring his best finish of the season with an 8th place run~ I was so proud of him~ He notched his final top 10 of the season at the AC-Delco 200 @ Rockingham, where he finished in 10th place~

   Kevin finished the 1995 BGN season with 0 poles, 0 wins, 0 top 5's, and 5 top 10's, while failing to qualify for two races~ He also improved to 18th place in the final points standings~  Vermont Teddy Bear left NASCAR after the season, but did sponsor him in the season opening 1996 Goody's 300, as a kind of consolation prize~ He qualified 7th for the race, in a black and gold #71 Vermont Teddy Bear Chevrolet, which looked much different than the familiar teal and purple car he'd always driven~

    He was involved in a lap 21 crash that also involved Jason Keller, Todd Bodine, Doug Heveron, Andy Hillenburg, Hermie Sadler, and Joe Bessey~ Lepage's car was demolished, and he finished 45th in the 46 car field~ He ran the 5 races in an un-sponsored car, before picking up a one race deal with Piggly Wiggly for the Goody's 250 @ Bristol, where he finished 23rd~ He ran the remainder of the season (minus the season finale) in the #88 Farmer's Choice Fertilizer car~ Kevin won the season finale Jiffy Lube Miami 300 @ Homestead driving the #88 Hype Chevrolet, in his first race with the new sponsor~

                                         Kevin Lepage #71 Vermont Teddy Bear Chevrolet~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

                                  *BONUS* Kevin's #71 Piggly Wiggly custom from Bristol~

    Alright, let's get down to the meat and potatoes of this post... the beautiful car~ Although this is my wife's favorite car, it's pretty high up there on my list as well~ I wish it was done on the previous body style however, as I don't like the bigger tires of the 1995 and beyond series~ That's what junky ol' "Premiers" were for~ :P

    I'm also not a fan of this card style~ I don't wanna pay for 1/2 a card.. gimmie full color.. over the entire card!~ I wish I was around back then to smack whoever came up with this idea in the back of the head~ Sorry about that little tangent, but I just get mad about this card style~ Even the picture of Kevin looks dumb.. they could have used a much better picture than one of him turned sideways, to where you can only see 1/2 of his face... and I wanna see the car on there~

   The paint job on the car is spot on, and you can just imagine the little guy taking off, and racing down the track~ If you purchase this car on Ebay, it usually varies anywhere from 5-10 bucks after shipping costs, so my advice would be to try and find it somewhere locally before you go to Ebay, unless you have to have one right away.. because they are kinda hard to find out in the wild~

   I hope you've enjoyed my recent posts, as well as this one~ Special thanks to my friend Jeff for teaching me how to get these out of the packaging without damaging the package~ Until I knew how to do that, I had to just wait till I got a double of a car before I could do a post on it~ lol~ Below is some footage I found on Kevin's NASCAR career, enjoy, and thanks again for stopping back in to check out the NASCAR Racing Champions Blog!~ Please share this post on Twitter, Facebook, etc.. it only takes a few seconds, and it helps the blog reach more Racing Champions/Old NASCAR history fans~ :)

                                    Lepage's crash in the last Teddy Bear car~ 1996 Daytona~

                                                 
                                                           And then, that happened~

                                        What's your opinion on the crash?~ Here's Kevin's~

                                   End it on a good note~ 1996 Homestead~ First career win~

                                                                                                                    
   

Brad Teague #31 Slender You Figure Salons Oldsmobile

    Welcome back to another installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ Now, I can't guarantee you that I'll never do another post on Brad Teague, but I will promise you that I won't do anymore after this one for a good long while~ Sometimes, when you're on a nostalgia trip, you trip really, really hard... and that is what's going on with me~ haha~ I'll get it all out of me with this post~ Today, I'm gonna be discussing Brad's time in the #31 Slender You Figure Salons Oldsmobile~

    This happens to be my favorite Cup car that Brad drove, other than his Food Country cars from 1982~ For some reason, I'm a sucker for pink paint schemes~ As you'll notice later, I painted this car pinker than it really was.. it was more of a maroon in the front, with a fade into pink near the back of the car~ Alright, here we go, let's get into this one more time for ol' Brad's sake~ :)

                                        Brad poses with the #31 Slender You car @ Daytona~

    Brad's first race in the Slender You car came in the 1987 Coca-Cola 600, driving the #99 Slender You Chevrolet for Ralph Ball~ Electrical issues ended his day after only 46 laps, and he finished in 40th place~ He next ran the #99 car five races later, in the Firecracker 400, where he qualified in 24th, but was involved in a crash on lap 5, and finished in 41st~

   He next drove in the Busch 500 @ Bristol, taking his Slender You sponsorship to Roger Hamby's #12 Oldsmobile~ He qualified in 24th, but oil pressure problems ended his day early, and he finished in 25th place~  He would finish out the 1987 with Bob Clark's #31 Oldsmobile team, becoming the first driver to drive for the newly formed team~

  His first race with his new team came in the Oakwood Homes 500 @ Charlotte, where he qualified in 35th, but during the race was able to battle his way to the lead, where he led for seventeen laps, on his way to a season high 13th place finish~ The team next ran in the final event of the 1987 season, the Atlanta Journal, where Teague started the race from 24th place, but once again held on to pick up a 17th place finish~

                                           Teague's unfortunate Daytona  car from 1987~

   Teague remained with Clark for the start of the 1988 Cup season~ He qualified 33rd for the Daytona 500, and finished in 21st place~ In the Pontiac Excitement 400 @ Richmond, he  qualified in 23rd, and finished in 19th~ In the Goodwrench 500 @ Rockingham, he finished 39th, after his engine expired on lap 99~

   The newly formed team was clearly lacking speed out on the track, and in the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 @ Atlanta, Teague qualified in 35th place~ He wasn't moving up very much in the race, and was involved in a crash on lap 80, ending his day early, and resulting in a 36th place finish~

  Brad qualified in 20th place for the TranSouth 500 @ Darlington, and was staying up in the top 10 most of the day, until ignition issues ended his day early once more~ He was still able to finish in 20th place, due to the large amount of drivers who were out due to blown engines~ The race was won by Lake Speed in the #83 Wynn's/Kmart Oldsmobile, in what turned out to be he only career Cup victory~

                                                A good side shot of the car @ Daytona~

   The next race was the Valleydale Meats 500 @ Bristol, a race track Brad felt confident about, and always ran well at back then~ He qualified in 20th place, and was running well throughout the race, however he was involved in a solo crash on lap 272, knocking him out of the race, and resulting in a 27th place finish~

   In the Winston 500 @ Talladega, Brad qualified in 24th, but wasn't very competitive during the race~ The car didn't have the speed it needed to keep up with the pack, and although he did run the entire race, he ended up three laps down, in 21st place~ Sadly, this would be Teague's last race for the team, although Slender You remained with him as a co-sponsor on the #75 Food Country BGN team~

  Slender You had been pressuring Clark to get better finishes, and in return, he dropped Teague in favor of Joe Ruttman~ Ruttman ran 9 races with the team, and although he finished 11th in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 @ Daytona, and 9th in the Budweiser at the Glen @ Watkins Glen, he would be dropped for Donnie Allison, who ran one race with Clark, in what would be his final Cup series start~ He started the race in 41st, and finished in 35th, after his engine blew up~

                                            Custom Brad Teague Racing Champions card~

   By the time the team resolved in 1989, it had went through eight different drivers, in only 3 short years of existence~ Jim Sauter recorded more starts for the team (12) than any other driver~ Brad Teague had ten starts, and Joe Ruttman ran nine races for the team~ Jim Sauter ran eight races in the #31 Slender You Pontiac in 1989, in what would be the final starts for the team~

   Other drivers who drove the Slender You car were Lee Faulk (3 races), Butch Miller (2 races), Johnny Rutherford (1 race), and Donnie Allison (1 race)~ With that many drivers in such a short time span, you can sort of see why Bob Clark may not have been the best Cup series owner to work for~

   I'm sad that Bob Clark sucked, and ruined this cool team~ The paint scheme is classic, and is one of the most overlooked paint schemes of all time, in my opinion~  Brad ran five more races in 1988, driving first for Buddy Arrington in four races, driving the #67 Pannill Sweatshirts car~

   He also failed to qualify in the Holly Farms 400, in what would have been his 5th race with the team~ He drove in the season finale Atlanta Journal 500 for Mike Potter, in the #64 Tiger Sauce Chevrolet~ He started 16th impressively, but finished 39th due to a blown engine~ He finished the 1988 Cup season with a career high 13 starts, with a best finish of 15th twice (Goody's 500 - Martinsville, Oakwood Homes 500 - Charlotte) and finished 40th in the final points standings~

                                    Brad Teague #31 Slender You Figure Salons Oldsmobile~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    I don't know if y'all feel the same way, but after I finished this car, I just couldn't hold on to it for a few months, and then do a post on it... I had to do one today~ I really like this car a lot, even though there are some goof ups, I'm pleased with the outcome, and it was fun to create it in Photoshop~  I'm sorry I haven't been posting "real" cars lately, but these customs are fun to make, and it's like seeing something you never thought you'd see come to life~ Like, here's a Brad Teague #31 Slender You car.. it's not "real", but I can see it.. so it's real enough for me~

    If I could have one wish from the "NASCAR genie", I would wish that we could go back in time to the early 70's, and give Brad Teague a decent Cup ride, that would stick with him for a while~ I get sad when I look at his Cup stats, because he doesn't deserve to have 0's in every single category~ He had some good runs in junk equipment, he just ran it too hard throughout the race, and wasn't there at the end~

   I really wish whoever is driving the #31 car next season will use this paint scheme in the throwback race @ Darlington~ It's a long shot, but it's a beautiful car, and I'd just love to see it back out on the track, and a track Brad always enjoyed to race on~ Even though this is a "fantasy" custom, I'm still gonna give it an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ I took some points off for flaws on my part, or else it would have been an A+~

   Thank you all for stopping by the blog again~ If you're interested in purchasing real Racing Champions 1/64 customs, I recommend my friend treasurrection on Ebay~ That link will take you to his "items for sale" list, which is always updating, and you can also request customs of a car that you liked, but was never made by Racing Champions, so that's amazing~ Below are some random clips from old NASCAR stuff~ I've posted all the Teague videos I know of already~ lol~ You can find them here and here~ If you know someone who may enjoy this blog, please suggest it to them via Twitter, Facebook, etc.~ :)

                                                 Brad Teague races a in Coaster Car race~

                                                
                                      Teague's wreck in the #99 Slender You car @ Daytona~

                                  Start of the Advance Auto Parts 250 @ Myrtle Beach - 1997~

                                    1994 Mountain Dew Southern 500 highlights~ *24 mins.*