Ken Schrader #52 Morema Inc. Chevrolet

    Welcome back to another installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ In today's post, I'm gonna be reminiscing about the 1993 Gatorade 200 @ Darlington~ This particular race was the only time that Ken Schrader drove the #52 Morema Inc. Chevrolet~ He ran a total of 9 BGN races during the 1993 season, with sponsorship from AC Delco for the other races~

    The 1993 Gatorade 200 @ Darlington was held on Saturday, September 4th~ 43 drivers attempted to make the 42 car field, with Eddie Sharp being the only driver to be sent home, in his #24 Thackston Racing Ford~ For reasons unknown to me, Schrader entered the race in his self-owned #52 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Morema Inc.~ He qualified 7th for the event, with Ricky Craven taking the pole, in his #99 DuPont Chevrolet~

                                 Schrader often participated in BGN races throughout the 90's~

                                                            Click picture to enlarge~

   Ward Burton started on the outside of row number one, and came up with the lead on the first lap~ He led the first 12 laps of the race, but was never a factor for the remainder of the event, finishing in 23rd place, 3 laps down~ A lap 3 crash ended the days of Roy Payne in the #27 Agency Rent-A-Car Chevrolet, and Richard Lasater in the High Point Bedding Chevrolet~ On lap 13, Burton was passed by the #60 Winn-Dixie Ford, driven by Mark Martin~ Martin held that lead until lap 41, when he was passed by our man Ken, who held the lead for 3 laps, giving it up to Harry Gant's #7 French's Mustard Chevrolet on lap 44~

    Dale Earnhardt, who started in 21st place, had been making his way through the field in his #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet, when his transmission gave out, on lap 36, ending his day far too early~ On lap 47, Jimmy Spencer, driving the #10 Kimberly Clark Chevrolet, suffered a blown engine, and was out of the race~ He would finish in 40th place~ On the 55th lap of the race, Bill Elliott would take his #11 Budweiser Ford behind the wall with ignition problems, ending his day, and finishing 38th~

                        He was also known to run a few ARCA races~ Shown here in his #58 car~

                                                           Click picture to enlarge~

    On lap 63, Gant was passed by Michael Waltrip's #30 Pennzoil Pontiac, who led for 1 lap, before handing the lead over to Joe Nemechek's #87 Dentyne Chevrolet~ On lap 86, Rick Wilson's #75 Food Country Chevrolet was tagged in the read by the #2 Hardee's Chevrolet of Ward Burton, which sent him into the wall, ending his day~ He was running in 5th place at the time of the crash~ Three laps later, Jim Bown was punted into the wall in his #98 Pugh Oil Chevrolet, putting him out of the race in 36th~

    Harry Gant regained the lead for 4 laps after the caution, but was passed by the #31 Channellock Chevrolet of Steve Grissom, who led the next 15 laps~ In a matter of 15 laps, the cars of Michael Waltrip, Jack Sprague, and Harry Gant all suffered blown engines, as well as Tommy Houston who had overheating issues~ On lap 142, the #59 Alliance Training Centers Chevrolet of Robert Pressley also suffered from engine troubles, and he would finish in the 28th position~

                       Schrader was respected in the garage~  Shown here with Davey Allison~

                                                         Click picture to enlarge~

    Mark Martin took the lead for the final time on lap 111, leading the remaining 37 laps on his way to victory lane~ His win marked the first for Ford in the BGN series @ Darlington~  He led a race high 65 laps, and was followed to the checkered flag by the #20 Fina Lube Chevrolet of Randy LaJoie, who came home runner-up, Chad Little finished 3rd in the #23 Bayer Select Ford, Joe Nemechek finished in 4th, and Steve Grissom came home in the 5th position~

    As for Ken, he brought the #52 Morema Inc. Chevrolet home in the 13th spot~ Tracy Leslie had a solid run, finishing in 6th, and Rick Mast picked up a top 10, finishing 10th in the #0 Skoal Classic Chevrolet~ I wish I knew the reason behind the one time sponsorship with Morema Inc. for this race, but I just don't~ I couldn't even find a picture of the actual car~ The only way it can be seen is by watching the actual race, which I will include down below~ At this point, lets move on to the diecast version of this awesome car~

                                                Ken Schrader #52 Morema Inc. Chevrolet~

                                                            Click pictures to enlarge~                               

                   
    I guess to some, this would be a pretty plain car~ I've never been a fan of a white paint scheme, but this one looks pretty sharp~ Ken has a great signature, which looks nice on the hood~ I'm not really sure what Morema Inc. is/was, but I do know the first weekend of September is Labor Day, so maybe that had something to do with the sponsorship for that race~

   Ken Schrader was always one of my underdog favorites~ I can't remember how many time I thought he was gonna win the Daytona 500, but it was a lot~ I get happy when he runs the truck race @ Eldora, and I hope he continues to do so for a while~ It was awesome watching him win the pole a couple years back, and I hope to watch him do it again someday~

   I give this car an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, due to the fact that they even made it~ It was limited to 5,000 made, so there are some out there~ I suggest buying it, if it isn't already in your collection, because it's got its own little piece of history to tell, and it's a great car~ Thank you all for stopping by the blog again~ Below are some random NASCAR videos, as well as the full 1993 Gatorade 200 race that this car ran in~ Please share this post on any social media site you may be a part of, and I'll see ya' next time on the NASCAR Racing Champions Blog~ :)

                                              1993 Gatorade 200 @ Darlington (full race)~

                                                    1993 BGN Bad Johnny Benson crash~

                                              Gene Glover/Dale Jarrett bad crash - 1980~

                                              End of 1992 Goodwrench 200~ Ward win~

   

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*

          
                                                        

   

Jimmy Means #52 Alka-Seltzer Pontiac

    Jimmy Means was one of my favorite drivers as a child~ He was one of the gritty, hard working owner/drivers in the Cup series, and a true racer~ NASCAR has lacked drivers like Means for many years now, and in today's post, I'm going to be talking about Jimmy's time in the #52 Alka-Seltzer Pontiac~

    Jimmy picked up sponsorship from Alka-Seltzer to start the 1989 season, and failed to qualify in his first race with the sponsor, the 1989 Daytona 500~ This race had a large number of entries, with 61 drivers vying for a spot in the 500~ His first start in the car came in the following race, the Goodwrench 500 @ Rockingham, where he qualified 35th, and finished 33rd~

    He led his first laps in the Alka-Seltzer car in the DieHard 500 @ Talladega, leading 4 laps before being involved in a crash in turn 4 involving Geoff Bodine, Derrike Cope, Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, and Stan Barrett on lap 26~ Jimmy's best run of the season came in the Pepsi 400 @ Daytona, where he managed a 12th place finish~ He failed to qualify for 7 races during the season, and finished 31st in the final points standings~

                                                    Jimmy Means promo card 1989~

    For the start of the 1990 season, Means was again in the Alka-Seltzer car, and made the field for the season opening Daytona 500, where he rolled off 37th, and finished 29th, 5 laps off the pace of race winner Derrike Cope~ His best finish of the season was again a 12th place in the Pepsi 400 @ Daytona~ This was the best season for Means in the Alka-Seltzer car, only failing to qualify for 2 races, and moving up 2 spots from the previous season to 29th in the final points standings~

    The 1991 season was the final year of sponsorship for Alka-Seltzer with the Means team, and it was the worst season he had with the sponsor~ He made 20 starts that season, with a best finish of 20th in the Winston 500 @ Talladega~ Bobby Hillin Jr. drove the car for the Budweiser 500 @ Dover, and the following race @ Sonoma, the Banquet Frozen Foods 300, and Mike Wallace ran the car for the Pyroil 500 @ Phoenix, and the season finale race @ Atlanta, the Hardee's 500~ Means failed to qualify for 5 races, and finished 33rd in the final points standings~

                                                 Jimmy Means #52 Alka-Seltzer Pontiac~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

*UPDATE* ***I have now updated this post with custom pics that I Photoshopped, so now it says Alka-Seltzer like it should~ The below review is for the regular car with no logos***

     If you've read my blog in the past, you already know what my main gripe is about this car~ It appears as if it's a sponsorless car, when in fact, it wasn't~ I asked Jimmy's twitter account what the reason for this was, and he or someone who runs the page was nice enough to reply back to me, and I thank them for the information~

    It turns out, along with alcohol and tobacco, Racing Champions could not put medicine sponsors on their cars~ I never knew this, and always wondered why it was missing its logos~ I find this to be absurd, because this was one of the greatest looking paint schemes of all time, and still is to this day, in my opinion~

    Nonetheless, the powder blue of this car is still outstanding looking on the Racing Champions car, and the card that come along with it adds a nice touch~ It's also cool to see the Alka-Seltzer brand logos on Jimmy's racing suit~ I give this car a B+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, and would like to add that it would easily be an A+ if it had the Alka-Seltzer logos on the car~

    Jimmy may not have had the best of luck in NASCAR, but he was a heck of a driver on the short tracks of Alabama~ He was one of the hardest working guys in the sport for 18 seasons, and I'm sure no one can attest to that~

    I miss drivers like him, who had to do it all on their own, and make things happen~ We may never see another driver like Jimmy in the Cup series again, and for that, I am deeply saddened~ Below is a few clips featuring Means and his time in the Cup series, and as always, thanks to everybody who stops by the blog~ I'll see ya' next time~

                                             1988 Pontiac Excitement 400 - Means crash~

                                    1993 Splitfire Spark Plug 500 - Means gets some damage~

                                              1987 Bud at the Glen - Jimmy Means spins~

                                           Jimmy Means Racing gets a top 5 w/Joey Gase~