Mike Olsen #61 Little Trees Pontiac

    Hello once more, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog~ Today's post is going to be on Mike Olsen and his time in the #61 Little Trees Pontiac~ Olsen is the grandson of legendary New England driver, Stub Fadden~ Olsen also had one of my favorite sponsors of all time.. I mean, who doesn't love Little Trees?~ Sure they smell generic, and only last a couple of days before their fragrance disappears, but they're cool looking and cheap~

    Olsen got his start in NASCAR with the help of Fadden, who was almost godlike in their hometown of North Haverhill, New Hampshire~ Fadden and his family ran the local NAPA store in North Haverhill, and NAPA would also sponsor Fadden's cars in various racing divisions~ Click on the blue link above to read more about Stub's career~ Now let's get into the Olsen post, and see what he was doing in the #61 Little Trees Pontiac~

                                                           One of many Olsen postcards~ 

    Mike Olsen was born on February 8th, 1968 in North Haverhill, New Hampshire~ He won the Camping World Series East championship in 2001, as well as 2006~ His first BGN attempt came in 1990 @ Oxford, for the "True Value Oxford 250", but resulted in a DNQ~ He wouldn't make another attempt in the BGN series until 1996, where he made his first start in the "Meridian Advantage 200" @ Nazareth~ 

    Olsen qualified 38th in the 42 car field, while David Green put the #95 Caterpillar Chevrolet on the pole for the event~ Martin Truex Sr., Bill Hoff, and Brian Donley failed to make the show and were sent home early~ Tom Peck qualified Dick Trickle's car since Trickle was also racing in the Cup race, and wasn't at the track for qualifying, so he was sent to the rear of the field for the start of the race~ Jeff Fuller was in the #17 for this race, (instead of his usual #47) due to the fact that he was lower in the BGN points standings than Kelly Moore was in the Busch North Series points standings, so Moore had the rights to the #47~ 

    This was a pretty wicked race, with five cars blowing up with two laps of each other, and a ton of wrecks~ Thanks to that, Olsen was able to finish in 21st place, one lap down~ The race was won by Randy LaJoie, followed by David Green, Jeff Green, Dick Trickle (nice run from the back of the pack), and Jason Keller finished out the top 5~ This was the only BGN race Olsen ran during the 1996 season, but he was back in 1997, driving the same car~ 

          With the amount of postcards made, Olsen should have been sponsored by "If It's Paper"~

    Olsen's first race of the 1997 BGN season came in the "Hardee's Fried Chicken 250" @ Richmond, where he qualified 25th~ Randy LaJoie won the pole in the #74 Fina Chevrolet, and seven driver failed to make the field, including brothers Kevin and Wayne Grubb~ This race would mark the end of Doug Heveron's BGN career, and he qualified 17th in the #40 MHCO Ford, and finished in 24th place~ 

   The race was largely dominated by Jeff Burton, who was driving the #9 Track Gear Ford~ Burton led a total of 179 laps, but was booted out of contention on the final lap by Jason Keller~ Burton and Keller got into a screaming match after the race, but nothing really came of it~ Mark Martin passed them both, and went on to win the event in the #60 Winn-Dixie Ford~ 

   Martin was followed to the checkers by Jeff Green, Steve Park, Phil Parsons, and Jason Keller~ Ed Spencer III brought the #20 Spencer Motor Ventures Chevrolet home in 15th place, which was a career high in what turned out to be his final start in the series~ Ron Barfield picked up his career best BGN finish with a 9th place effort in the #94 New Holland Ford, owned by Bill Elliott~ Olsen had major issues with the car throughout the event, and came home in 35th place, nearly 70 laps off the pace of the race winner~ 

                                                                Yet another postcard~ 

    Olsen next ran in the "Galaxy Foods 300" @ Hickory, where he qualified 29th in the slimmed down 31 car field~ Todd Bodine was on the pole in the #36 Stanley Tools Pontiac, and nine driver failed to make the field for the show, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Rodney Combs, The Krogh brothers Jeff & Mark, and the Grubb brothers Kevin & Wayne~ 

    Randy LaJoie led all but 45 laps of the wreck filled event, but he was no match for eventual race winner Dick Trickle, who picked up the first win of his BGN career, and in doing so he became the oldest driver ever to win in one of NASCAR's top three divisions, a record that has only been broken since by Dick himself, one year later - at the age of 56~ 

    The Trickler was followed to the stripe by LaJoie, Tim Fedewa, Jeff Green, and pole winner Todd Bodine~ Mike Olsen was the first car to exit the event, ending his day only 62 laps into the event due to overheating issues, which resulted in a last place finish~Although his day ended early, at least he had a car to bring back to the shop that wasn't damaged, other than the overheating problems~

                                                   He really liked making these postcards~

    The next event Olsen entered was at his home track of Loudon, for the "United States Cellular 200", where he rolled off from the 33rd starting position~ Randy LaJoie was again on the pole in the #74 Fina Chevrolet, as qualifying was rained out for the event~ The Grubb Brothers finally made their BGN debuts together driving the #82 and #83 Chevrolets~ 

    Todd Bodine and Jeff Fuller led the biggest portion of the race, but both drivers faded in the closing laps~ "Magic" Mike McLaughlin pushed Jeff Fuller out of the way to take the lead with three laps remaining, and barely beat out Steve Park for the victory, in what was a wild finish to say the least~ Todd Bodine, who led a majority of the race wound up finishing in 6th place~ 

    McLaughlin and Park were followed to the checkered flag by Jeff Fuller, Elton Sawyer, and Phil Parsons~ Pole winner Randy LaJoie wound up finishing in 7th place in a car that seemed like it just wasn't there from the get go~ Olsen blew the engine in the #61 Little Trees Pontiac with 20 laps remaining, which resulted in a 29th place finish, in what easily could have been a top 20 effort~

                                          Olsen battles with the #75 car of Doug Heveron~

    Olsen and the team were back at the track the following week in Nazareth for the "Core States Advantage 200", where Olsen qualified 32nd in the small 35 car field~ Elliott Sadler was on the pole in the #29 Phillips 66 Chevrolet, and I must add that I hated that car~ Why is the Phillips 66 car #29?~ It would have been an awesome looking car if it were #66, but the #29 just throws everything off for me, and I don't enjoy it one little crumb~ 

    Steve Park was pretty dominant in the first half of the race, but started having engine trouble midway through the event~ His motor finally gave out with 30 laps remaining, which basically handed the win to Elliott Sadler, in what would be his first career BGN victory~ Todd Bodine tried his hardest to get by Sadler in the closing laps, but his best just wasn't good enough, and Sadler was able to make it to the line first~ 

    Sadler was followed by Bodine, Randy LaJoie, Jeff Green, and Dale Shaw, who picked up his first career top 5 in the event~ He would go on to capture two more top 5 finishes, all in the 1997 season~ Olsen finished the race in 25th place, 8 laps off the pace of the race winner~ His car didn't have any speed, and it seemed like it was like this every week~ He could keep the cars clean for the most part, but he just didn't have the speed to be competitive with the front runners of the series~ 

                                        Olsen steers clear of leader Todd Bodine (yellow car)~

    The final race Olsen made in the 1997 BGN season came in the "Autolite Platinum 250" @ Richmond, where he qualified in the 37th position~ Michael Waltrip won the pole in the #21 Band-Aid Ford, and fifteen drivers failed to make the field for the event, including the Grubb brothers, the Krogh brothers, Ron Barfield, Scott Lagasse, and Lyndon Amick amongst others~ 

   Fellow Virginian Jeff Burton had a very strong car all day, leading for a total of 89 laps, but Steve Park's team worked on his car throughout the day, making it better with each pit stop~ By the closing laps of the race, it was clear that Park wasn't going to go home without the win, which would sadly be the final win of his BGN career~ 

    In the first laps of the race, Joe Bessey was taken out by Dale Shaw - in retaliation, Bessey threw his helmet at Bessey's car, and the helmet actually ended up on Shaw's lap~ Shaw threw the helmet back onto the track during the caution~ When asked about the incident, Bessey said he thought Shaw might need a bigger helmet, so he was just trying to offer him his helmet~

 

    Park was followed to the stripe by Randy LaJoie, Jeff Burton, Dick Trickle, and Buckshot Jones~ Olsen finished the event four laps down, in the 29th position~ This would be his final start in the 1997 season, though he did have three DNQ's throughout the year as well~ ("Goodwrench Service 200" @ Rockingham, "Coca-Cola 300" @ Fort Worth, and the "AC-Delco 200" @ Rockingham")~

                           Olsen narrowly misses a crashing Toshio Suzuki in his BGN debut~

    Olsen attempted to make three races during the 1998 BGN season, but was only successful in the "First Union 200" @ Nazareth, where he started from the 39th position, and came home four laps down in 25th~ The two events he DNQ'd in were the "Gumout Long Life Formula 200" @ Loudon, and the "Hardee's 250" @ Richmond~ 

    He attempted to make two races for the 1999 BGN season, making the field for the "Lysol 200" @ Watkins Glen, where he rolled off from the 43rd starting position, and surprisingly worked his way up to finish in 18th place in the #81 Little Trees Chevrolet~ (Tony Roper was using the #61 for this event)~

    His DNQ came in the "First Union 200" @ Nazareth, where he was one of seven other drivers who failed to make the field~ The 2000 BGN season would mark Olsen's final season in the BGN series~ By this point, the car had a yellow paint scheme, instead of the usual white one~ This would be the scheme Olsen would use for the remainder of his time with the Little Trees sponsorship~ 

                           Postcard celebrating 10 years with Little Trees~ Also shows the yellow car~

    Olsen qualified dead last for the "Busch 200" @ Loudon, while Tim Fedewa won the pole~ This was the race where Adam Petty died from a practice crash~ Fedewa won the event, followed by Jeff Green, Jason Keller, Todd Bodine, and Hank Parker, Jr.~ Olsen finished in 26th place, three laps off the pace of Fedewa~ 

    Mike then qualified 42nd for the "Lysol 200" @ Watkins Glen, with Canadian Ron Fellows on the pole~ There were two Little Trees cars in this race, with Butch Leitzinger driving the #30 Little Trees car as well~ Leitzinger would go on to finish runner up to pole/race winner Fellows~ Leitzinger was followed by Kevin Harvick, Todd Bodine, and "Magic" Mike McLaughlin~ This was the race where Jimmie Johnson had his hard crash in the #92 Alltel car~ Olsen finished thirty laps down, in 42nd place~

    His final BGN start came in the "Econo Lodge 200" @ Nazareth, where he started 42nd in the #61N Little Trees Chevrolet~ The "N" was to signify that Olsen was a Busch North driver~ Jeff Green was on the pole in the #10 Nestle NesQuik Chevrolet, but when the race got underway, it was all Ron Hornaday - who took the #3 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet to victory lane after leading 104 of 200 laps~ 

    Hornaday was followed by Elton Sawyer, Jason Keller, Jeff Green, and Kyle Petty, who was driving Adam's car following his death at Loudon~ Olsen finished the final race of his BGN career in 27th place, two laps off the pace of race winner, Hornaday~ He would continue to race in lower tier series events, but this was the end of his top tier NASCAR career~ 

                                                 Mike Olsen #61 Little Trees Pontiac~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    Although Olsen ran the Little Trees cars for over 10 years, this diecast was modeled after his first BGN start, as it was the only time he ran a Pontiac in the BGN series~ He did run a Little Trees Pontiac from 1996-1999 in the Busch North series, but that's not what this car was modeled after~ I loved when Racing Champions would make obscure one off cars like this~ It didn't happen a lot, but it happened more than you'd figure it would~ 

    The car itself is rather bland~ I could have came up with a better design than this one when I was 12~ I mean, it's not horrible.. but it's not really that good either~ It's just a run of the mill paint scheme, and that's a shame~ The Little Trees car could have looked way better than this, even back then when paint schemes weren't the best~ This car came in a clear plastic bag originally, with no stand or card~ I made the card on Photoshop, and put it in a standard Racing Champions package~ I used the older stand for it, because I'm not a fan of the solid black stands.. I prefer the chrome look~ 

    I'm going to give this one a C+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, due to it not coming with a card or stand, and the car is just kind of boring in my opinion~ It's a cool car to have for your collection, but it's just nothing special to look at really~ If you can pick this car up for under 10 dollars, I'd consider that a good deal~ It doesn't come up for sale much on Ebay, and when it does, someone usually snatches it up really fast - so your best bet is try and find it out in the wild somewhere at a flea market or thrift store~ And now it's time for the bonus car for this post~ 

                                           Kelly Denton #75 Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce Ford~ 

    I remember it as if it were a meal ago.. the Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce deal was huge for Henderson Motorsports, and everyone in town was congratulating the team for their newly acquired sponsorship~ The deal was supposed to be a full season sponsorship, in what was going to be Denton's rookie campaign, but rumors started swirling about Big Daddy's sometimes failing to meet their financial obligations~ The team was told that they would receive their first check at Daytona, so they headed to Daytona, with two Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce Ford's in their transporter~ 

    When the team arrived at Daytona, no one from Big Daddy's could be located~ Phone calls were not being returned, and the team was starting to realize that they'd been duped~ Denton is listed as a DNQ for this race, but I'm fairly certain the team just came back home when they realized they'd been shafted~ I honestly don't think they made a qualifying attempt, though my memory could be wrong~ I remember sitting in meetings with Charlie Henderson back then (my Dad was the supervisor of Food Country for 21 years, so I got the inside scoop) and he made it sound like he forced the team to come back home~ 

    Either way, the #75 Big Daddy's car never ran a single event, and the Henderson Motorsports team ran a very limited schedule, making four races, and failing to qualify for another five, not counting the Daytona race~ Denton was back with the team for the 2000 BGN season, running four races with a best finish of 15th in the "Cheez-It 250" @ Bristol~ He was fired at the end of the 2000 season, and ran two more partial BGN seasons before retiring from NASCAR competition at the age of 29~ 

    Thank you all for visiting the blog again!~ Please share this post on social media, and if this is your first time visiting the blog, please click the "follow" button at the top right hand side of this page~ Below are some random NASCAR clips, enjoy them - and until next time, Adios amigos~ 

                                                           Mike Olsen interview~
                                

                                       Kelly Denton basically murders Ken Schrader~
                                

              

                                                      1995 Winston 500~ Big one~    
                                

                                                      Buffet Benny's - Bristol~                                                                   
                                

Rick Wilson #44 STP Pontiac

    Hello again, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog, the fastest growing NASCAR diecast blog in the world!~ With last weeks post, we now have over 75,000 views and counting!~ Many thanks goes out to everyone who stops by the blog, and shares the posts on social media with their friends!~ We couldn't have grown so fast without the support of each and every one of you, and I'm extremely thankful for all of the support you've shown!~

    In today's post, we're going back to the start of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup season, where we'll take a look back on Rick Wilson's time in the famed STP Pontiac, formerly driven for so many years by the King of NASCAR himself, Mr. Richard Petty~ As most of us know, at this point in his career, Petty was running in the back of the pack during most races.. some of that may have been his age, but another large part of it was due to the outdated equipment Petty's team had~ Wilson's time in the car was dubbed a bust, but in my opinion, a large part of the lack of success in the car wasn't due to him, but mainly the car itself~ Anyway, let's get into this one, shall we?~

                             Wilson and Petty with the newly numbered car, at a... rhino farm?~

    After his retirement from the sport following the end of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup season, many in the sports world wondered who was going to be replacing the King of NASCAR in the famous STP Pontiac~ I don't think there was a single one of them who thought he'd pick Rick Wilson, from Bartow, Florida... but to the shock of well, pretty much everyone.. that's exactly what he did~ And being the self praising guy he always will be, he also stated that the #43 would not be on the track anymore, and the car would be renumbered 44~

    Petty was wanting the number retired, but NASCAR said no way~ That's why following this season, he was forced to mark the return of the 43 to the track~ NASCAR stated that teams can hang on to a number for one season, but must use it the following season, or surrender it to NASCAR~ The whole Rick Wilson in the STP thing was weird enough, but the number thing was the icing on the weirdo cake~

    With the driver announcement out of the way, the team headed to Florida for the Daytona 500~ After starting from 14th, Wilson finished 8th in his Gatorade 125 Qualifier, netting him a 15th place starting spot for the 500~ He never was a factor during the race, although he did lead a lap while the leaders were making green flag pit stops~ He eventually was involved in a crash with Bobby Hamilton, who was driving the pink #68 Country Time car.. Racing Champions made a diecast of this car as well, which was in a PVC case~ I believe it was limited to 5,000 pieces~

    With his car totally trashed, Wilson ended up finishing the race in 34th place~ This race was famous for its "Dale & Dale Show" ending, with Dale Jarrett beating out Dale Earnhardt for the victory~ Ned Jarrett was there being annoying, and I didn't like it.. because I was an Earnhardt fan~ I didn't like this 500 at all, because after Wilson went out, I was pulling for Cope, who led 30 laps, but faded at the end, finishing 29th.. then I was pulling for Earnhardt, and boring ol' Dale Jarrett won~ Blah~ One cool thing that happened was that Hut Stricklin finished 4th, driving the #27 McDonald's Ford, for Junior Johnson~

                                                 Wilson on track in the #44 STP Pontiac~

    The series next rolled into Rockingham, North Carolina, for the "GM Goodwrench 500", where Wilson qualified 15th, and Mark Martin won the pole in the #6 Valvoline Ford~ Wilson struggled to make up ground in the race, and ended up finishing in 17th place, three laps off the pace of race winner Rusty Wallace, and the famed #2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac~ Dale Earnhardt was 3rd, followed by Ernie Irvan in the #4 Kodak Film Chevrolet, Alan Kulwicki, and Mark Martin finished out the top 5~




    Following the Rockingham race, Wilson went on a streak of five races (Richmond, Atlanta, Darlington, Bristol, and North Wilkesboro) without cracking the top 20~ His best qualifying effort during that span was an 18th at Richmond, for the "Pontiac Excitement 400"~ After seven races, the team found themselves 30th in the points standings~ The next race on the schedule was the Hanes 500, at Martinsville, Virginia, and Wilson qualified 20th, and finished 17th, tying his season high at the time~

    Rick qualified a season high of 4th for the "Winston 500" @ Talladega, while Dale Earnhardt claimed the pole position~ Wilson never was a factor in the race, and finished 16th, one lap off the pace of race winner, Ernie Irvan, who was driving the #4 Kodak Film Chevrolet, for Wilson's former team, Morgan-McClure Motorsports~ Jimmy Spencer had a heck of a run in the #12 Meineke Mufflers Ford, with a second place finish, followed by Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, and Joe Ruttman finished out the top 5, driving the #20 Fina Lube Ford for Dick Moroso~

                                             Wilson poses in front of the #44 STP Pontiac~

    Rick qualified 20th for the "Save Mart Supermarkets 300K" @ Sonoma, and ended up having his best race of the season, finishing in 8th place, in what would be his only top 10 finish for the team~ The race was won by Geoff Bodine, driving the #15 Motorcraft Ford, followed by Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, and Kyle Petty~ The next race on the schedule was the "Coca-Cola 600" @ Charlotte~   

    Wilson used his momentum from the Sonoma race to qualify the car in 9th place for the race, but he blew the engine seventy laps shy of the checkers, resulting in a 32nd place finish~ He qualified 5th for the "Budweiser 500" @ Dover, a track he had won at in the BGN series~ Although he finished the race 5 laps down, he still managed to post an 11th place finish~ Dale Earnhardt won the race, in the #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet~

    The #44 STP team picked up a 12th place finish in the "Champions Spark Plug 500" @ Pocono, then finished 34th in the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Michigan, due to an oil leak~ Wilson qualified 9th for the "Pepsi 400" @ Daytona, and finished in 11th place~ This race marked the final time that Wilson finished a race on the lead lap for the remainder of the season~

                                               Rick Wilson #44 STP Photograph - Signed~

    Rick qualified 10th for the "Die Hard 500" @ Talladega, but faded away to 23rd by the drop of the checkered flag~ In the final 14 races of the season, he would only crack into the top 20 one time, with a 20th place finish in the "Slick 50 500" @ Phoenix~ A lot of these struggles had to do with the pit crew, and the equipment.. but people were starting to wonder if perhaps Richard Petty made a mistake in his choice of predecessor~

    Wilson had a strong car for the "Bud 500" @ Bristol, qualifying in the 6th position, but was involved in a crash midway through the race, and had to settle for a 28th place finish, in what was easily a top 10, maybe even top 5 car~ Mark Martin went on to win the race, followed by Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, and Rick Mast, who picked up a rare, and well deserved top 5 finish~

    Moving on to the "SplitFire Spark Plug 500" @ Dover, Wilson qualified in the 6th position, and was looking strong early on, but was involved in a crash, when he lost control of the vehicle, and slammed into the wall on the driver's side~ Wilson was injured in the wreck, and would be replace by Jimmy Hensley for the Goody's 500" @ Martinsville~ Hensley finished dead last in the car, following a crash, and Wilson was back the following week to finish out the season~

                                                 Wilson in the cockpit of the #44 STP Pontiac~

    Wilson finished out the season with the lone top 10 finish @ Sonoma, and 1 lap led in the Daytona 500~ He finished the season 28th in the championship points standings, and had an average start of 20.3, and an average finish of 24.0~ He ran three races during the 1997, as well as posting a DNQ @ Texas, and attempted to make two races (Talladega, Daytona) in 1998 for Larry Hedrick, but was unsuccessful in both attempts~ 1998 was also the final time Wilson made an appearance in any of the top 3 NASCAR ranks~

    At the end of the season, Petty replaced Wilson with Wally Dallenbach, who was canned mid-season in favor of John Andretti~ It wouldn't be until Bobby Hamilton drove the car during the 1996 that Petty would get his first win since his retirement as a driver~ Wilson bought up some orange groves, and a farm, and lived in Florida to this day~

    He won the 2010 "Scotts EZ Seed Shootout" @ Bristol, driving the #75 Food Country Chevrolet~
This was the race that Larry Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach got injured in when Person's car collided with Glotzbach's, causing severe injury to both drivers, and ending this type of race for good~ Wilson then drove in a X-1R Pro Cup race, driving the #18 Food Country Chevrolet for Charlie Henderson in the "American Freedom Spectacular 200" @ Bristol, where he started 20th, and finished 19th~ This proved to be the final race of his career, to this point~



    I would have liked to see what would have happened to Rick's career if he had stayed with the Kodak team a few more seasons~ That team was smokin' hot with Ernie Irvan, and Sterling Marlin, and I think they would have been just as hot with Rick in the car, if he wouldn't have left them~ I really liked him when he drove for Food Country, so I always pulled for him throughout his career, and I'm proud to call myself a Rick Wilson fan~

                                             Rick Wilson #44 STP Pontiac - Standard Issue~

                                                                 Click pics to enlarge~

                                     Rick Wilson #44 STP Pontiac - PVC Issue~ 1 of 5,000~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

    Since I have both versions, I went ahead and posted both the standard, and PVC versions of this car~ I also have the 1/24 in both standard, and bank versions, but didn't include them in the post~ As you may have noticed, there are a few differences between the two versions~ The PVC version is lacking the darker red inside the circle around the numbers on the roof, as is also a darker blue than the standard version, as well as having a lighter color of orange~

    The PVC version also has different contingencies when compared to the standard issue~ My version of the standard issue has a misprint on the driver's side front tire, as it was stamped twice, so that's a little added bonus~ The card features Wilson, along with Petty, and the #44 STP Pontiac, at what appears to be a rhino farm~ I'm actually a pretty big fan of this card, because it seems like such an odd place to do a photo shoot~

    I'm giving the Standard version of this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, while the PVC version gets a B+~ I like the darker blue of the PVC version, and the extra contingencies, but the standard issue just looks more like what the car did in real life, so it gets extra bonus points over its PVC counterpart~ I love both versions, and Rick Wilson is awesome in my book!~ Now, let's get on to the bonus car~

                               Butch Miller #75 Roddenbery's Peanut Butter Oldsmobile~

    This is a fantasy car that could have been a reality for the 1992 BGN season, had it not been for a major flub by Food Country USA/Henderson Motorsports owner, Charlie Henderson~ Henderson had a meeting with Roddenbery's about a sponsorship deal with the team, and little did Henderson know, but Mr. Roddenbery himself was the man who showed up for the meeting~

    Charlie rattled off "Roddenbery's?~ What kind of name is that for a food company?~ It sounds like Rottenbery's~ It should be called Rottenbery's"~ It was at that time that Mr. Roddenbery introduced himself, and walked out of the meeting, eventually giving his sponsorship dollars to Steve Grissom's team, and Henderson was forced to continue sponsoring the car out of his own pocket~

    Thank you all for stopping in for this 104th edition of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog!~ Please click the "Follow" button up at the top of the page, on the right hand side, and share this blog post on any social media sites you're a part of~ Each share is greatly appreciated!~ Below are some Rick Wilson clips, enjoy them, and I'll see ya' next time, here on the NASCAR Racing Champions Blog!~ :)

                                    Rick Wilson wins the 2010 Saturday Night Showdown - Bristol~

                                              Wilson/Hamilton crash - 1993 Daytona 500~

                                            Wilson crash - 1993 SplitFire Spark Plug 500~

                                         1989 Pepsi 400 - Multi car crash~ Wilson involved~

Steve Grissom #31 Big Mama Meat Snacks Oldsmobile

    Welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ Today's post is going to be on the #31 Big Mama Meat Snacks Oldsmobile, driven by Steve Grissom during his impressive 1990 BGN season~ This diecast was only produced in promo form, and was never part of Racing Champions' standard issues~

    I don't currently own the car, and it is pretty hard to come by~ A version of the car was "misplaced", and put into the 1990-1992 packaging, for some reason with a Bobby Allison card~ These are also pretty rare, and don't usually come up for sale that often~ A loose version of the car recently came up for bid on Ebay, but a friend of mine was bidding on it, so I didn't compete with him~ That's what got me wanting to do a post on this car, so here it is~

                                            Grissom poses with the car @ Charlotte - 1990~

    Grissom started the 1990 BGN season with a new sponsor, "Big Mama Meat Snacks"~ This would be the only season he ran this sponsorship, but it proved to be one of his best~ I would go as far as to say that it was his best season, even though he won the championship in 1993~ Things looked good in the season opener @ Daytona, with Grissom qualifying 8th for the event, but the good times were short lived, as he was involved in the huge pile up on lap 13, knocking him out of competition, resulting in a 33rd place finish~

    Steve's first decent run in the car came four races later, in the Mountain Dew 400 @ Hickory~ He qualified 15th, but was able to pick up his first top 10 of the season, with an 8th place finish~ His next accomplishment came a couple of races later, in the U-Can-Rent 200 @ Lanier, where he picked up his first top 5 of the season, with a 5th place run~ Chuck Bown led all 200 laps of the event, dominating on his way to the checkered flag, driving the #63 Nescafe Classic Pontiac~ This is about the time Grissom's season started building momentum~

    In the Roses Stores 200 @ South Boston, Grissom qualified 4th, and finished in 3rd place, behind Jeff Burton, and race winner, Chuck Bown~ He qualified 7th for the Pontiac 300 @ Nazareth, and strong all day, leading 99 laps on his way to a 5th place finish~ On to Hickory, for the Granger Select 200, Grissom qualified 4th, before settling for a 7th place finish in the end~ The race was won by Chuck Bown, who had won 3 of the last 4 races~

                                        Grissom on track in the #31 Big Mama Oldsmobile~

    Following his brief success, he was met with a stint of bad finishes in the next three events~ He finished 27th in the Champion 300 @ Charlotte, 21st in the Budweiser 200 @ Dover, and 22nd in the Roses Stores 200 @ Rougemont, and fell from 9th, to 11th in the Series points standings~ Steve then started picking up momentum again, and was well on his way to his first career BGN victory~

    After qualifying 6th for the Firecracker 200 @ Volusia County, Grissom managed to stay up front all race long, and finished in 4th place~ He finished 11th in the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle Beach, and 8th in the True Value Oxford 250 @ Oxford, and then had a hiccup in the Budweiser 300 @ Loudon, where he qualified 29th, and finished 23rd, after battling his way to the lead, where he led for 24 laps~ 78 drivers attempted to make the field for the event, and the race was won by Tommy Ellis, in what was his final BGN victory~




    Grissom qualified 2nd for the Coors 200 @ South Boston, and Jimmy Hensley won the pole for the event, in the #25 Crown/Fast Fare Oldsmobile~ Hensley led the first 17 laps, and was passed by Grissom, who led the next 41 laps, before being passed by Chuck Bown~ Bown led the next 115 laps of the race, before he was passed by Tommy Houston, who went on to win in the #6 Rose's Stores Buick~ Grissom finished in 5th place, and was in 8th place in the Series points standings~

                                            Steve Grissom and the #31 @ Charlotte - 1990~

    The next race on the schedule was the Granger Select 200 @ Dublin, and Grissom made his name in the sport with style, by winning the pole, leading 150 of the 200 laps, and winning the race, picking up the first win of his BGN career~ Chuck Bown was pretty much the only competition of the night, leading 34 laps, and finishing in second place~


    The bad news for the competition was that the Grissom team was just getting started~ The next race was the Kroger 200 @ IRP, and Grissom qualified 17th for the event~ He quickly worked his way to the front, and led for 77 laps, on his way to back to back BGN series victories~ Ernie Irvan finished 2nd, driving the #75 U-Can-Rent Oldsmobile, owned by Charlie Henderson~

    Grissom started 31st for the Jay Johnson 250 @ Bristol, and was able to work his way to the lead, which he held for 6 laps, before fading away to finish in 3rd place~ The race was won by Rick Mast, in the #22 Raven Boats Buick, and this was the first of 3 BGN wins for Mast during the 1990 season~ The 1990 season also marked the final time Mast would win in the series~




                                              Steve Grissom custom Racing Champions card~

    In the Autolite 200 @ Richmond, Grissom started from 4th, and worked his way to the lead, where he stayed for 82 laps, before being passed by Rick Mast for the win~ Michael Waltrip also had a good race in the #30 All-Pro Auto Parts Pontiac, as he led for 78 laps, before finishing in 3rd place~ Grissom then went on to finish 7th in the Ames/Splitfire 200 @ Dover, in a race won by Harry Gant, driving Ed Whitaker's #7 Skoal Buick~

    Steve then had a string of three bad races in a row, and he would fall from 3rd, to as low as 5th in the Series points standings~ He finished 21st @ Martinsville, in the Zerex 150, 32nd in the All Pro 300 @ Charlotte, and 26th in the NE Chevy 250 @ Loudon~ With two races remaining in the season, Grissom was going to make sure to end his time with Big Mama Meat Snacks with a bang~

    He qualified 32nd for the AC-Delco 200 @ Rockingham, but like the true race he was, he blazed his way up to the lead, leading the final four laps of the race, before taking the checkered flag~ Mark Martin dominated the day in the #1 Carolina Ford Dealers Ford, but gambled on old tires following a late caution~ He was quickly gobbled up by Grissom, who had fresh tires, and ended up finishing in 4th place~ This race was also the first official BGN start by a guy named Jeff Gordon~ He crashed out~ :P

   Grissom qualified 4th for the season finale "Winston Classic" @ Martinsville, while Chuck Bown won the pole~ The race was dominated by Kenny Wallace, who was driving the #36 Cox Treated Lumber Pontiac~ He led for 107 laps, but ran out of gas with three laps to go, handing the lead over to Grissom, who led the final 3 laps (his only laps led during the race) on his way to the checkered flag~ He ended the season 3rd in points, with 1 pole, 4 wins, 11 top 5's, and 15 top 10's, having led a career high of 486 laps throughout the year~

                                  Steve Grissom #31 Big Mama Meat Snacks Oldsmobile~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    Even though this diecast is usually pretty poor quality, I'm a big fan of this car~ I really don't understand why Big Mama didn't stay with the team following their success, but I'm guessing it was a financial decision~ I dolled this car up for the post, it's actually pretty ratty looking, even for the early Racing Champions days~

    I'm going to give this car a D+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, because it's flawed all to pieces, pretty much every one of them that I've seen look like rejects~ I do like the car, and would love one for my collection, but I'm going to have to find a decent version before I invest any money into it~ I'm pretty sure from pictures that I've seen that the little pig logo is just a sticker, and it tends to yellow over time, and peel up, which is why I hated cars with sticker logos~

   Another reason for the low score, is this car never came with a card~ I had to custom make the one shown, and I do love that card, I just wish it originally came with the car~ Whenever I get this car, I'm taking it out of the promo package, and getting the card printed for it, and putting it in a 1990 standard issue package~ I just think it will look so much better like that~

                             **Bonus car** DIY Food Country Matchbox Convoy custom set~

    No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, I just posted a Matchbox set on the Racing Champions blog~ I got bored yesterday, and just decided to Photoshop this up, just out of curiosity, and I liked it so much, I just had to share it with y'all here on the blog~ I'm now in the process of having this set custom made, but I'd say it will be a year or so before the finished product arrives~ I'll be sure to post pictures when that time comes~

    I've always loved these old Matchbox Convoy sets, and I always wondered why Bill Elliott's Convoy set came with a truck, instead of a van, or extra car~ I think this set looks amazing, although I got the color a bit off on the car.. it all started out as solid white diecasts, so I had to paint it all, and I'm not the greatest at doing that, so that's just the best I could do~ After I got done, I found the van, and added it into the picture after I was done dolling it up~

    Brad Teague and the Food Country team were a huge part of my childhood, and I'll always be dreaming up little Food Country diecasts, probably until the day I die~ They had such awesome paint schemes back in the day, though I wasn't fond of the white car years~ I love the car hauler from this set!~ It's the coolest looking Matchbox hauler I've ever seen, and I just can't wait until it's a reality~

    Thank you all for once again stopping by the blog here!~ I appreciate the emails that you send, and enjoy helping others learn more about Racing Champions diecasts, as well as finding out things that I never knew about them~ Please click the "follow" button at the top right hand side of this page, and share this post on any social media sites that you're a part of~ Below are some videos from Steve's career, enjoy them, and I'll see ya' next time, here on the NASCAR Racing Champions Blog!~ :)

                                             Finish of the 1990 Kroger 200~ Grissom win~

                                          1990 U-Can-Rent 200 - Lanier~ Grissom footage~

                                   1990 Rose's Stores 200 highlights~ Some Grissom footage~

                                                        
                                             1995 Goody's 250 highlights~ Grissom win~

                                       

Brad Teague #75 U-Can-Rent Oldsmobile

    I don't think there's any doubt that Racing Champions made a TON of NASCAR die-casts~ But I often find myself thinking of the cars they didn't make, that I'd like to have in my collection~ With the magic of Photoshop, I've been able to simulate what these cars would have looked like, and today I'd like to share with you my very first Racing Champions "fantasy car" blog post~ We'll be looking at my favorite driver Brad Teague, and his time in the #75 U-Can-Rent/Food Country Oldsmobile, from the 1990 BGN season~ So as YouTube's Adam the Woo would say.. Join me, shall you?~

    The history of this car is confusing as can be~ The car was driven in parts of the 1990 BGN season by Teague for its first 5 events, then Ernie Irvan in its next 5, and Jimmy Spencer drove the last 2 races it entered~ The sponsorship dissolved before the season ended, and Spencer drove 2 more races towards the end of the season in the #75 car with sole sponsor, Food Country U.S.A.~

    Brad's first race in the car was in the season opening Goody's 300 @ Daytona~ He qualified a very impressive 5th place, but was caught up in the first caution of the day, in what was one of the biggest pile ups I've ever seen in the BGN series~ In total, 23 cars were involved in the wreck, with Teague receiving loads of damage, which ended his day, and resulted in a 31st place finish~

                               The 1990 Goody's 300 crash~ Teague can be seen at the far left~
                                                      Photo is owned by Brian Cleary~

    Teague next drove the car in the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham, and once again qualified the car in the top 5, with a seasons best 4th place starting spot~ However, the car was plagued with issued during the race, with Teague finishing in 24th place, 3 laps off the pace of race winner Dale Earnhardt~

    The team next raced in the Pontiac 200 @ Darlington, where Teague started the race in 7th place~ The car just wasn't up to par during the race, but he still managed to pull out a seasons best 15th place finish~ Harry Gant won the race, driving the #7 Skoal car for legendary BGN car owner Ed Whitaker~

    Long time BGN car owner Charlie Henderson, who was also the owner of the Food Country U.S.A. grocery store chain, was well known to lose his temper when his driver didn't do well in certain races~ You had to make the field at Bristol, you had to not crash the car at Bristol, and you had to run well at events where the sponsor of the car was also sponsoring the race~ If not, you were gonna get canned, without notice~

                                             Custom Brad Teague Racing Champions card~

   I say this because the next event for the team was the U-Can-Rent 200 @ Lanier Speedway~ Brad qualified very poorly, with a 26th place starting position,  and never was able to get a feel for the track during the race~ He did manage to finish in 16th place, albeit 3 laps down to race winner Chuck Bown, who snapped a winless streak dating back to 1986 @ Oxford Plains~ Bown led all 200 laps in the event~

    Teague was likely cussed out by Henderson for his poor showing @ Lanier, and given an ultimatum that he either run very well in the next event, or he was out the door~ He next raced in the Roses Stores 200 @ South Boston, and qualified the car 23rd in the 30 car field~ The car ran poorly the entire race, and Teague only managed to move up 1 spot, finishing in 22nd place, 5 laps down~

Chuck Bown also won this race, leading 71 of the 200 laps~ Henderson responded by immediately firing Teague, who ran 1 more race during the 1990 season, driving the #0 Parkway Gas Oldsmobile in the Granger Select 200 @ Dublin, where he finished in 15th place~

                                                      Ernie Irvan stands beside the #75 car~

    Ernie Irvan then drove the car for 5 events, starting with the Champions 300 @ Charlotte~ He started the race in 39th, and finished in 40th after dealing with wheel bearing problems~ He led for 6 laps in the Budweiser 200 @ Dover before being caught up in a wreck on lap 147 while he was leading, resulting in a 26th place finish~

    Irvan best race in the car came in the Kroger 200 @ IRP~ He started the race in 25th, and although he didn't lead a lap, he crawled his way to a runner up finish~ This would be the highest finish for any driver in the #75 U-Can-Rent car~ Steve Grissom won the race, which was his 2nd career BGN win~ He won his first BGN race the week before @ Dublin Speedway~

    Jimmy Spencer drove the #75 U-Can-Rent car in its final 2 BGN entries~ He led 2 laps in the Ames/Splitfire 200 @ Dover after starting in 26th, but was involved in a crash resulting in a 27th place finish~ His finest moment in the car came in the Zerex 150 @ Martinsville, where he rolled off in the 10th position, and finished in 6th place~ This was also the final race for sponsor "U-Can-Rent", and the team would run the rest of the season with Food Country as the sole sponsor~

                                               Brad Teague #75 U-Can-Rent Oldsmobile~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

                                                               U-Can-Rent Racing hat~

    Well, here she is~ I wish so much that this was real, but it's just an illusion.. dreamed up in my mind, and brought to life by Photoshop, as an image on a blog~ I'm not the worst in the world at Photoshop, but I'm probably one of the worst at making custom cars in real life~ I tend to rip decals, a lot.. and I can't paint worth a darn~ My hands were designed to do physical labor, or type stuff.. they just weren't made to deal with tiny objects, or little paint brushes~ I have the eyes for it, but not the hands~

    Looking at this car makes me so incredibly happy~ It instantly brings me back to my childhood, as I can recall this time period very vividly~ I used to hang out at the Food Country race team shop, and Brad was always there.. I felt like a rock star!~ I was too little to know that he wasn't the best driver out there.. but I was old enough to know he was a race car driver, and I was standing beside him..  he was talking to me... it was some of the greatest memories of my life~

    And it wasn't that Brad wasn't one of the best driver out there.. he just didn't ever have a quality ride in the BGN or Cup series~ Brad is a heck of a driver.. I've witnessed it many times at local tracks, when he's got a good car, he's a beast~ You could put Brad Teague in a decent car right now, and he'd make the field at Bristol, and he'd probably get a top 10 finish~ If you look at the teams he drove for near the end of his career, you'll see that he was getting more out of the cars than anyone else they put in them~

    Although this car is only a "fantasy car" that I made up, it is one of the most beautiful Racing Champions cars I've ever seen~ Take away the bias, and I still feel the same way~ It's an amazing looking race car~ I've always said sweet and simple does it best with NASCAR paint schemes, and this car proves that~ I without any bias, give this car an A+ on the Racing Champions "fantasy car" quality scale~ It truly is a wonderful piece of art, as well as NASCAR BGN history~

    Thank you all for stopping by the blog, whether it's your first time, or you're a long time reader.. it is nice to know someone else out there cares about Racing Champions cars, and old NASCAR history~ Below are some clips of Brad Teague's career.. at least what's on YouTube~  Enjoy!~ :)

    **UPDATE** I finally got a real custom version of the car in the mail today~ Here are the pics of the car, as well as the back of the card~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

                                                                     Back of card~

                                                         The 1990 Goody's 300 crash~

  1990 Kroger 200 featuring Irvan in the #75 U-Can-Rent~

                                  Brad Teague crashes in the 1994 Mountain Dew Southern 500~

                                   1987 Firecracker 400 - Tim Richmond/Brad Teague crash~