Kyle Petty #42 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet (white)

    Hey there!~ Welcome to 2017, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions Blog!~ Today's post was supposed to be posted hours ago, but I've been having problems with my Photoshop the past few days.. it won't let me grab and move objects like it's supposed to do~ Something is wrong with my mouse also, and my favorite coffee cup, that I've had since 2000, died today~ I dropped it, and it went into a bunch of pieces... I almost died~

   I managed to survive through it all though... and even though the mouse and Photoshop didn't want to cooperate, I was at least able to get the stuff I needed done somewhat close to New Years Day~ Today's post is going to be on the #42 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet, driven by Kyle Petty in the 1989 Coca-Cola 600~ Why was he driving a Chevrolet that day?~ Let's have a look at the ol' NASCAR history books, shall we?~

                         The pics for the Chevy version sucked, so these are all Pontiac versions~

   
    Kyle Petty drove the full 1989 season (minus two DNQ's) for former Cup owner, Felix Sabates, with the exception of the Coca-Cola 600~ For that race, Petty brought his #42, along with sponsor, Peak Antifreeze, to Rick Hendricks team~ Some have speculated that this was for the movie "Days of Thunder", but I'm not really sure of the exact reason~ I've tried to find out why, but only read speculations, and never found out for 100% what the reason was~ If you know the answer, let me know in the comment section below~

   The race was held on Sunday, May 28th, 1989, and Alan Kulwicki won the pole for the event, in his #7 Zerex Ford, and Mark Martin was on the outside of row number one, in the #6 Stroh's Light Ford~ Kyle Petty qualified 33rd in the 42 car field, and seven cars failed to make the show, including H.B. Bailey, Delma Cowart, Jim Bown, Phil Barkdoll, and Rodney Combs~

   There were several surprise faces in the race, with Butch Miller making one of his rare Cup appearances in the #51 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet, qualifying 28th~ Two Australian drivers made the field, with Allan Grice qualifying 32nd in the Foster's Lager/Bob Jane T-Marts Pontiac in what would be his final Cup series start, and Terry Byres, who qualified 35th in the #06 Byres Racing Chevrolet~

   Ben Hess qualified 30th in the #40 Hess Racing Oldsmobile, in one of his career high nine starts in 1989~ Some 1989 Racing Champions card backs have Ben's name on them, so a Ben Hess car was at some point supposed to be made... I've often wondered if one or more of them exists?~ I'd love to have one of them~ Every time I drive by a HESS brand gas station, it always make me think of Ben Hess~ Former BGN regular Tracy Leslie also made his Cup series debut in this race, starting 29th in A.J. Foyt's #14 Copenhagen Oldsmobile~

                                  Coach Ditka uses Peak antifreeze, and Chris Farley did too~

    Mark Martin passed Kulwicki for the lead on lap 6, and led the next 53 laps of the race~ During this time, the only driver to drop out of the race was Butch Miller, who dropped out after wheel bearing issues~ Following green flag pit stops, Harry Gant took control of the lead, driving the #33 Skoal Bandit Oldsmobile to the front, and remaining there for the next 49 laps~

   Gant lost the lead when the caution came out for Jimmy Means, when the engine of his #52 Alka-Seltzer Pontiac expired~ Rusty Wallace came out with the lead and led for the next 10 laps, before getting passed by Kulwicki, whose car was just coming into its prime~ During this time, on lap 148, there would be one huge obstacle out of the way, as Harry Gant's engine would blow up, ending his chance at victory lane~ He finished in 40th place~

   Rick Wilson, who had qualified 5th in the #4 Kodak Film Oldsmobile, finally made his way to the front of the pack on lap 165, where he remained for 15 laps, before fading away to finish 35th in the event~  Dale Earnhardt finally found his way to the lead on lap 221, but blew up while leading two laps later, resulting in a 38th place finish~ Jim Sauter, who was driving the #31 Slender You Figure Salons Pontiac, was the next casualty due to a blown engine, and he finished the race in 37th place~

                                                        Kyle being cocky in the fire suit~

   As would be expected in a 600 mile event, several cars were dropping out with blown engines~ Australian Allan Grice was the next to catch the blown engine bug, retiring from the race on lap 294, and finishing in 34th place~ Davey Allison followed him just four laps later, and Morgan Shepherd just five laps following Davey~

   Three laps following Morgan's blow up, Rusty Wallace's motor bit the dust, and he would finish in 31st~ Greg Sacks was involved in a crash on lap 320, and his Crisco Pontiac was done for the day, finishing in 30th place~ During all of these engines being blown up, Alan Kulwicki had been leading the entire time~ But this was a long race, and only the strongest cars will survive, regardless of the strength of the driver~

   I have actually written a blog post about this race already, when I did the Dale Jarrett #29 Hardee's/Ghostbusters II Pontiac, so I hope I'm changing it up a bit, and making it fun for those who have already read that post~ If you haven't, check it out, it's an amazing looking car~ Anyway, back to the race.. Jarrett finished 28th, with you guessed it... a blown engine~ Michael Waltrip was the next to "blow" on lap 333, finishing 27th~

                                          Kyle Petty #42 Peak Antifreeze  Pontiac hero card~

   Our good friend Alan Kulwicki, was the next one to go, blowing up with less than 30 laps remaining, resulting in a 23rd place finish~ Tracy Leslie, who was making his Cup debut, finished in 25th, after retiring from the race due to crank issues~ Ben Hess was running at the end of the race, albeit 12 laps down.. but he still finished in 20th place, which was amazing for him~

   Richard Petty finished in 19th place, followed by Chad Little, driving the #90 Cheerwine/Pugh Oil Co. Ford, owned by Junie Donlavey~ I never knew about this car, until I was doing research for that Dale Jarrett post I mentioned earlier, and it's an awesome looking car~ I may try and make a Photoshop custom of it some day~ Anyway, Kyle ended up finishing in 17th place, 8 laps off of the leader's pace~

   Some other drivers I'd like to mention are Dave Marcis, who hung on till the end to take the flag in 16th place, Derrike Cope, who brought the #10 Purolator Pontiac home in the 12th spot, Rick Mast, who finished 11th in the #66 Banquet Frozen Foods Chevrolet, Neil Bonnett, who led for 53 laps before fading back to 7th place, and Brett Bodine, who drove Bud Moore's #15 Motorcraft Ford to an 8th place finish~

  Darrell Waltrip too the lead from Kulwicki right before the #7 lost its engine, and he never looked back, leading the remaining 80 laps of competition uncontested~ This race was following the infamous 1989 Winston, where Rusty Wallace crashed Darrell hard on the last lap for the win~ The fans despised him, and started cheering for Darrell~ I'm sure this victory was Darrell's crown jewel of the 1989 season, in which he won 6 races~

                                Kyle Petty #42 Peak Antrfreeze Chevrolet - White version~

                                                              Click pics to enlarge~

   Well, this is considered to be one of the "Holy Grails" of Racing Champions 1/64's~ It's a kind of boring car, compared to my personal favorite from Series 1, Morgan Shepherd's #15 Motorcraft Ford.. but it's pretty classy too~ Its colors are sleek, and sharp, but all these things combined, it doesn't resemble the car he drove in the 600 as well as it could have~

   First off, the blue on the front of the car goes back way further on the real car, almost covering the entire hood~ Also, the numbers on the side of the real car were reddish orange, whereas these are white with blue trim~ The real car said "Uniden" on the side, right beside of the numbers, at the bottom corner, whereas this one simply says "Peak" in white with blue trim~

   I had been looking for this car for a while, but never really thinking I'd actually find one~ Currently, there isn't a single one of them on Ebay.. not even in the sold section~ I would have been comfortable buying one for 50 bucks, but I've seen them go for over 100 before~ That's too much for me, and luckily, I got this one for 3 bucks, new in the package, at a flea market in Sevierville, Tn.~ I about died when I saw it, and then I almost did die when the guy said it was 3 bucks~

   I seen another one at a flea market in Bristol once, it wasn't in the package, but they only wanted a dollar for it... and for some stupid reason, I didn't buy it~ I just wasn't thinking at the time, and now some kid probably bought it and threw it in some dumb river somewhere~ Well, I'm talking so much, I'm gonna add the bonus car now, then I'll grade this car below it~

                                   **Bonus car** Diggity Dave #10 Upper 10 Oldsmobile~

   So, as far as the Petty car goes, I'm gonna give it a B- on the Racing Champions quality scale~ If it was just a bit more accurate, it would easily get an A~ It's a bit pricey unless you find them out in the wild, at your local flea markets, or thrift stores, but if you can get one at a decent price, it's definitely worth adding to your collection~

   I hope some of you remember Upper 10 soda~ It was so much better tasting than 7up is now, and Sierra Mist tastes like it has dirt in it... yes, I've ate dirt~ Upper 10 is supposedly still made outside of the U.S., but that doesn't help me out any~ It tasted so crisp, and clean.. I would just love to taste it again before I die~ Maybe one day I'll be in Spain or whatever weird country they sell it in now, and I'll get to drink it again.... Ha!.. No way!~

  When I first came up with the Upper 10 car, I didn't like it.. but then it started to grow on me, now I love it~ It's one of my favorite customs that I've made~ I give it an A-, because the shading on the 10 on the side could have been a little darker~ Other than that, it's an awesome car, made even more awesome by my choice of turning it into an Oldsmobile~ I loved them dang thangs~

   Thanks for stopping by the blog this year!~ I hope you all have a great New Years day, and I'm sorry I'm a day late on this post.. stuff happened~ Please share this post on any social media site you're on, and click the "follow" button at the top of the page, on the right~ You'll get an email the moment I post a new blog~ Have a suggestion for a car or driver, or did I miss anything in this post?~ Leave me a comment down below~ Below here are some videos, but there aren't any videos for this race, so probably some random Kyle Petty videos~ Thanks again for stopping by, and I'll be around soon with a new post~ :)

                             1989 Winston Cup 1~ These are about 20 minutes each, but worth it~

                                                             1989 Winston Cup 2~

                                                              1989 Winston Cup 3~

                                                             1989 Winston Cup 4~

  

Rusty Wallace #27 Kodiak Pontiac

    Welcome back NASCAR fans!~ Today's post is a somewhat special one, as the car I'm gonna be discussing is one that isn't mentioned that often~ I'm talking about the Rusty Wallace #27 "1989 NASCAR Champion" Pontiac, produced by Racing Champions following his only Cup championship~ Although not technically considered "rare" (30,000 were produced), this car can sometimes hardly be found for sale on Ebay, and if it comes up.. it's usually expensive~ I have seen them go for less than a few bucks, when someone who isn't rude sells them~ The only one currently for sale on Ebay is 99 bucks.. which is highly laughable~

    I found a ton of these at a shop in Pigeon Forge one time, and picked up two of them.. one for me, and the other one for my little brother, who was a huge Rusty fan back when we were kids~ A couple months later, I started doing these blogs, and I wanted to go back down and get a double of the car so I could do a post on it~ They literally had more than 100 of them when I was there previously, and they were only $1.25 each.. still in the pack!~ Sadly, when I got there, they were sold out~ I later found them at a booth in the flea market, for 15 bucks a pop~ Obviously, I passed on that "deal"~

    Luckily, a good friend of mine told me how to take the cars out of their packaging without damaging the card backing~ I tried it out today, and it worked like a charm~ Instead of using "Goop Off", which he suggested (I had none), I substituted for lighter fluid~ I let it set there for a few minutes to loosen up the glue, and it came right off~ Then I just glued it back with clear wood glue~ Since this was Rusty's Kodiak car, I'm gonna do the history of that car.. mainly focusing on his 1989 Championship season~ And now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

                                               Rusty is ready for the new season to begin~

    After finishing his first season with car owner Raymond Beadle in 1986 with 2 wins (the first of his career), Rusty Wallace would start the 1987 season with newly acquired sponsor "Kodiak Smokeless Tobacco" adorning the car~ This truly was one of the most beautiful paint schemes in the history of the sport, in my opinion, and although Kodiak would continue to sponsor cars until they were forced out of the sport, the Rusty Wallace, and early Ken Schrader versions were always my favorite~

    Although he had a decent season, with wins in the Budweiser at the Glen @ Watkins Glen, and the Winston Western 500 @ Riverside, as well as winning the pole for the Miller American 400 @ Michigan, Rusty's 1987 was mostly a rehash of his 86 season~ He moved from 6th to 5th in the points, and had 5 more top 5's, but the same amount of wins, and top 10's~ His average finish in 1986 was 12.7, and 12.8 in 1987~ He was about to turn that around though, starting the next season~

                                                 Winning at any cost - The heel change~

    Rusty starting the 1988 season off pretty mildly, but by the Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte, he was back on track, with a runner up finish to Darrell Waltrip~ He won his first race of the season in the Budweiser 400 @ Riverside, leading 43 of the 95 laps~ He won again 2 weeks later, in the Miller High Life 400 @ Michigan, where he led 106 of the races 200 laps, walloping the field~ Only 7 cars were on the lead lap at the conclusion of the race~

    After winning the pole for the Goody's 500 @ Martinsville, and finishing 3rd, Rusty went on a NASCAR rampage, winning the next three races in a row, (Oakwood Homes 500 @ Charlotte, Holly Farms 400 @ North Wilkesboro, and the AC Delco 500 @ Rockingham) and moving up to second place in the Championship points battle~

   Wallace finished 5th in the Checker 500 @ Phoenix, and went on to win in the Atlanta Journal 500 @ Atlanta, in the final race of the season~ But it wasn't enough to stop NASCAR legend Bill Elliott (who also won 6 races during the season) from winning his only Winston Cup Championship~ Wallace finished the season with  2 poles, 6 wins, 19 top 5's, and 23 top 10's~ With an average finish of 7.1, some could argue that this was Rusty's best Cup season~

                                                      The 1989 Championship season~

    Picking up where he left off in 1988, Rusty won the Goodwrench 500 @ Rockingham, in the second race of the 1989 Winston Cup season~ He would be in victory lane again two races later, in the Pontiac Excitement 400 @ Richmond~ Following a trend, he again won two races later,
 this time in the Valleydale Meats 500 @ Bristol, a race that I attended~

    Rusty wouldn't win again until the 18th race of the season, in the Budweiser at the Glen~ He then won the following week, in the Champion Spark Plug 400 @ Michigan~ His win @ Michigan moved him from 4th place in the points standings, to the runner up spot with only 10 races remaining in the season~

    In the Miller High Life 400 @ Richmond, Rusty picked up his last win of the year~ Although he didn't win any more races that season, his rivals would stumble far worse than he did for the remainder of the year~ In the All Pro Auto Parts 500 @ Charlotte, points leader Dale Earnhardt finished dead last following a broken camshaft, while Rusty finished in 8th, and took over the points lead~ He never looked back after that, and eventually became the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion~

                                                    The Racing Champions tribute car~

                                                                 Click to enlarge~

    As you can see in the picture above, this is a really unique packaging design~ It just doesn't even seem like it's legit, but it is~ The little kid behind Rusty is little Stephen Wallace, which just always make me laugh~ I always imagine that after the photo was taken, Stephen slid out of control, for no reason.. crashing into the trophy, and totally ruining it~ :P

    I forgot to mention earlier that when Rusty crashed Darrell Waltrip in the picture above, he was immediately cast as a villain by a majority of the NASCAR community, and Waltrip, who was the current "villain", became an overnight hero to legions of fans who once jeered him~ Rusty later stated that if he'd known what the event was going to do to his fan base, he would have gladly let Darrell win the money~ Even though a lot of the fans eventually forgave Wallace for the event, there were an entire swarm of fans who couldn't stand him~

                                                Rusty vs. Dale~  Whose side were you on?~

    Those fans were known as the Earnhardt Legion.. the black army, if you will~ I happened to have been an Earnhardt fan back then, while my father and brother were both Rusty fans~ We would argue back and forth after races until we were blue in the face.. and we loved it~ I had a friend in school named Richard, and he was a Rusty fan... the same thing would happen to us~ We'd be there arguing, spitting, cussing.. and loving every minute of it~

   When Dale died, and Rusty retired... a whole lot changed~ Many fans decided they would quit watching, and the stands are mostly empty... but I'm still here.. remembering the past, and watching in the present, for the nostalgia of it all~ Remembering all the good times I've had thanks to NASCAR~

    I think that even the fans that didn't like Rusty or Dale either one still had one they wanted to win versus the other one~ It was fun to root for or against them, and sadly there will probably never be another rivalry like these two guys had ever again~ Present day "FRANCECAR" simply won't allow drivers to race each other hard, or have "rivalries" anymore~ Back then, it was a "part of racing", but back then is just that... back then~

                                        Rusty Wallace #27 1989 NASCAR Champion Pontiac~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

                                  **BONUS** Rusty Wallace #27 Kodiak Pontiac Custom~

                                                                  Click pics to enlarge~

     I took the liberty of Photoshopping up the Kodiak version, just as an added bonus to the blog, but I'm only gonna review the original car, and I'll grade both cars at the end~ I must say that I'm impressed with the whole deal on this one~ The packaging is unlike any other I've ever seen by Racing Champions, and the car, as well as the card, are well done, with Rusty clinching a mighty fist of victory, and smiling like there's no tomorrow~

     I'm happy that this car was made, but like I said earlier, it can be pricey if Ebay is your only option~ I'd suggest just waiting it out, and trying to find one for cheaper at a thrift store, or flea market/swap meet~ A lot of the time you can buy them locally on Craigslist, or even on local Facebook auction pages, or yard sale groups~

    It makes me mad that tobacco products can't be sponsors in NASCAR anymore, but yet we can have the Busch beer car, and the Miller Lite car... and the dumb vaping truck that Jennifer Jo Cobb drives... it just makes me angry at the clear bias~ I'm just waiting for Erik Jones to announce his new sponsor for next seasons Cup run is gonna be come Weed dispensary, since heck.. it's "legal" in Colorado, where the team is based~ Why Not?~ But we mustn't have a Smokin' Joe Camel car, or a Winston cigarettes car, or even a Kodiak car.. that's the devil~

   But before I get so mad that I could just spit, I'd just like to say that even though I was a Rusty hater for most of my life, I got sad towards the end, when I knew he was gonna retire soon~ I started pulling for him to win races, and I did the same with Jeff Gordon, whom I also despised his entire career, minus the twilight/Jimmie Johnson years~ I'll miss Rusty Wallace, but I'll always have the memories... We'll always have the memories~ Below are some clips from Rusty's career, and as always.. thanks for stopping by the blog!~ :)

                                                        Highlights from the 1989 season~

                                        Zerex commercial featuring Rusty and Alan Kulwicki~

                                               The 1989 All Star race spinning of Waltrip~

                                             Rusty's final career win~ 2004 Martinsville~

                                                                                  
   

Tommy Ellis #99 Goo Goo Clusters Buick

    Welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog, the only blog dedicated solely to 1/64 scale NASCAR Racing Champions diecasts~ I about feel too embarrassed to do this post, because I wasn't pleased with the outcome of the car.. but I don't have anything else to do, and the pics of the car won't effect the story none~ In today's post, I'm gonna be discussing Tommy Ellis' time in the #99 Goo Goo Clusters Buick.. one of my all time favorite BGN paint schemes~ So let's roll that beautiful bean footage!~

    Known in the racing world as "Terrible" Tommy Ellis for his extremely aggressive driving style, Ellis would dang near beat his car to death in his quest for the top spot~ Before I start talking about his time in the Goo Goo car, I just wanna say that if you were lucky enough to get to see Tommy race in person, you truly got to see racing in its purest form~ Maybe even more so than Dale Earnhardt, you either loved Ellis, or you deeply despised him.. there was NO in between~ And now, on with the Goochy Goo Goo~

                                        Ellis battles Jimmy Hensley (25) and Chuck Bown (63)~

    Tommy's #99 team was owned by John Jackson~ The team picked up sponsorship from Goo Goo Clusters to start the 1989 BGN season, after winning 3 races during the 1988 season in a basically un-sponsored car, and winning the series championship~ Tommy started 11th in the season opening Goody's 300, but was involved in a lap 6 crash, that also involved Patty Moise, and Donnie Allison, who was making his final NASCAR start~ All three drivers were unable to continue the race, resulting in a 39th place finish for Ellis~

    In the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham the following week, the team bounced back, picking up their first top 5 with the Goo Goo car, with a 3rd place finish~ The following week in the Miller Classic @ Martinsville, Ellis led the last 40 laps of the 200 lap event, on his way to his first victory of the season~ This race was dominated by Rick Wilson in the #75 Food Country car, who led the first 160 laps before his engine expired~ He had almost lapped the entire field before it happened~

    The next race was down in good ol' Hickory for the Mountain Dew 400, where Ellis qualified in 9th, and finished runner up to Jimmy Spencer, who was driving the #34 Wayne Paging Buick~ This was the first win of Specer's BGN career~ After this event, Ellis was in 3rd place in the points standings, behind Jack Ingram, and eventual 1989 BGN series champion, Rob Moroso~

                                                     Sometimes, bad stuff happens~

 
    Ellis also finished runner up finish at Nazareth, in the GM Parts 300.. this time to Bobby Hillin Jr., who was driving the #81 Roses Buick~ He followed that up by winning the Busch 200 @ South Boston, leading 116 laps in a dominating performance~ In the Firecracker 200 @ Volusia County, Tommy finished runner up to Rob Moroso, who destroyed the field, leading 186 of the 200 laps~

    He finished runner up to Tommy Houston a few races later, in the Coors 200 @ South Boston~ The following week, the series was back in Hickory, this time for the Pepsi 200~ "Terrible" Tommy led 156 laps in the 200 lap event, once again ripping the field to shreds~ The 24th race of the season was the Commonwealth 200 @ Richmond, and Tommy again finished runner up, this time to Bobby Hamilton, in the #8 Lighting & Fans Oldsmobile~

    After that race, Ellis was leading the points standing by 9 points over Tommy Houston, and eventual season champions Rob Moroso was in 4th place, 94 points behind Ellis~ Tommy ended up finishing in 3rd place in the final points standings, behind Tommy Houston, and Moroso~ He finished the season with  1 pole, 3 wins, 11 top 5's, and 18 top 10's~

                                             Custom Tommy Ellis Racing Champions card~

    Tommy ran his final season with the Goo Goo sponsorship in the 1990 season~ He won the pole in the Miller Classic @ Martinsville for the second year in a row, and while he led 174 of the 200 laps, he finished in 9th place~ He finished 2nd to Tommy Houston in the Mountain Dew 400 @ Hickory in the following event~

    He was crushing the field again in the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle beach, leading every single lap of the race.. except the last one~ Tommy ran out of gas on the last lap of the race, and was beat out by Mark Martin, who was driving the #1 Carolina Ford Dealers car that Jeff Gordon would drive the following season~ I'd say that's gotta haunt you a little bit, if you're Ellis.. perhaps not, but it would me~

   Ellis picked up his final BGN series victory in the Budweiser 300 @ Loudon, in the inaugural BGN series race at the track~ In victory lane, he called the win "the biggest win of my career"~ He won his final career pole in the Ames/Splitfire 200 @ Dover, but was involved in a crash on lap 138 with the #75 U-Can-Rent car of Jimmy Spencer, and the #79 K.R. Rezendes Inc. Oldsmobile of Dave Rezendes, resulting in a 27th place finish~ He finished the season with 3 poles, 1 win, 5 top 5's, and 13 top 10's, and finished 6th in the final points standings~

                                           Tommy Ellis #99 Goo Goo Clusters Buick~

                                                              Click pics to enlarge~

    Well, here's this monstrosity~ Yeah, I did the lazy thing on the top picture again, but only because I didn't like the way the 2nd picture (which I always do first on Photoshop) looked~ The main thing I don't like about it is that dumb white/gray stripe on the side~ I should have just left it off, because he didn't always have that stripe on there.. but I had already saved it before I noticed, and didn't want to start over~

    The stripe ruins the entire car, and so I'm gonna have to give it a D+ on the Racing Champions quality scale.. but only because of my mistake~ If I had done it right, it would have easily been an A+~ I loved watching this car race back then, and I always loved to watch Tommy Ellis race~ After the 1990 BGN season, Ellis started appearing in less BGN races~ He ran in 22 races during his last 4 seasons, with 0 poles, 0 wins, 2 top 5's, and 5 top 10's~

    The reason for his absence was that the sport had grew into something that he didn't enjoy anymore~ He was angry that he couldn't race hard anymore, or risk a penalty by NASCAR~ He complained that NASCAR officials were ruining the races, and he walked away from the sport during his peak, never to return~ 

    Tommy's name is on the back of older Racing Champions cardbacks, so I like to think this is the car they were gonna make~ It would have been so cool to see what they would have done with it~ I haven't seen any prototypes of it, but there may be some~ I'm not sure what happened to cause it not to be issued, yet they leave his name on the packaging~ Thank you all for stopping by the blog, it was fun to look back on Tommy Ellis' time in this car~ Below are some videos of Ellis and other random NASCAR stuff, since there isn't much on him~ NASCAR tries to block him out of history~

                                                         1987 Gatorade 125 Ellis flip~

                                             Cool AAA race @ Milwaukee Mile - 1953~

                                             Even cooler 1960 Southern 500~ *30 mins.*~

                                    Darlington Throwback 1988 Gatorade 200~ *Full race*~

                                                                                                                     
   

Dale Jarrett #29 Hardee's/Ghostbusters II Pontiac

    The year was 1989.. and one of the biggest movies of the year was about to hit the theaters~ That movie was the epic sequel to the 1984 smash hit "Ghostbusters", aptly titled "Ghostbusters II"~ Fast food restaurant Hardee's was running a promotional tie-in with the upcoming movie, and since they were sponsoring Dale Jarrett's Cup ride, decided to stick the Ghostbusters logos on the car for the Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte~

    This particular car only ran in that lone race, so I'm gonna have to fill in some spots with some random bits on the race, etc~ But I did like Hardee's back then.. and Ghostbusters II was one of my favorites as a kid, so I'm sure I can fill the void somehow~ With that out of the way, let's look back on Dale Jarret's running in the 1989 Coca-Cola 600, as well as  the movie that was co-sponsoring his car~

                                              Dale poses with the car before the event~

    Dale Jarrett's 1989 season began with his second year driving the famed #29 Hardee's Pontiac, owned by NASCAR legend, Cale Yarborough~ Hardee's was always involved in promotionals back then it seems.. I can recall getting the Days of Thunder cars there as a kid~ But to my knowledge, this is the first time ever that a car was re-themed with a special paint scheme for a movie~

    The familiar blue and orange paint scheme of the car was replaced with black and white, and the Ghostbusters logo was placed on the hood, as well as on the side panel~ I was always a sucker for any of the Hardee's cars, but this one took the cake~ It made what I considered "one of the most boring drivers in the history of NASCAR" seem pretty dang awesome~

                                                 Jarrett on track in the Ghostbusters car~

    By the time Jarrett started driving for Cale Yarborough, the #29 team seen better days.. and it sure showed on the track, with the car never being much of a threat during Jarrett's tenure with the team, minus a lone race @ Martinsville, where he led 96 laps in the 1989 Goody's 500, before falling off later in the race, finishing in 5th place~

   During qualifying for the race, Jarrett was very slow, and only managed to qualify 28th, in the 42 car field~ Among the drivers who failed to make the field were Jim Bown in the #41 Rose Auto Wrecking Chevrolet, Rodney Combs in the #89 Evinrude Pontiac, Delma Cowart in the #0 Chevrolet, and H.B. Bailey in the #36 Almeda Auto Parts Pontiac~ Alan Kulwicki won the pole in his #7 Zerex Ford, and was dominant all day, leading 138 laps before his engine gave out, knocking him back to a 23rd place finish~

                                           Going for a spin in the Ghostbusters machine~

    Oddly enough, there were two Australian drivers in the race~ Allan Grice qualified 32nd in his own #47 Foster's Lager/Bob Jane T-Marts Pontiac, and he finished 34th (career high), after a blown engine blew him out of the event~ Fellow Aussie Terry Byers also drove his own #06 Byers Racing Chevrolet, and qualified in 35th.. but was able to go the distance, with a 21st place finish~

    Another little piece of "Food Country" trivia.. former Food County drivers Rick Wilson, and Butch Miller were in the event~ Wilson finished 35th after his engine gave out.. he did lead for 15 laps, though.. and Miller went out after only 24 laps, with wheel bearing issues~ He was driving the #51 Fruit of the Loom Chevrolet (lol), owned by Leroy Throop~

                                               Custom Dale Jarrett Racing Champions card~

   This race is also the reason there is a white/blue version of the Kyle Petty #42 Peak Antifreeze series 1 Racing Champions car~ Kyle drove a white/blue #42 Chevrolet in this one event, for Rick Hendrick~  As for Jarrett, his car ran horrible all day long... and with 69 laps remaining in the event, his engine finally let go, causing him to spin out~ He failed to finish the event, and finished in 28th place, in what was his only race in the #29 Ghostbusters II Pontiac~

   The race was eventually won by Darrell Waltrip, who led for 87 laps, and held off Sterling Marlin in the #94 Sunoco car (Sterling's highest finish driving for the Billy Hagan team), and Ken Schrader in the #25 Folgers Chevrolet~ Geoff Bodine, and Bill Elliott rounded out the top 5~ This was, and still is the longest event on the NASCAR circuit, and 12 cars failed to finish the race, due to engine failure~

                                                                      The Movie~

   The Ghostbusters II movie hit the theaters 19 days after the 1989 Coca-Cola 600, and was considered a major success~ The film grossed $215.4 worldwide, and at the time of its release, had the biggest three day opening weekend in history~ That record was broken the following week, by Batman~

   I can remember being a kid, and going to see this movie with my parents~ I was in 1st grade, and I loved the animated series "The Real Ghostbusters" at the time~ So obviously I couldn't wait for the new movie to come out~ I haven't watched it in a while to see how it holds up over time, but I do remember loving it at the time~ As great as it was, it was only the 8th highest grossing film of 1989~ Behind the likes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, and Back to the Future Part II~

  After I finish up this blog post, I might try and check out Ghostbusters II again, just for ol' times sake~ I do like Slimer, and that dang ol' Rick Moranis~ haha~ I'm sad that Harold Ramis is dead now.. and I didn't like the new Ghostbusters movie~ The ghosts in it looked so poorly designed~ I could have worn a sheet and said "WooOOoooOOooo", and that would have been more realistic than their dumb, green, junky, flying ghosts~ Well.. that's my first (and hopefully last) movie review ever here on the blog.. and now, back to the cars~ :)

                                         Dale Jarrett #29 Hardee's/Ghostbusters II Pontiac~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

    Obviously, and sadly, this is a "fantasy" car.. that I created on Photoshop, using the #92 Sears set exclusive Pontiac~ The first picture looks a little dumb, because I just cut out the car in the second picture, and shaped it onto another picture.. (in other words, I was being lazy.. and didn't want to remake the car all over a second time)~

   You can buy a really nice custom version of the Ghostbuster car from the guy that's gonna make my Teague custom~ His Ebay link is here~ It's 60 bucks.. but it's freakin' awesome~ I want one, but I've got others that I have to get made first~ He also has other cool customs in his store~ The packaging design he did on it is amazing~

    I really love this Racing Champions car~ I tried to make a Patty Moise #37 Butter Flavored Crisco car, but it didn't look good, so I'm not gonna do a blog post on it~ Anyway, I made this one today.. and I feel like I redeemed myself from the horrible Moise attempt~ I feel like my version of the car gets a B+ on the Racing Champions quality scale~ It would have been higher, but I can't give myself an A, when I can't even spend enough time to get the first picture done right~ lol~

   I hope y'all enjoy these "fantasy" car posts that I've been doing~ I enjoy creating them on Photoshop, and although I'm not the best.. I can do a good job sometimes~ :P I hate to keep bringing up that these aren't real Racing Champions cars to those of you who already know, but I don't want someone new to the hobby coming here, and thinking these were actually produced~ You can always buy customs, but I like to make it known that these are just pictures~

  Sadly, this race has no footage on the internet, because it's been copyrighted away~ I can't even find footage of the pre-race show~ So I'm gonna leave you with some ol' random NASCAR stuff that I think you may enjoy~ Thanks to everyone who stops by from time to time, and don't forget to spay and neuter stuff.. if you want to~ :)

                                         Buddy Baker breaking the 200 mph barrier~ 1970~

                                                                   1968 Daytona~

                                       Dale Earnhardt (the original) singing "Hard Charger"~

                                                            1994 Pepsi 400 - Finish~

                                  
                                                                             
      

Larry Pearson #16 Chattanooga Chew Buick

    Larry Pearson is the son of NASCAR legend David Pearson, so you can imagine the excitement when it was announced in 1986 that Larry was moving up to the Cup Series for a team owned by his father, and crew chiefed by his brother Ricky~

    The original plan was for David to drive the first few races to get the team going, and then hand it over to Larry, but that never came about, as David was suffering from neck and back pains in the car~

    Larry's first Cup race would come in the 1986 Daytona 500, where he started 23rd, and finished 40th due to engine problems~ He next raced 25 races later in the Oakwood Homes 500 @ Charlotte, where he qualified 22nd, and finished 12th~

    The following season, Pearson ran 4 races, with his best again coming @ Charlotte in the Oakwood Homes 500, where he rolled off 33rd, and finished in 6th, earning him his first career top 10, 1 lap down~ He also managed to lead a lap during the race~

    He would fail to finish in the other 3 races~ (First Union 400 @ North Wilksboro - Rear end, Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte - Crash, Atlanta Journal 500 @ Atlanta - Crash)~ He ran 2 races in 1988, finishing 41st in Charlotte, and 21st in Atlanta~
                                                    Pearson's Buick behind the scenes~

    The 1989 season was the first, and only time that Larry competed in every race~ The team switched from Chevrolet's to Buick's, as Larry competed for Rookie of the Year honors, which he lost to Dick Trickle~

    He finished the season 23rd in points, having collected the final top 10's of his Cup racing career in the Pontiac Excitement 400 @ Richmond (6th), and the Miller High Life 500 @ Pocono (9th)~ Following the end of the season, Pearson lost his Chattanooga Chew sponsorship~

    He ran 19 races during the next 2 seasons, but it was clear that Pearson's Cup days were nearing an end~ His final Cup start came in the Hardee's 500 @ Atlanta, driving for Larry Hedrick's #41 Kellog's Corn Flakes Chevrolet, where he qualified 33rd, and finished 14th~  He attempted to qualify for 2 races (Daytona 500, Brickyard 400) in 1997, driving for Bud Moore, but failed to make the field for either event~

                                             Larry Pearson #16 Chattanooga Chew Buick~

                                                           Click pics to enlarge~

                                                      

    *UPDATE* ***The car you see now was created on Photoshop by me, on July 9th 2016~ So overlook what I said in the post below about it looking like an un-sponsored car~ I fixed that problem~***

     Larry's Racing Champions car basically looks like an un-sponsored car~ This is due to the fact that Racing Champions wasn't allowed to produce cars with alcohol or tobacco related sponsors~ To get around this, they would just produce the cars without the sponsors, or sometimes would use the team name on the car instead, for example, Rusty Wallace's car would say "Penske Racing" on it instead of Miller Genuine Draft~

    Speaking of Wallace, his #27 MGD car was produced by Racing Champions, causing an uproar by many parents, who felt it was wrong to have these cars for sale in the toy stores having beer sponsors on them~

    The car, being an early model Racing Champions Buick, isn't without its flaws~ If you click the pics to make them larger, you can see a lot of cracking in the paint.. this was common in early RC cars, especially with the Buick's and Oldsmobile's~ I've seen where some people order decals and put them on the car, and I must say, they look much nicer~ I still enjoy the car the way it is though~ I've seen some Larry Pearson cars that have his name in cursive, while some have just regular lettering, as this one has~ In all, Pearson ran 37 Cup races with this car~

    If you're not too familiar with Larry's career, you may be feeling a little bad about him, after reading this far.. but don't feel too bad~ Larry had a very successful BGN career that included 2 series Championships (1986,1987), and collected 15 wins, 129 top 10's, and 11 poles in 259 starts during his 16 year career~ His first win came in 1984 in the Bobby Isaac Memorial 200 @ Hickory, and his final win came in the 1995 Carolina Pride/Red Dog 250 @ Myrtle Beach~ Larry made his final BGN start in 1999's Textilease Medique 300 @ South Boston~

In 2010, I was at the Bristol race track watching one of my all time favorite drivers, Rick Wilson, win a Legends race~ With 5 laps to go, Pearson spun and hit the wall in turn 2, as he was sliding down the track, he was t-boned by Charlie Glotzbach in the drivers side at full speed~ Pearson was knocked uncontentious, and many feared the worst for him~

     The red flag was immediately displayed, and Pearson was cut out of the car and flown to  Bristol Regional Medical Center~ He suffered a fractured pelvis, fractured right hand, and a compound fracture to his left ankle which required surgery to repair~ Two days later, he was released from the Bristol hospital, and transported to the Carolina's Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition~ Below are a few videos from that race and from Pearson's career~ Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by~

                                        2010 Scott's Bristol Legends Showdown (full race)~

                                                     1991 Winston 500 Pearson crash~

                                                  1995 BGN Homestead Pearson crash~

                                                        Clip of 2010 Legends crash~