1992 Bud 500 Bristol Ford

    Welcome back NASCAR diecast fans~ In today's post, I'm going to be looking at the 1992 Bud 500 Bristol event car, that was included in the 1992 event car series~ I was at this event in person, and I must say, I was a bit shocked to see the lack of photos from this race~ I couldn't even find a shot from victory lane~ Not one single picture~

    At any rate, this was an amazing race, and it took out some championship contenders to top it all off~ I was always super excited whenever the race would come to town, since it was so close to my house... and this race didn't disappoint in the end~ So let's look back on that wild August night, and see what the race had to offer, and as always with Bristol, it had plenty to offer~

                                                        The race program for the event~

    Before I start talking about the race, I just want to point out that Bill Elliott (posted above) won the previous night race at Bristol, and that's why I think this event car is a Ford~ Not 100% on that, but it makes sense~ With that out of the way.. Ernie Irvan won the pole for the event, driving the #4 Kodak Film Chevrolet~ The team was based out of nearby Abingdon, Virginia, and was always a crowd favorite~

   Alongside Ernie on the front row was fellow short track ace, Ricky Rudd, piloting the #5 Tide ride for car owner Rick Hendrick~ The remainder of the top 5 were Brett Bodine, in the #26 Quaker State Ford, Mark Martin, in the #6 Valvoline Ford, and Alan Kulwicki, driving his self-owned #7 Hooters Ford~ Mike Potter was the only driver who failed to make the field, in Steve Balogh's #77 Kenova Construction Buick~

   This was to be the first Cup race ran at Bristol with the newly converted concrete racing surface~ Up until this, the racing surface was asphalt, and people were had mixed emotions about the conversion to concrete~ I for one didn't care, as long as the racing was still good... and for many years to come, it was~ That would change in the mid 2000's, but that's another story~

                                                            The battle at Bristol begins~

    As you can see in the picture above, Dave Marcis was moonlighting this race for former Cup team owner, Larry Hedrick, in the #41 Corn Flakes Chevrolet~ Marcis would drive this car (instead of his more familiar, self-owned #71) in seven races during the 1992 season~ Dave wound up hitting the wall 103 laps into the race, knocking himself out of competition, and finishing in last place~

   Ernie Irvan had a lightning fast car, and was probably going to win the race, but on the 8th lap of the race, he spun himself into a frenzy, and smacked the wall~ He was able to continue after repairs, but ended the race 215 laps down, in 28th place~ I remember being kind of heartbroken when he crashed, because I was really hoping he would be there all race long, at least having a shot to get a win~

   On lap 21, Sterling Marlin got into Dale Jarrett, which caused them crash~ Morgan Shepherd was trying to avoid the crash, and clipped Kyle Petty's car, causing Petty to crash~ All three cars were able to continue, but a caution was thrown~ Following the restart, the race would remain green until the Marcis crash, which happened on lap 103~ Terry Labonte's #94 Sunoco Oldsmobile was the next to fall victim to Bristol, as his car suffered a blown engine on lap 125, resulting in a 31st place finish~

                                               Alan Kulwicki battles with Michael Waltrip~

   1992 Championship contender Davey Allison was involved in a crash on lap 225, involving Sterling Marlin~ He eventually got back on the track and ran a few more laps, but finished in 30th place, putting a huge dent in his championship hopes~

   Rick Mast was involved in a crash on lap 286, which took him out of competition, and he finished in the 29th position~ Harry Gant, who had led earlier for 35 laps, was also involved in a crash, ending his day on lap 349, resulting in a 26th place finish~ I was sad when Gant crashed, because he really had a shot at the win, and always ran well at Bristol~ I loved watching him run up against the wall the way he did~

   Mark Martin, who had led 23 laps in the race, was caught up in a crash involving Alan Kulwicki, immediately following the Gant crash~ Martin finished the day 115 laps down, in 25th place~ By this point, Ricky Rudd had regained the lead in the #5 Tide Chevrolet~ Rudd ended up leading 139 laps during the event, but he had a hard chargin' Darrell Waltrip right behind him, in a super fast #17 Western Auto Chevrolet~

                                                          He did it for us one more time!~

    If you can't notice, I Photoshopped the heck out of this picture, to make it appear that Darrell just won at Bristol, when in fact, this is from his Mountain Dew Southern 500 win the week after the Bristol win~ As I said earlier, it's impossible to find a picture of Darrell in victory lane from this race~ I think it has something to do with the fact that this was from when the track was "Bristol International Raceway", and was owned by the Carriers~ It may be some kind of copyright thing preventing anyone from uploading the photos to the internet~ So I just invented this picture for the post~

   Waltrip ended up leading 247 of the 500 laps during the event, on the way to his 12th and final win at the historic short track~ He would also win the following week, in the Mountain Dew Southern 500, which sadly turned out to be the final win of his career~ He didn't quit winning because he was old, in my opinion.. he was just in junky self-owned equipment~ If he would have stayed with Hendrick, I think he would have had 100 wins during his decorated career, if not more~

   Dale Earnhardt finished runner-up in the race, followed by Ken Schrader's #25 Kodiak Chevrolet, Kyle Petty's #42 Mello Yello Pontiac, and Alan Kulwicki finished out the top 5, in his #7 Hooters Ford~ Jimmy Hensley had a great run in the #66 TropArtic Ford, with a 12th place showing, and Brett Bodine led for 35 laps in the Quaker State Ford, and finished in 9th place~ Derrike Cope finished 12th in the #10 Purolator Chevrolet~

                                                     1992 Bud 500 Bristol Ford event car~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

                                                  Back of the Racing Champions card~

   Some of these 1992 track/event series cars can be rather plain, but this one is pretty nice looking~ I'm always a fan of red/black paint schemes, and the added blue and white stripes around the car are also a nice touch~ I loved these older Ford body styles that Racing Champions did~ They looked so funny compared to the other models, especially beside of a Pontiac.. they dwarfed the Pontiacs~

   I enjoyed watching Darrell win this race... if Ernie couldn't win it, the sentimental thought of Darrell winning his 12th Bristol race definitely tickled my fancy~ I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but Darrell Waltrip came into a Pizza Hut here in Bristol one day when the races were in town, and he sat down and ate pizza with me~ He was a real cool guy in person, and he'll pretty much talk to anyone.. hence the "Jaws" moniker~

   Back to this car.. I'm gonna have to give this one an A-, due to a few points being taken off for the card.. it's just sort of boring~ I do enjoy the back of the card, but the front is dull compared to others from this series of cars~ It is a nice car, and I've always wondered why I've never seen a spring race version of this car~ I've seen them before, but never Racing Champions~ I wish there was a way to find out if one was made.. but the best you can do is just keep lookin' around... I've found several cars that I never knew existed, and it's a pretty cool feeling when it happens~

                **Bonus Car** Kyle Petty #44 Hot Wheels Oldsmobile retro/fantasy custom~

   The bonus car for this post is this Kyle Petty #44 Hot Wheels Oldsmobile~ Kyle never drove this theme, and never drove an Oldsmobile... I just thought it looked cool~ I used Sterling Marlin's #44 Piedmont Airlines Oldsmobile to make this fantasy car, and I give it an A- as well on the Racing Champions quality scale... it's a pretty cool lookin' car, with just a minor flaw or two~

   Thanks for checking this post out, and stopping by the blog again!~ If you're a fan of this blog, please share this post on any social media sites you may associate with, and click the "follow" button on the top right of this page to stay updated on new postings~

   Below are some clips from the 1992 Bud 500, along with some from other Bud 500's, and the full version of the 1992 race, commercial free, for those whom are highly dedicated to 1992 NASCAR~ The next blog post I do will be on New Years Day, and I'm gonna take a small break after that, for a couple of weeks maybe~ I lied last time, so who knows~ :P

                                                          1992 Bud 500 Review~  22 mins~

                                                       1991 Bud 500 Finish~ 10 mins~

                                         
                                                          Pole sitter problems~ 8 mins~

                                                       1992 Bud 500 full race~ 3 hours~

  

   
      

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~

Ernie Irvan #36 Skittles Wildberry Pontiac

    During the early 1990's, Ernie Irvan had transformed himself into a legitimate championship contender~ That would all change on August 20th 1994, when he was involved in a horrible accident during practice for the GM Goodwrench 400 @ Michigan~ Irvan was running practice laps when his right front tire went out, sending Irvan's car into the turn two wall at over 170 mph~ Emergency workers frantically worked to extricate Ernie from the car, and he was airlifted to Saint Joseph's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan~

    Diagnosed with critical brain and lung injuries, Irvan was given only a 10% chance to make it through the night~ Ernie clung to life, and by early September, he was listed in "fair" condition, and was removed from ventilator support~ A few weeks later, he was transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation~ A few weeks after the transfer, Ernie appeared and addressed fans at the Charlotte Motor Speedway before the start of the UAW-GM 500~

    On September 16th 1995, Irvan was clear for competition by NASCAR~ His first attempt at qualifying came in a CTS race @ Martinsville, but qualifying was rained out, and the field was set by points standings~  The following weekend at North Wilksboro,  Irvan qualified his truck on the front row~ Six laps into the race, Irvan passed pole sitter Mike Skinner for the lead~

    He lead another 23 laps before mechanical problems sidelined him~  On October 1st @ North Wilksboro, Irvan made his return to the Cup Series~ Since Dale Jarrett had taken over the seat of the #28 car, Ernie instead ran the #88, also sponsored by Texaco~ After starting 7th, Irvan quickly moved up and took the lead on lap 125~ He led 31 laps, and finished in 6th~

                                                       Irvan crashing the Wildberry car~

    Irvan was back in the #28 for the start of the 1996 season, and Jarrett, as his teammate, piloted the #88 ride~ The season started off well, with Irvan qualifying on the front row of the Daytona 500, along side Dale Earnhardt~ During Speedweeks, Irvan captured his first victory since the Michigan crash, winning the 125 mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500~

    Irvan followed that up by winning the pole for the spring race at Talladega, and scored victories @ New Hampshire and Richmond~ Irvan's final Cup victory was an emotional one, coming @ Michigan, the track that nearly cost him his life 3 years earlier~ He finished 14th in the points standings, but was released at the end of the season~

    For the 1998 season, Irvan teamed up with MB2 Motorsports to drive the #36 Skittles Pontiac~ During the year he scored 11 top 10's, and earned 3 poles, despite missing the final 3 races while recovering from injuries sustained from a crash @ Talladega in October~ He finished the season winless, and 19th in the points standings~

    His son, Jared, was born on February 9th 1998~ The 1999 season saw a sponsor change for Irvan, with M&M's now on board~ Exactly 5 years after his near fatal accident, at the same track, Irvan crashed his own #84 Federated Auro Parts Pontiac in a practice session for the BGN race~

    He was again airlifted from the track, and diagnosed with a mild head injury, and a bruised lung~ Two weeks later, on September 3rd, 1999, Irvan, surrounded by his wife and two children, tearfully announced his retirement from driving in a press conference @ Darlington~ The reasoning for the retirement was to prevent future accidents, and that he had a family to take care of~

                                              Ernie Irvan #36 Skittles Wildberry Pontiac~

                                                            Click pics to enlarge~

               

    As a Racing Champions fan, I've got a few problems with this car~ I'm more of a fan of the early RC cars, the "cruder" ones~ Although the car is very nice looking, as far as the paint goes.. I'm a little upset with the way the tires look, and the window net is not appealing, imo~ These newer RC cars look a little strange sitting beside the older versions~ I do however love the pink car, and pretty much any pink car ever made~ I remember Patty Moise ran a pink car in the Busch Series back when I was young, and I got a piece of the sheet metal off her car after a Bristol race once~ It has since been lost, sadly~

    The card isn't that appealing either~ Gone are the days of having the drivers face on the card, as well as having the driver info and autograph on the back of the card~ These cars are also much lighter than the earlier versions of Racing Champions~ All in all though, it's a nice looking car, probably one of the best paint schemes Irvan ever had~ Much better than the original red Skittles car~

    In March of 2000, Ernie's house caught on fire, destroying all of his trophies~ NASCAR presented him with replicas of the lost trophies~ He now crew chiefs for his son Jared~ Irvan ended his Cup career with 15 wins, 124 top 10's, and 22 poles during 12 years, and 313 races~ I purposely didn't get into the beginning of his career, due to the fact that I still have some more Irvan cars to review~ If you would like to contact me, you can do so by email @ buttermilkjug@yahoo.com~ Below are some videos on his career~ Enjoy, and as always, thanks for stopping by~

                                                      1994 GM Goodwrench 400 Intro~

                                                         All of Ernie's Cup wins~

                                                         1991 Diehard 500 apology~

                                                1996 UAW-GM Quality 500 Hard Crash~

                                                    TNT Pre-race segment on Irvan~