This is a blog about NASCAR Racing Champions 1/64 scale die-cast cars, along with the history of the cars and drivers~ Most of the posts are based on the Winston Cup, and Busch Grand National era~ To contact the blog owner, email me at: buttermilkjug@yahoo.com
Today on the blog, I'm gonna be looking at Mike Wallace's time driving for Dick Moroso in the #20 Daily's 1st Ade Sports Drinks Oldsmobile~ The car was driven by several drivers, but Racing Champions only made this Mike Wallace version~ I would have loved it if they made a Spencer version, but this is what we got~ Let's have a look at what we've got~
This car kinda has a bit of a sad story attached to it~ This was the team that Rob Moroso helped build with his father Dick~ Following his tragic passing in 1990, Dick decided to continue what they had started, and during the 1992 season, picked up sponsorship from Daily's 1st Ade Sports Drink~ The team attempted to qualify for the 1992 Daytona 500, but failed to do so~ They did manage to qualify for the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, where they started 35th and finished 33rd, with Mike Wallace behind the wheel~
Jimmy Spencer driving the car in 1992~
The remainder of the 1992 season was spent in the BGN division, where the team ran 30 races with drivers Jeff Fuller, Mike Wallace, and Jimmy Spencer~ Jeff Fuller drover the car @ Rockingham in his BGN debut, where he qualified 27th and finished 26th, several laps down~ Jimmy Spencer then drove the car for 17 races, with wins in the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle Beach, and the Texas Pete 300 @ Rougemont~ Mike Wallace then ran the car for 12 races, his best coming @ Martinsville, where he finished 10th (his only top 10 during those races)~
Mike Wallace #20 Daily's 1st Ade Sports Drink Oldsmobile~
Click pics to enlarge~
Having this car in your Racing Champions collection is a must, in my opinion, as it's one of the best looking cars they made~ It may be a bit harder to find than some of the others, but it's well worth the hunt~ Don't enjoy hunting?~ Don't worry... that's what Ebay's for~
I myself love the hunt, the thrill of going out there, looking for your favorite cars, not knowing when or where you'll find them~ The red and black color scheme on this car really set it on another level~ It's a shame it only ran 1 season in BGN~ Following the 92 season, Moroso would switch sponsorship to Fina Lube, with Randy Lajoie in the drivers seat~
A few more Racing Champions side notes, following the 1992 Daytona in which this car failed to qualify, Racing Champions ran a promotion for the race and gave out a 3-car set of the top 3 finishers, Davey Allison, Morgan Shepherd, and Geoff Bodine, in a blister pack~
There are some packs that came with errors that had Bodine listed in second, but in the same order on the box~ The package is considered rare today, but can still be found in some novelty shops~ Richard Petty ran a promotion where he ran a diecast car of each race he ran in the 92 season, including the Daytona 500~
Dick Moroso died of brain cancer in 1998, at the age of 59, although a huge piece of him died along with his son, Rob in 1990~ You can only imagine the sadness he had to feel every time he entered the race track, every time he saw that #20 Oldsmobile~ I wasn't able to find either of the 2 wins this car had, but I did find the 1992 Goody's 300, where Mike started 38th and finished 28th~ Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by the Racing Champions blog~
Hello, and welcome to another edition of the NASCAR Racing Champions 1/64 diecast blog~ Your one stop blog for 80's - 90's NASCAR history, as well as Racing Champions 1/64 diecast reviews~ In today's post, we're gonna be going back to 1995, and looking at Bill Elliott's time in the #94 McDonald's/Batman Forever Thunderbird, or as it was so aptly titled the "Thunderbat"~
This paint scheme ran in three races during the 1995 Winston Cup season, and was an instant favorite with the fans of the movie, as well as the NASCAR community~ I was a big fan of the car, as well as the Batman franchise (though I leaned more towards the earlier stuff), so this car was a must have for my collection as a child, and is still cherished all these years later, though I had to buy another one because I damaged my cars as a kid~ Without further adieu, I give you Bill Elliott's Batman Forever Ford Thunderbat~
Bill poses for a promo shoot with Batman~
The new Batman Forever movie was highly anticipated amongst the many legions of diehard Batman fans, as well as highly promoted by the movie company~ As part of a tie-in with McDonald's (Bill's sponsor at the time), it was decided that Elliott would drive the "McDonald's Batman Forever" car in three races during the 1995 season, to help promote the upcoming film~ This was the second time in NASCAR history that a car had been used to promote a movie, with the first being Dale Jarrett's Hardee's/Ghostbusters II Pontiac in 1989~
Bill's first race in the car came under the lights, in the Coca-Cola 600 @ Charlotte~ He qualified the car in 19th, but he was involved in a solo crash on lap 135, which ended his day, and resulted in a disappointing 39th place finish~ The race was won by Bobby Labonte, and his brother Terry finished runner up~ Michael Waltrip had a surprisingly strong run, leading for nine laps, while finishing in 3rd place~
Elliott and Batman getting friendly with each other~
Elliott next drove the car in the UAW-GM Teamwork 500 @ Pocono, and didn't have a very good qualifying session~ He would start the race in 25th, but was confident he could move to the front during the race~ He was able to move to the front, but never led during the race, and settled for a nice 6th place finish~
The race was won by Texas Terry Labonte, and I about cried~ I was pulling for Ted Musgrave, who led for 6 laps, but ended up finishing runner up to Labonte~ Ken Schrader, who won the pole for the event, led for 18 laps and finished in 3rd place~ Sterling Marlin came home 4th in the Kodak Chevrolet, and Hut Stricklin finished 5th, giving him back to back top 5 finishes, the only time in his career he ever accomplished the feat~
Bill on track in the Batman Forever Thunderbat~
Bill's final race in the Thunderbat came in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 @ Michigan~ He qualified miserably, and would start the race from 34th place~ He was able to climb twenty positions during the race, to finish in 14th spot, but was never able to lead a lap in the Batmobile~ I wish he could have ended it with a victory, but it just wasn't meant to happen~
Bobby Labonte again won the race, while Jeff Gordon, who led a race high 80 laps, finished in the runner up spot~ Rusty Wallace came home 3rd in the Miller Genuine Draft Ford, and John Andretti brought amazingly brought the #37 Kmart/Little Caesars Ford to the house in 4th place~ Morgan Shepherd, driving the #21 Citgo Ford rounded out the top 5, with his 5th place finish~
Bill pondering what he'd look like in Robin's tights~ :P
Though his time was up in the Thunderbat, he still had the rest of the season to run in the #94 McDonald's Ford~ He finished the season with 0 wins, 2 poles (Pocono and Phoenix), 4 top 5's, and 11 top 10's, while having led 123 laps, and finishing 8th in the final points standings~ Following this season, Elliott would continue a winless streak that wouldn't end until the 2001 Pennzoil Freedom 400 @ Homestead~
Jeff Gordon ended up winning the 1995 Winston Cup Championship, beating out runner up Dale Earnhardt by 34 points~ Sterling Marlin was 3rd, 253 back from Gordon, with Mark Martin finishing 4th, 294 out of first~ Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 5 in 5th, 374 points behind Gordon~ A couple of surprises were Morgan Shephard, who finished 11 in the final standings, 996 back.. and Ted Musgrave, who finished in 7th place, 665 behind the Champion, Gordon~
Bill Elliott #94 McDonald's/Batman Forever Thunderbat~
Click pics to enlarge~
Every detail is here in this wonderful Racing Champions replica, down to the smallest of secondary sponsors~ It's cool to see Purolator on any car, for me anyway~ The clear windshield, letting you see into the cockpit of the car, seems to be a first for Racing Champions, as far as I can recall.. lemme know if I'm wrong on that~ As this was a themed car, and not one he drove as a primary for a full season, I am gonna keep this post kinda short, and get more into his racing background and history during an upcoming post using a primary car~
If you've been collecting Racing Champions for a while, you'll know that there are so many different Bill Elliott cars out there.. it's unreal almost~ This was always one of my favorites that he drove~ It was such a big deal when he ran this car for the first time under the lights at Charlotte, and it's a shame the race had to end the way it did for him~ It was kinda sad when he went winless for so long, but it sure felt great to watch him get some wins again in his twilight years in NASCAR~ Below are some videos of the Batman car, as well as some random Elliott clips~ Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by~ Please share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site~ :)
Funny Bill Elliott commercial~
Batman diecast on Lazy Susan~
The Batman Forever trailer~
1995 Coca-Cola 600 *full race* (debut of Batman car)~
Before writing this post, I was under the impression that Jim Sauter was retired, and living somewhere in Wisconsin~ Sadly, he passed away last Halloween, following a brief illness~ He was 71~ His Cup career consisted of 76 races during the span of 16 years, where he tallied 0 wins, 0 poles, and 4 top 10's~ He also ran 4 BGN races from 1989-2002, with 0 wins, 0 poles, and 0 top 10's~
Sauter started racing modifieds in 1964 @ Raceway Park in Savage, Minnesota, moving up to the late models in 1965~ He moved to Wisconsin, where his career took off after winning the North Star 500 @ the Minnesota State Fair in Dave Marcis's Chevelle~ Sauter later commented about the race "The funny thing about that race, was the fact that we had a barn full of
various brands of tires that we wanted to use up, and ended up with
Goodyear on the outside and Firestone on the inside for no other reason
than that~ Everyone thought it must be the hot tip~"
Marcis called on Sauter again in 1978, asking him to run his car in the ARCA 200 race, where Sauter battled with Bruce Hill for the win on the last lap~ They crashed, with Hill ending up against the wall, while Sauter went on to win~ His first Cup race came in the 1980 National 500 @ Charlotte, where he started 31st, and finished 41st~ Sauter won back to back ARTGO Challenge Series Championships in 1981 and 1982, along with winning the 1983 All American 400~ To help pay the bills, Sauter did Goodyear tire tests, along with Marcis~
Sauter battles it out on the track with Rusty Wallace~
His best Cup season came in 1989, where he had 17 starts, with 2 top 10's, as well as leading 8 laps @ Rockingham~ I had the privileged of meeting Jim in what would turn out to be his final Cup race, the 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500 @ Bristol~ His last BGN start came in the 2002 GNC Live Well 250 in Wisconsin, at the age of 59, driving for Richard Childress in the #29 Advance/Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, he started an impressive 10th, but finished 29th due to brake issues~
Also competing in the race, were his son's Tim, Jay and Johnny~ His final ride in a top tier NASCAR event came in the 2004 Black Cat Fireworks 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race held @ Milwaukee~ Driving the #43 Curb Records Chevrolet, fielded by Cary Agajanian, Sauter qualified 22nd, and clawed his way up to finish in 13th~
Jim Sauter #89 Evinrude Outboard Motors Pontiac~
Click pics to enlarge~
I chose to review this car today in part due to my previous post, where I had mentioned that I loved this color on a race car, and the pink and white added to the blue make it that much better~ The crisp white stripe along the bottom gives the car added eye appeal~ Also, I just really liked the body styles of the Pontiac's that Racing Champions was making at the time~ I was always amazed at the amount of drivers they would make die-casts of, with Greg Trammell's #18 Melling car being the most shocking, in my opinion~
Jim's sons Tim, Jay, and Johnny have followed his footsteps by competing in the NASCAR circuit, while his son Jim Jr. has raced in regional events, along with his grandson Travis~ In all, at the time of his death, Sauter had 12 children, along with 51 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren~
His son Johnny's lone 2014 win came @ Michigan, where he mentioned his father, saying "I'm just going to relish in this win because this has been a tough,
tough race track for me throughout my career~ My Dad
always said, 'That place is easy~' But, I never felt that way~ Until
today, I mean when you have a truck like this -- it was just awesome~"
Jim Sauter, like J.D. McDuffie was a true racer, and hard working gentleman, something the NASCAR world hasn't seen in quite some time~ Alan Kulwicki was the last to have true fame as an independent, but drivers like Sauter and Morgan Shepherd helped keep the dream of being a common man in racing alive~ Below are a few videos from Jim's career~ Enjoy~
**Bonus Car** Jim's #89 Handy Snacks Ford from 1993~ Custom~
