Dave Marcis #30 Dodge Daytona

    Welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions blog~ It's been quite some time since I last made a post, but I guess that'll happen from time to time~ I haven't had a chance to sit down and get a post done in so long that I failed to get a post up for the two year anniversary of the blog, which was on June 27th~ On that day, I made my first post on the 1991 Daytona 400 Support Our Troops Set, and followed that one up the same day with Stanley Smith's #49 Ameritron Batteries Chevrolet~

    In the two years since I started the blog, I've tallied up 116 total posts, and the blog has received 96,832 page views~ It makes me happy to think that I've done something that helps give these ol' racers a little respect and honor~ We saw some of the best racing in the history of the sport, and some of the biggest personalities in sports history, and I like keeping that memory alive and well for future generations of race fans, as well as us ol' Grand National/Winston Cup fans~

    When I first started the blog, I wanted my first post to be on Dave Marcis' #71 Big Apple Markets Chevrolet, but I didn't have one yet, and couldn't find one without flaws, so I moved on to other posts, and never did the Big Apple post, even after I found a semi-flawless version~ So I figured I'd do a Marcis post for this special two year anniversary post, except I chose his #30 Dodge Daytona from the 1992 Collector's Series Dodge Daytona set~

                                     Marcis grins for the camera in the #30 Dodge Daytona~

    Dave's NASCAR career began in 1968, where he ran 10 races for Larry Wehrs in the #30 Chevrolet, picking up a couple of top 10 finishes along the way~ Marcis started the 1969 season with Wehrs, but the team was sold to construction tycoon Milt Lunda following the "Alabama 200" @ Montgomery, which was their first race of the season~ The team ran Chevrolets for the next two events, but made the swap to Dodge for the "Carolina 500" @ Rockingham, and remained with Dodge for the remainder of the season~

    Following the swap to Dodge, Marcis instantly started qualifying better - with a 4th place starting position for the "Cracker 200" @ Augusta Speedway~ He didn't last long in the race however, running only 27 laps before the engine gave out, resulting in a 23rd place finish in the 25 car field.. and his earnings for the race is listed as 0 dollars~ Dave improved the following week for the "Southeastern 500" @ Bristol International Raceway, qualifying and finishing in 6th place, for his first career top 10 in a Dodge~ He followed that up with another 6th place finish one race later in the "Atlanta 500"~

    Marcis qualified 3rd for the "Hickory 250", and smoothly came home in 4th place, with a perfectly intact race car~ The race was won by the legendary Bobby Isaac in the famed #71 K&K Insurance Dodge - a team Marcis would find himself driving for in just a few seasons, which would net him 4 of his 5 career Cup wins~ Dave qualified 3rd for the "Tidewater 375" @ Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., and finished in the same spot~ The race was won by pole sitter David Pearson, and the #17 Holman-Moody Ford team~

                                                      A #30 Marcis car restored in 1978~

     Throughout the next few races, Marcis would qualify well, but had two more blown engines, and an ignition problem that ruined his chances at being competitive during race conditions~ In the "Kingsport 250" @ Kingsport Tn., Marcis nearly put the car on the pole, but was beat out by Bobby Isaac, with Marcis on the outside pole~ Richard Petty went on to win the race, with independent driver Big John Sears picking up one of two career runner up finishes, a career best~ Marcis had a flywheel go bad, and finished in 14th place, with race winnings of 240 bucks~

     Marcis qualified 10th for the "Firecracker 400" @ Daytona, and brought the #30 Lunda Construction Dodge Daytona home in 6th place~ LeeRoy Yarbrough went on to win the race in Junior Johnson's #98 Torino Talladega~ Dave started 8th in the "Northern 300" @ Trenton Speedway in New Jersey, and again finished in the 6th position~ David Pearson won the race, and eventually the season points championship~
   
    Over the span of the next 12 races, Marcis would continuously be in the top 10 on the starting grid, but the team was plagued with engine problems, overheating, oil leaks, broken springs, rear end problems, and ignition issues, resulting mostly in mediocre finishing results~ He led 10 laps early on in the "Southern 500" @ Darlington, but steering issues relegated him to a 33rd place finish~ During this 12 race span, he had a best finish of 6th place in the "Wilkes 400" @ North Wilkesboro - a race also won by David Pearson~

                                                      The good ol' days of NASCAR~

    For the remaining 6 races of the season, Marcis never qualified outside of the top 10, but 4 of the 6 races were plagued with mechanical problems or totally blown engines~ He did manage a 4th place finish in the "American 500" @ Rockingham, a race again won by LeeRoy Yarbrough - who finished the race as the only car on the lead lap~

    His last good finish of the season came in the season finale for the "Texas 500" @ College Station, where he squeaked out a 9th place finish after starting 10th~ This race would mark the final time Richard Petty would drive a Ford during his NASCAR career, finishing in 24th place following a blown clutch~ Bobby Isaac went on to win the race, followed by Donnie Allison, Benny Parsons, James Hylton, and Dick Brooks~

   Marcis finished out the 1969 season having competed in 37 of 54 events, with 3 top 5's, and 11 top 10's, 10 laps led, $32,383 in race winnings, and was 19th in the final points standings, with an average start of 10.3, and an average finish of 17.4~ Team owner Milt Lunda decided he wanted out of the racing business, and sold the team to Marcis, marking the first time he owned his own car in the top racing series~ He would continue to run the #30, and also stuck with Dodge race cars, though he would moonlight for other teams throughout the 1970 season when he could~

                                          Look how proud he is in front of that beautiful car~

    Marcis' first race as a team owner came in the 1970 season opener "Motor Trend 500" @ Riverside, where he started 20th, and finished in 14th place following a crash with 30 laps remaining~ Following a water pump issue in the Daytona qualifier, Marcis ended up starting 33rd for the "Daytona 500", but fought his way up to 10th, for his first top 10 as a team owner~ He finished 6th in the "Carolina 500" @ Rockingham, and 5th in the "Savannah 200" @ Savannah, Ga., in what was the final NASCAR race at the track~

    1970 was to some the final true season in NASCAR, due to the fact that NASCAR quit racing in smaller towns and on dirt tracks following the end of the season~ Though I wasn't born back then, I can assure you that I agree with them 100%~ Who wouldn't like to see the current Cup guys running local dirt tracks and smaller local/hometown tracks?~ The crowds they have now might just fill a local track up... if NASCAR was lucky - but anyway, back to Marcis we go~

    Dave had a good run in the "Beltsville 300" @ Beltsville, Maryland, where he finished 5th after starting from the 4th spot~ Bobby Isaac won the race in what would be a championship winning season for the #71 K&K Insurance team~ Marcis also ran well the following week in the "Tidewater 300" @ Langley Speedway, where he brought the #30 Dodge home in 9th place - 19 laps off the pace of race winner, Bobby Isaac~ Bobby Allison was 2nd, followed by Neil "Soapy" Castles, James Hylton, and Benny Parsons~

                                                     The rear of the #30 Dodge Daytona~

    His next good finish came in the "Maryville 200" @ the Smokey Mountain Raceway in Maryville, Tn., where he picked up a 5th place finish~ Bobby Isaac led every lap of the event on his way to another victory, and he was followed by James Hylton, Neil Castles, Dick Brooks, and Marcis~ He then had a 9th place run in the "Motor State 400" @ Michigan~ Cale Yarborough won the race, followed by Pete Hamilton, David Pearson, LeeRoy Yarbrough, and Bobby Isaac~

    Marcis qualified 6th for the "Hickory 276" @ Hickory, and though he finished the race 4 laps off of the winner's pace, he still came home with a 3rd place finish behind Dick Brooks, and race winner Bobby Isaac~ The next week the series was at Kingsport in what would be the final race at the Kingsport Speedway - and Marcis qualified 5th for the event, with Richard Petty winning the pole~ Petty went on to win the race, followed by James Hylton, Marcis, Bobby Allison, and Neil Castles~

    Dave qualified 4th for the "Albany-Saratoga 250" @ Malta, NY, with Bobby Isaac on the pole~ Richard Petty quickly took the lead and never looked back on the way to the checkered flag~ He was followed by Bobby Allison, Marcis, Neil Castles, and G.C. Spencer~ Marcis then finished 6th in both the "Thompson 200" @ Thompson, CT., and the "Schaefer 300" @ Trenton Speedway~ After qualifying 8th for the "Volunteer 500" @ Bristol, he blew an engine 83 laps into the event, and settled for a 23rd place finish which netted him 465 bucks~

                                                       Custom tribute to Dave Marcis~

    By this point in the season, Marcis had crashed his good cars, and was running on fumes in the bank account, so he started moonlighting for other teams to make it through the season~ This hurt his teams development, but also - the cars he was moonlighting in were mostly junk, so he didn't run well in them either~ His best runs the rest of the season were a 5th place finish in the "West Virginia 300" @ International Raceway Park in Ona, W.V., driving for Cecil Gordon, and a 7th place run in the "Home State 200" @ the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C., driving for Earle Brooks~

    In the "Old Dominion 500" @ Martinsville, Marcis was one of 14 independent drivers to "quit" the race in protest due to $10,000 of bonus money that was awarded to the top qualifiers for the event~ Those drivers who won the money were pole winner Bobby Allison, Bobby Isaac, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and Dave Marcis himself~ This was just a 30 car field, so you can imagine what 14 guys just dropping out of the race by lap 40 would look like~ The independents turned the race into a ghost town one by one, and NASCAR big wigs didn't like it one little crumb~ Petty, Allison, Yarborough, and Isaac went on to finish 1,2,3,4~

   Marcis finished out the 1970 season having competed in 47 of 48 events (DNQ'ing @ the second Talladega race),  with 3 top 5's, and 15 top 10's, he led a total of 14 laps, and earned $41,111 in race winnings~ He finished 9th in the final points standings, and had an average starting position of 12.6, and an average finish of 17.5~ For the 1971 season, Marcis would swap the #30 for #2, though he kept driving Dodges~ The Daytonas were also outlawed by 1971, thus officially ending his time in the #30 Dodge Daytona forever~

                                                       Dave Marcis #30 Dodge Daytona~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    To me, this was the coolest looking Dodge Daytona that Racing Champions made~ I mean, I like the Marty Robbins one, and I have it in my collection.. but I just prefer this one over it~ I've always loved the baby blue cars, and Marcis drove a few of them in his career~ Dave has been criticized numerous times over his career choices, and choosing to run in his own stuff when he could have ran for better teams - but I think he was just trying to do what he felt was best for his family... was he wrong sometimes?~  Probably.. but he was right enough to stay in the Cup series for 35 solid years - that's pretty dang impressive in my book~

    No matter how bad things seemed at times, drivers like Marcis, J.D. McDuffie, James Hylton and a slew of other independent teams could always find a way to make it through at least a partial season year after year~ Drivers and teams helped each other out, and Big Bill France would always make sure teams would at least have enough money to get to where they were going~ Then greed took over and ruined it all - making it impossible for the independent teams to survive in the sport~ It even got so expensive just to go to a race that many fans were turned off after their current driver at the time retired~ Most people quit going to the tracks by 2007, and it just got worse from there~

    Back to the car, I really love everything about it~ The yellow and black are a perfect color combo for the baby blue main color of the car~ I'd have to give this one an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, as it is my favorite car from the set~ Dave didn't run this winged version in all of the 1969 and 1970 tracks, I just gave the history of the full 69-70 season~ The car shown above that was restored in 1978 is now painted up in Winston Cup colors, or was.. not sure if it still is~ Richard Petty drove it around at some track back in the day, but I was too tired to look it up at this point.. so I'm just gonna go straight into the bonus car for this post now~ :)

                                          Jake Raudabaugh #63 SqueezIt Chevrolet Lumina~

    The cool thing about these bonus cars is they're just a bonus, so I can make up custom cars, or use non Racing Champions cars, and it doesn't really mess with the regular post~ This car was sent to me by a fan of the blog named Rob~ Thanks, Rob~ :) It was made by Action in 1997, and although Chevrolet had switched to Monte Carlos in 1995, this car was ran in the lower tier Busch North series, and was still allowed to run as a Lumina~

    Raudabaugh drove this car for one race only, during the "Nazareth 100" @ Nazareth Pa., in the Busch North series~ He qualified 33rd in the 34 car field, and finished the race 7 laps down - in the 25th position~ The race was won by former BGN series driver Bobby Dragon, who was driving Dale Shaw's #7 Skoal Bandit Pontiac~ Though he did attempt to qualify for two races in 1998, he failed to make the field, and his sponsor isn't listed, so there's no way of knowing if SqueezIt was the sponsor for those two events or not~ Well, unless you call the guy yourself and ask him~ :P

   Though he's unknown to many, Raudabaugh still races to this day in Pennsylvania~  In 2002, he was crowned KARS Champion in the 358 Sprint series, and won a race as recently as May of this year at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania~ He is the owner of Fine Line Auto Body in his hometown of Carlisle Pa., and is a sponsor and fundraiser for PET, Personal Energy Transportation~ 

    Thank you all for coming back to the blog for the past two years!~ I hope you enjoyed this post, and have a wonderful 4th of July!~ Happy birthday, America!~ Please share this post on social media, and click the "Follow" button at the top right hand side of this page~ Below is some footage of the classic cars from the 69-70 era~ Enjoy it, and have a great Independence day!~

                                                     NASCAR 1969 Flat Out~ 12 mins.~

                                            Daytona/Superbird/Torino/Talladega footage~

                                                     1970 Daytona 500 feature~ 7 mins.~

                                    Old footage from the final NASCAR race at Trenton, NJ~

    
    

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~                                                                   
                                

Dale Fischlein #71 Safelite Auto Glass Chevrolet

    Hello again fellow NASCAR diecast fans, and welcome back to the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog!~ I hope you've all been having a great start to the summer season, and though it's been pretty wet down here where I live, I've still been enjoying the warmer weather quite a bit~

    Today's post is going to be on Dale Fischlein, and his time in the #71 Safelite Auto Glass Chevrolet~ Now, he only drove the diecast version of this car in one ARCA race during the 1993 season, but he also drove the same car in the BGN series for a few events during the 1994 campaign~ Even so, he didn't race a lot - so I'm just gonna give a brief history spanning his entire racing career, since this will be the only post I ever do on him~ Though I'll be talking about his entire career, the pictures used in this post are all from his time in the Safelite car that the post is originally about~

                                     Fischlein sits in his car following a crash while leading~

     Dale Fischlein (pronounced "Fish-Line") was born on January 2nd, 1960 in Davenport, Iowa - and began his racing career nine years later, racing go-karts~ By 1976, he had won two national championships, and in 1978 he moved up to racing stock cars in the Winston Racing Series~

    In 1988, Fischlein won the Central Region championship for the Winston Racing Series divison, and soon after began racing for Phil Barkdoll~ He and his wife Kari relocated to Arden, North Carolina to be closer to the Barkdoll team, and Dale competed mainly @ Tri-Country Speedway in Hudson, North Carolina, and Hickory Speedway~

    In his championship winning season in 1988, Fischlein's stats were stacked like a big' ol' pile of pancakes drenched in butter and maple syrup~ In 46 starts, he had 26 wins, 38 top 5's, and 41 top 10's~ That's pretty awesome, but in 1985, Fischlein had 44 starts @ Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, and finished in the top 10 every single time~

                                                   Fischlein's car getting tinkered~

    Following his success in the 1988 season, Fichlein tried to jump straight up to the Cup series, where he made a failed qualifying attempt for the "Holly Farms 400" @ North Wilkesboro~ I tried to find a picture of that car, but I couldn't even find out what number it was, the color/make of the car, or if it had a sponsor or not~

    Fischlein would make one final Cup Series attempt in 1991, for the "Miller Genuine Draft 400" @ Richmond, driving Phil Barkdoll's #73 Oldsmobile, but he failed to make the 36 car field, and was also the slowest of the "go or go home" drivers~ James Hylton and Jerry Hill also failed to make the field for the event~

    The following year, Fischlein became the new crew chief for Dave Marcis, and the #71 Winston Cup team~ Though he had a lot less free time, he was still able to run 4 ARCA races, all in cars owned by Marcis~ In fact, the cars Fischlein was running was the same cars Marcis ran in the Cup Series~

                                Fischlein battles with Dick Trickle in the ARCA series - 1993~

    Fischlein's first time in an ARCA car came in the 1993 season opening "ARCA 200" @ Daytona, where he started 23rd in the 42 car field~ Tim Fedewa got out of shape in the middle of turns 3 and 4, causing a massive 24 car pile-up only two laps into the event~ This crash took 17 drivers out of the race, so only 25 cars remained, and the race had just begun~

    Following the crash, the remainder of the race was mild mannered to say the least~ Jeff Purvis led 71 of the 80 laps to take the checkered flag first~ He was followed by Loy Allen Jr., Kirk Shelmerdine, Jeremy Mayfield, and Bobby Bowsher~ Fischlein was credited with a 39th place effort, a zillion laps down~

    Dale was back in the car three races later for the "Poulan Pro 500K" @ Talladega, where he qualified 11th (season high) for the event~ Loy Allen Jr. won the pole for the event, driving the #2 Hooters/Jasper Ford~ Allen swapped the lead back and forth with Tim Steele and Kirk Shelmerdine for the majority of the day, and Fischlein stayed right up there with the pack, learning all he could and just having a clean race~

    In the end, Tim Steele held off Loy Allen Jr. for the win~ They were followed by Bob Brevak, Kenny Allen, and Mark Thompson~ Bob Keselowski finished 6th, and Jeremy Mayfield came home in the 10th position in the #95 Shoney's Inn/Mac Tools/Texaco Ford~ Fischlein finished the race in 13th (season high), and I guess I forgot to mention, but during these races, his car was being sponsored by "Dynamic Motorsports"~

                                           Fischlein comes down pit road in the Safelite car~

    Fischlein wasn't back in the car until six races later, for the "GM Goodwrench 200" @ Michigan, where he qualified 25th (season low)~ The pole was won by Jimmy Horton, driving the #32 Active Trucking Chevrolet~

    Tim Steele led more than half of the race, but faded late to finish in third~ Jeff Purvis beat out Frank Kimmel for the win, followed by Steele, Bill Venturini, and Jeremy Mayfield~ Purvis punted Bob Schacht out of the lead with three laps to go to take the win~

    Fischlein was involved in a crash on lap 46 that also involved Laura Lane~ Both drivers dropped out of the race, with Fischlein finishing 31st, and Lane 32nd~ Following this race, Fischlein would run one more ARCA event during the 1993 season, and for the first time his car was sponsored by Safelite Auto Glass~

                                         Safelite fixes your glass, Fischlein - not your @$$~

    Fischlein's sole ARCA start with the Safelite sponsorship came in the "Jiffy Lube 500K" @ Atlanta, where he qualified 22nd~ Kirk Shelmerdine won the pole in the #98 Action Rent-to-Own Oldsmobile~ A total of 69 cars attempted to make the 43 car field, so just making the show was a pretty big accomplishment~

    The race was filled with crashes and blown engines~ By the end of the race, only 17 cars remained to take the checkered flag~ Sadly, Fischlein wouldn't be one of them~ He was involved in a crash on lap 169, which also took out Jeff Davis, and finished the race in 19th place~ Jeff Purvis would again win the race, followed by Dick Trickle, who should have won but got penalized late in the race, Kerry Teague, Bob Hill, and Kirk Shelmerdine~

    The real bad thing about the crash, was this was going to the the Cup car for Marcis in just two days~ Since it was totaled, Marcis was forced to use a back-up car, and had to start from the rear of the field~ He still managed to finish 18th in the event, so it wasn't a total loss~ Fischlein finished out his ARCA career with an average start of 20.2, and an average finish of 25.5, in a total of four races~

                                             Close-up of the damage from the Atlanta race~

    Fischlein next drove the Safelite colors in the BGN Series during the 1994 season, though the car was now #70, and the car owner was Ivan Murphy~  Their first attempt to make a BGN race ended with a DNQ in the season opening "Goody's 300" @ Daytona~ Their second attempt didn't go any better, with another DNQ for the "Busch Light 300" @ Atlanta~ He followed that up with another DNQ  for the "Champion 300" @ Charlotte~ The fourth time was a charm however, and Fischlein would make his first career BGN start in the 18th event of the season~

    Fischlein's debut in the series came in the "Fram Filter 500K" @ Talladega, where he rolled off from the 31st starting position~ Jeff Purvis won the pole for the event in the #51 Country Time Chevrolet, owned by James Finch~ Sterling Marlin led a majority of the event in the #4 Kodak Funsaver Chevrolet, but he was passed by Ken Schrader with two laps remaining, as Schrader went on to win the race~ Schrader was followed by Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Marlin, and Jeff Purvis~

    Dale Fischlein managed to run a clean race throughout the day, and held on to finish in 14th place, in what must have felt like a victory for Fischlein, a rookie in the series~ The racing bug must have bit him pretty hard too, because he was at the very next BGN event the following week @ Hickory~

                                                 Fischlein awaiting the restart @ Atlanta~

    Dale qualified 26th for the "Pantry 300" @ Hickory, while David Green won the pole in the #44 Slim Jim Chevrolet~ Fourteen drivers failed to qualify for the event, including Rodney Combs, Stevie Reeves, Kevin Lepage, and Tommy Houston~ Fischlein's car was a Buick for this race, though I'm not sure what the reason behind that was~

    The race was a battle between pole sitter David Green, Dennis Setzer, and Kenny Wallace~ Green led a total of 92 laps before fading away to finish in 3rd, while Kenny Wallace took the lead~ Wallace held the lead until the final three laps of the race, when he was passed by Setzer, who went on to win the event~

    Kenny Wallace finished in second, followed by David Green, Doug Heveron, and Larry Pearson finished out the top 5~ Fischlein must not have been very fond of the Buick, because he never was a factor during the race at all, and finished the event seven laps down, in the 21st position~ After starting 36th, he came home 30th in his final event of the season, for the "Detroit Gasket 200" @ Michigan, driving the #70 EZ Go Chevrolet, an event won by the #33 Dentyne Chevrolet, driven by Bobby Labonte~

                                          Fischlein makes laps in the #71 Safelite Chevrolet~

    Fischlein ran an extremely limited schedule in the BGN series until the end of the 1998 season, appearing in a total of 18 races during a five year career, with an average start of 23.3, and an average finish of 27.4~ Along with his 18 career starts, he also DNQ'd for another 12 events, and was a lead lap finisher in just one event~

    The best finish of his BGN career came in the 1995 "Humminbird Fishfinder 500K" @ Talladega, where he qualified 8th, led a lap (the only one of his BGN career), and finished in 13th place~ The final race he ran was the "DieHard 250" @ the Milwaukee Mile, where he qualified 32nd in the #70 Adrian Carriers Chevrolet, and finished 28th after rear end problems~ (hopefully with the car)~

    The final race he attempted to make came in the "Pepsi 200 Presented by: Devilbiss" @ Michigan, where he was one of seven drivers who failed to make the field~ Among the others who DNQ'd were Dave Blaney, J.D. Gibbs (Joe's son), Lyndon Amick, and Casey Atwood~ A sad way to end a unique racing career, but at least he got to have his shot at it, and he'll have those memories forever~

                                           Dale Fischlein #71 Safelite Auto Glass Chevrolet~

                                                                Click pics to enlarge~

    This car had a limited production, and only 2,000 were made~ It was packaged in the clear PVC Racing Champions box, and didn't come with a card or stand~ I made the card from Dale's Maxx card, since there isn't many pictures of him on the internet~ This car is in high demand amongst NASCAR Racing Champions fans, and the last one that was offered on Ebay sold for over 40 dollars~

    Racing Champions did a fine job on this diecast, as the blue color is very appealing, and the white is nice and crisp~ Though Fischlein only raced this specific car in one event (Jiffy Lube 500K - Atlanta 1993), the cars primary paint scheme was based off of Dave Marcis' Cup car at the time~ I feel as if Racing Champions did a splendid job on this car, and only wish a few thousand more were produced.. why so many Jay Fogleman #5 Innkeeper cars instead?~

    On the Racing Champions quality scale, I'm gonna give this one a solid A.. I'll leave off the + for the simple fact that there is no card with this one~ Fischlein is all but forgotten by NASCAR fans, be them old or new.. but his legacy (albeit small) lives on in his Racing Champions diecast, and now here on the NASCAR Racing Champions diecast blog - his story has been told, and his past has been brought back to present day once more~ May his racing history live on with this post, but for now - let's get to the bonus car~

                                            Dick Johnson #38 RedKote Steel Tubing Ford~

    With a name that is pretty much the equivalent of calling someone "Penis Penis", Dick Johnson has to rival Dick Trickle for the "Most Absurd NASCAR Driver Name" award~ Dickie boy Johnson was a heck of a driver in the Australian Supercar Series, with 30 wins, and 5 championships to his credit... but he was in another galaxy in a NASCAR Winston Cup car~                                                               
    
    The Dickster ran a total of seven races during the 1989 and 1990 seasons, with a best finish of 22nd in the 1989 running of the "AC Spark Plug 500" @ Pocono, and never finished a race on the lead lap~ He is best remembered for his crash in the "Budweiser at the Glen" in 1989, where he slammed hard into tire barrier, getting his car stuck on top of the barrier~ The guys in the booth interviewed him, and he was a pretty funny character~ He eventually got back on the ground, and continued on his way~

    Thanks to everyone who stops by and reads the blog here!~ Please share this post with your friends on social media, and click the "follow" button at the top right hand side of this page~ I hope you all enjoyed this installment of the NASCAR Racing Champions blog.. below I have posted some videos on featuring Fischlein and ol' "Penis Penis" - enjoy them, and with that... let's roll that beautiful bean footage!~

                                         Fischlein's #71 Safelite car in action~ Atlanta 1993~

                           Crashing the #71 Dynamic Motorsports car~ Daytona ARCA 1993~

                                                    Dick Johnson being funny after crash~

                         Awesome NASCAR Stop Motion by Campbell N. Add him on YouTube~