Sacrafice's Racing Legacy

[Sacrafice]

Part 2........


Well, It's been a year and a half since I have worked on this and I have been thinking and wanting to pick this back up for the past couple months, but tossed and turned on whether or not I should start something I will probably get burned out on again. I decided to say screw it and do it anyway. The main reason is I can't quite afford to run iRacing right now so I need my racing fix (fucking Daytona). I made it a year and a half the first time so it was a good amount of work done and I really want to see it go on.

One thing I am dropping is the BGN portion which was fun to do, but more than needs to be done. Another change will be incorporating Twitch into the fray. I used to store races up and post then and a pretty regular 3 day schedule, but now I will be posting them real time a day or 2 after I stream the actual race most likely 2 races a week streaming on Monday & Friday tentatively.

I wanted to post it here again as this is where my writing and this all started and I didn't want to link the other 2 places (OS & HSCR) on Twitch to where the threads are posted. The thing is I need to update this thread with a year and a half (49 point races plus) worth of material. That I am not looking forward to, but it will also familiarize myself with what was all going on.

So if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I am all ears. Thanks for looking. I hope some will enjoy and I think a few older readers will at least....



Sac

 

[ZackMills]

Sacrafice is back!

 

[Sacrafice]

Hell Yeah!!!



This is mlittle take on changing the history of NASCAR from 1980 on. Starting from the 1980 season that I painted as far as I can go.... I am not going to follow exactly to real life. That means I am not going to keep the exact same drivers in the exact same cars year to year and race to race. 1980 will pretty much be the same drivers that ran each race though. Guys like Earnhardt and such will eventually be in the black #3 as in real life, but some guys may race past when they retired or still run full seasons when they stopped doing so in real life and such. I want it to turn into my version of how things went. If Bobby Allison sucks in a Ford in 1980 like he complained about in real life he may quit and find another ride half way through the season unlike real life or Darrell Waltrip will not take over for Cale Yarborough in the #11 car for the 1981 season because Cale took back his championship from Petty making 4 in 5 years and give it 1 more full season to see if he can make 5 as for a couple examples of what may or may not happen. Not much else to say. Lots of colorful pictures and a highlight (crash) video for each race will be done along with a little typing. So let's get on with this thing! I will be driving the #23 Nub's & LeRoy's Citgo Chevrolet 50% races at 95% AI strength on simulation setting with realistic damage.

"1980 List of Eligiable Drivers"

"1980 Schedule"

"Past NASCAR Champions and Rookies of the Year"

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"
"Winston Western 500" January 13th, 1980


"Riverside International Raceway" Riverside, California
Race 1 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip & #73 Bill Schmitt lead the field of 37 cars to the green flag kicking off the 1980 season"

"6 laps in the 1st caution of the day flew when rookie #66 Lake Speed got into fellow rookie #23 Bryan Dehn both making their 1st career starts"

"#70 J.D. McDuffie and #7 Dick Brooks get together in the esses bringing out the 2nd caution of the day"

"No caution, but rookie mistakes and the loss of 1st gear all, but ends the day for Bryan Dehn in the #23 car"

"#98 Hershel McGriff and #24 Cecil Gordon get together coming out of the esses and back into the wall putting them laps down"

"Earlier damage for the #70 of J.D. McDuffie causes his car to stall on the back stretch bringing out the 3rd caution of the day"

"The 4th caution comes out on a Bryan Dehn spin late in the race"

"The 5th and final caution comes out when the slow car of #78 Jim Robinson get's in the way of #27 Benny Parsons and pays the price"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip and #2 Dale Earnhardt battle to the line taking the yellow flag"

"Dale Earnhardt wins the battle to the line and takes the checkered flag under caution winning the 1st race of the 1980 season"


"Race Recap"
Darrell Waltrip lead 45 laps while Dale Earnhardt fought all the way from the back to claim the lead with 10 to go and never looked back. It was a caution marred race with a lot of new rookie drivers mixed in with some Winston West regulars that don't run on the big stage all that often.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Well, lost 1st and 2nd gear through out the race. Wrecked the engine on that smash into the wall catching the sand off the track and not being able to turn the car around the corner. So the 2nd half of the race was just riding around and only managed to gain 1 spot. Even with a beat up motor and car I couldn't manage to keep the car on the track the rest of the race. Bad 1st start for me. Maybe it should be back to Slinger & Wisconsin International Raceway for the rest of my career.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
1980 Daytona 500 Speedweeks Daytona, Florida
February 10th, 1980 through February 16th, 1980​

 

[OU11]

This makes me happy

 

[Sacrafice]

Having to re-space every section makes me unhappy :'( lol

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Daytona 500 Speedweeks" February 10th, 1980
"Daytona International Raceway" Daytona, Florida


"Busch Clash"

"#43 Richard Petty and #47 Harry Gant lead the field of 12 to start the 20 lap shoot out for bragging rights."

"#1 David Pearson leads the field at the halfway point"

"4 wide racing 2 rows back and it's anyone's race to win"

"#15 Bobby Allison and #28 Buddy Baker is the only 2 guys that figured out that you didn't have to pit for fuel and take the checkered flag well ahead of the rest of the pack"


"Race Recap"
Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker didn't pit and the race came down to those 2 for the checkered flag while rest were too far behind to do anything. There was no cautions in the race showing that these 12 race car drivers are indeed the best of the best.


"Busch Clash Results"

"1980 Daytona 500 Qualifying"

"1980 Daytona 500 Front Row"

"Daytona 500 Speedweeks" February 14th, 1980

"1980 Daytona 500 125 Qualifying Race #1"

"The front row of the 1980 Daytona 500 lead the rest of the field to take the green flag determining the inside 15 rows."

"#12 Donnie Allison get's into #99 Dick May while #89 Jim Vandiver and #19 John Anderson get caught up in the melee"

"Many cars get caught up in this tri-oval mess taking out many big time players including, #88 Darrell Waltrip, #2 Dale Earnhardt, #11 Cale Yarborough and #42 Kyle Petty"

"After all the dust and smoke settled the new comer to NASCAR and racing boat mainstay #75 Bill Ellswick takes the checkered flag earning him the 3rd spot in the lineup for the Daytona 500"


"1980 Daytona 500 125 Qualifying Race #1 (Jody Ridley Wreck)"

"The 1st wreck not in pictures is too violent to not show in full video. Odds on Rookie of the Year candidate #90 Jody Ridley took one hell of a tumble down the backstretch grass on the 3rd lap of the race"


"Race Recap"
There was 3 cautions during the race leaving many fast cars in the back giving the coveted top 14 qualifying spots to the guys that needed to race in to make the Daytona 500. With Kyle Petty and Benny Parsons running in this race if they finished in the top 14 the next 2 cars would earn a spot and they did allowing both Dick May and Bryan Dehn to make the race they otherwise would have had to sit out due to their poor qualifying times.


"1980 Daytona 500 125 Qualifying Race #1 Results"

"1980 Daytona 500 125 Qualifying Race #2"

"#82 Janet Guthrie and #1 David Pearson lead the 2nd group of 32 drivers trying to race their way into the 1980 Daytona 500"

"The 1st wreck took out drives such as Busch Clash winner, #15 Bobby Allison as well as #28 Buddy Baker, #21 Neil Bonnett and #25 Ronnie Thomas"

"The 2nd wreck of the race seen #71 Dave Marcis slid nearly all the way down the front stretch, but didn't ever hit anyone leaving him still competitive, but that couldn't be said for #51 A.J. Foyt and #82 Janet Guthrie. Unfortunately for Foyt his qualifying time wouldn't be good enough to get him into the 500 race."

"Rookie of the Year candidate, #66 Lake Speed takes the checkered flag giving him the 4th starting position in the 1980 Daytona 500"


"Race Recap"
There was 3 cautions in the race, but most of the star power was in race #1 so there was many drivers that were able to drive their way into the race in this one as well leaving most of the fastest drivers to make the 500 on time alone.


"1980 Daytona 500 125 Qualifying Race #2 Results"

"1980 Daytona 500 Making the Rest of the 43 Car Field"

"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Qualifying 13th in my 125 race. Thought I would have a good time considering that the top 2 qualifiers came from the same race, but that turned out to not be the case. Had the top 2 not be in this race I would be sitting at home watching the "Great American Race". As it turns out I made it in and will be trying to stay out of trouble and run the entire 500 miles without incident which will be a victory in it's self.


"1980 Daytona 500 Line Up"

"Next Race" 1980 Daytona 500 Daytona, Florida
February 17th, 1980
Race 2 of 31​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"22nd Annual Daytona 500" February 17th, 1980
"Daytona International Raceway" Daytona, Florida


Race 2 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#42 Kyle Petty and #27 Benny Parsons lead the field of 43 cars to take the green flag"

"The 1st 13 laps went caution free with all 43 cars running 3 wide from front to back"

"#5 Sterling Marlin get's into #47 Harry Gant causing the 1st caution of the day with #25 Ronnie Thomas getting the worst of it all"

"The big one came just a couple laps later with nearly a quarter of the field getting taken out in the process"

"Then a couple laps after that another quarter of the field was taken out on the 3rd and final caution of the day."

"That leaves only around 20 cars left on the track on the restart with only about half of them capable of winning the race"

"After the 1st set of green flag pit stops only #2 Dale Earnhardt, #66 Lake Speed and #23 Bryan Dehn were a part of the lead pack"

"#23 Bryan Dehn was caught speeding down pit road on the 2nd round of green flag pit stops leaving him out of contention"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt and #66 Lake Speed are left all alone to continue their trek for their 1st Daytona 500 victory"

"#66 Lake Speed had pit issues and ended up 4 laps down allowing #11 Cale Yarborough and #52 Jimmy Means to make a last chance bid for the victory, but ended up just short"


"Race Recap"
With 3 early cautions the 2nd half of the race was pretty much just down to 9 cars left running under full power and with 3 green flag pit stops in between the middle and the end of the race others would find misfortune and end up out of contention. In the end Dale Earnhardt would win the first 2 races of the season and his 1st Daytona 500 in only his 2nd try.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Did a whole lot better than I anticipated. When I said I just wanted to keep my car clean I didn't actually expect to accomplish it. I still made a big rookie mistake taking me out of contention, but I shouldn't have been there to begin with.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Richmond 400
Richmond, Virginia
February 24th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Richmond 400"
February 24th, 1980


"Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway"
Richmond, Virginia


Race 3 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#15 Bobby Allison leads the field of 36 to take the green flag starting the race"

"#44 Terry Labonte get's into the back of #23 Bryan Dehn causing him to spin out on lap 38, but no damaged was caused bring out the 1st of many cautions on the day"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas hit the inside guard rail causing #99 Dick may to get into the back of him take May out of the race"

"#7 Dick Brooks was tagged from behind backing him into the outside guard rail"

"#21 Neil Bonnett had to race his way back onto the lead lap twice, but on this lap he slowed causing #27 Benny Parsons and #43 Richard Petty to get involved resulted in them getting damage"

"#17 Roger Hamby and #20 Rick Newsom get together and slid into the outside guard rail and while trying to check up for the wreck #61 Bub Strickler lost control and slid hard into the guard rail as well"

"#64 Tommy Gale was pushed up against the outside guard rail causing #24 Cecil Gordon to lose control and slide up into him while #7 Dick Brooks was a victim of checking up and got spun out into the infield grass"

"The engine let loose int he #20 car of Rick Newsom probably from the earlier contact with the wall. No one else got involved"

"#23 Bryan Dehn lost control and spun out on the front stretch on a restart causing #7 Dick Brrok to t-bone him in the drivers door, but both were able to continue on"

"Rookie #90 Jody Ridley lead 115 laps in route to his 1st ever career victory"


"Race Recap"
There was 12 cautions most of which happened during the 2nd half of the race allowing very little competition for race winner, Jody Ridley. Being a short track most of the wrecks were causing little to no damage for the cars involved and the only drivers unable to finish the race was due to mechanical failure.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Short track racing is where I am in my comfort zone, but I have never driven a powerful car like this on a track with very little room to move around on. I had a terrible qualifying run, but was able to move up the field and after a couple issues I decided to stay int he back until it was go time to try and stay out of trouble. My car was a little faster on long runs which there was really only 1, but the rest of the field was better on short runs. Comes from experience knowing that this track wouldn't allow for a whole lot of long green flag runs. I was able to get myself into the top 20 and am happy with that performance.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Carolina 500
Rockingham, North Carolina
March 9th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Carolina 500"
March 9th, 1980


"North Carolina Motor Speedway"
Rockingham, North Carolina


Race 4 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough looks to take a step towards cutting into Dale Earnhardts lead by taking the pole in the Carolina 500"

"#45 Baxter Price was the 1st casualty today coming off his 11th place finish last week. Cold he make it into the top 10 with this kind of damage?"

"#89 Jim Vandiver couldn't avoid a car trying to make a pit stop and #72 Joe Millikan got the worst of it nearly landing on his roof"

"#66 Lake Speed get's into the back of #20 Rick Newsom and both end up in the wall ending Newsom's day. That wasn't all though as after the shot #76 Mike Potter get's collected"

"Trying to miss the sudden pit maneuver of #47 Harry Gant, #23 Bryan Dehn made a sudden move where he ended up riding the fence and not the track"

"After getting spun out in turn 3, #23 Bryan Dehn hits the wall hard and leaves the track once again"

"On the restart #23 made a move to get by some of the slower car which end up wrecking each other coming out of turn 2"

"#68 Lennie Pond seemed to be in nearly every wreck today this time spinning around on his nose"

"#68 Tommy Gale and #3 Richard Childress get together late in the race"

"#71 Dave Marcis takes the checkered flag winning his 1st race in 4 years"


"Race Recap"
Thinking last week was a bad week for cautions, but this week was worse with 13 total cautions many of which was pretty brutal taking out a fair amount of cars. There was 12 different leaders, but Dave Marcis was the man of the day leading 80 laps.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
The race started out fun for me. Once again I messed up my qualifying lap setting me up in the back, but I was able to move through the field and lead a couple laps before the misfortunes began to happen. Today was the 1st time in a long time that I spent most of the front stretch of a track on my roof, but the crew was able to keep the car going. I failed to finish on the lead lap again due to my car being tore up.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Atlanta 500
Atlanta, Georgia
March 16th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Atlanta 500"
March 16th, 1980


"Atlanta International Raceway"
Atlanta, Georgia


Race 5 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#44 Terry Labonte leads the field of 43 cars to take the green flag at Atlanta"

"#27 Benny Parsons is the 1st casualty with a blown motor on the 33rd lap of the race"

"#3 Richard Childress get's into #23 Bryan Dehn on pit road taking him out of the lead pack unable to get the damage fixed under green flag conditions"

"#67 Buddy Arrington blows his motor coming out of the pits on the 67th lap"

"1 lap later #12 Donnie Allison's woahs continue in 1980 as he blows his motor on lap 68"

"Leading 81 of the 115 laps run so far #11 Cale Yarborough unexpectedly pits and remains there for the rest of the race"

"The 1st caution of the day comes out on lap 131 when #42 Kyle Petty comes down to pit, but #23 Bryan Dehn is there occupying that place on the track"

"#47 Harry Gant get's into a spinning Dehn, then #7 Dick Brooks slams hard into the drivers side of Gants car, but was miraculously was uninjured in the wreck"

"The 2nd and final caution came on the restart when #28 Buddy Baker spins out when he gives #45 Baxter Price no room on the high side"

"In his 1st ever start #16 Rusty Wallace takes the checkered flag to win. Remember this guys name, he just might become a good one"


"Race Recap"
It looked like the race was going to go caution free when #23 Bryan Dehn was at the wrong place at the wrong time when #42 Kyle Petty tried to get onto pit road. There was 2 cautions on the day with a lot of rookies doing very well during the race. Besides Rusty Wallace winning in his 1st ever start there was 5 total rookies occupying the top 10 finishing positions.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I was running very well early on. No issues on the 1st green flag pit stop and stayed running in the top 10 until the contact on pit road sent me spinning and at the tail end of the lead lap. I was fighting all I could to stay on the lead lap around 20th position until I was caught up in the 1st caution flag. Then my engine was done and all I could do was ride around the track ending up 3 laps down to the leaders.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Valleydale Southeastern 500
Bristol, Tennessee
March 30th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Valleydale Southeastern 500"
March 30th, 1980


"Bristol International Raceway"
Bristol, Tennessee


Race 6 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#15 Bobby Allison leads the field of 42 to take the green flag"

"#76 Mike Potter and #79 Junior Miller get together brining out the 1st caution on lap 40 ending Millers day"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas and #64 Tommy Gale tangle on the front stretch"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt, #68 Lennie Pond and #12 Buck Simmons get together coming off of turn 4"

"#76 Mike Potter hits the entrance gate coming off of turn 4 and becomes a UFO flying and spinning through the air, but miraculously continues in the race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt and #68 Lennie Pond find each other once again this time it was caused by a slow #40 D.K. Ulrich after hitting the wall"

"#11 Cale Yarborough slowed up to pit in front of #23 Bryan Dehn getting many cars involved"

"The day for #23 Bryan Dehn ends when he tries to do his best Mike Potter impression, but most of the drivers behind him were able to get around the spinning Chevy"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas get's spun around by #68 Lennie Pond backing into the inside wall"

"#94 Bobby Wawak takes the checkered flag winning his 1st career race in 63 starts"


"Race Recap"
There was 11 caution flags, but the 1st half of the race saw some great green flag racing. There was 11 different drivers to lead a lap in the race trading 21 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I was optimistic coming back to another short track and had my best qualifying effort starting in 20th. After a good 1st half of the race I ended up tearing my car up trying to get back on the lead lap. We got 3 weeks to get this car back ready for North Wilkesboro and Martinsville the week after that. If we had to go to Darlington with this car I might have been sitting out the next race.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
CRC Chemicals Rebel 500
Darlington, South Carolina
April 13th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"CRC Chemicals Rebel 500"
April 13th, 1980


"Darlington Raceway"
Darlington, South Carolina


Race 7 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt is the 1st to qualify for both the 1981 Busch Clash and the 1981 Winston All-Star event taking the pole at Darlington"

"6 cars get involved in the 2nd caution of the day when #22 Ricky Rudd get's spun out with the rest checking up from behind getting all tangled together"

"Entering the race 2nd in points #44 Terry Labonte is the races 1st casualty blowing his engine bringing out the 3rd caution of the day"

"After the restart #72 Joe Millikan tried too hard to get his lap back from the leader #23 Bryan Dehn causing the both to tangle coming off of turn 4 effectively ending Dehn's day"

"#47 Harry Gant couldn't get er checked up in time running 2nd behind Bryan Dehn comes back on the track in front of the field from the Millikan/Dehn confrontation"

"Dehn and Gant were 1st and 2nd, but getting caught up in the last wreck put them in tha back of the pack and when Dehn get's caught up on the wall Gant has no where to go"

"Many good cars get caught up and bow out of the race when #1 David Pearson get's turned around after #77 Kenny Hemphill blows up and get's pin balled by #11 Cale Yarborough and #71 Dave Marcis"

"#12 Buck Simmons slows on the track getting many cars involved and ends their day with #15 Bobby Allison ending up rolling over in the process"

"Making a bid to get a top 10 finish with a beat up car #23 Bryan Dehn get's too low coming out of turn 4 and is spun out by #28 Buddy Baker"

"#27 Benny Parsons moves up to 3rd in points winning his 15th race in 332 career starts"


"Race Recap"
Most if not all of the top 10 in points entering the race has some sort of trouble leaving a few with big opportunities to gain a ton of points. There was 9 cautions for 31 laps. The 1st caution came on a debris yellow after Dale Earnhardt and Bryan Dehn were battling early on. The next portion of the race would be dominated by Tommy Gale before Benny Parsons took over with 26 laps to go and went on to take the victory. There was 9 different leaders exchanging the lead 12 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I had a pretty dominant car today. I lead many laps early on mainly due to a debris caution. The field pitted right before the caution and everyone only took on 2 tires where my 4 tire stop allowed me to move through the field and re-assume the lead and hold onto to it until the 2nd half of the race reared it's ugly head. The 2nd half of races have been hell for me where I can't keep myself out of trouble and let a good day turn into a terrible one. I hope to be able to turn my skills and luck around as I gain more experience. I did get to be up front leading a bunch of laps though so the next time I am up front I will know what to expect.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Northwestern Bank 400
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
April 20th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Northwestern Bank 400"
April 20th, 1980


"North Wilkesboro Speedway"
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina


Race 8 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#43 Richard Petty lead the rest of the field to the green flag to start the 200 lap race"

"Early on the #40 of D.K. Ulrich got into the back of #23 Bryan Dehn, but Dehn was able to save it and avoid a yellow flag"

"#61 Bub Strickler ddn't last long only making 22 laps before blowing his engine"

"#7 Dick Brooks and #75 Bill Ellswick get together and crash head 1st into the wall with #20 Rick Newsom catching the rear end of the #75 sending the driver side hard into the wall"

"After dominating the 1st half of the race leading 82 of 117 laps the engine let go on the #43 of Richard Petty causing a little traffic jam on the front stretch"

"#23 Bryan Dehn got into turn 1 a little too hot causing him to spin out collecting #21 Neil Bonnett"

"Bonnett comes down from the contact with the #23 getting into #47 Harry Gant which was hammered from behind by #07 Jeff McDuffie"

"1978 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, #25 Ronnie Thomas continues his up and down season with his engine blowing late in the race"

"#15 Bobby Allison took control of the race when Petty retired only to let it slip away when #2 Dale Earnhardt took over the top stop with 22 laps to go"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt took the checkered flag for the 3rd time this year and his 4th time in 44 starts"


"Race Recap"
The sad news coming out of the race is former pro boat racing champion, Bill Elswick was seriously hurt in the lap 107 crash where the drivers side of his car slammed hard into the outside wall. Early reports say he will live to tell the story, but actually getting back into a car again may be out of the question. Outside of that there was only 4 cautions in the race. 2 of which came on blown motors. 7 different drivers lead laps exchanging the lead 13 times. Richard Petty took the race in his hands from the pole and dominated the race in the 1st half with only Cale Yarborough being on a different pit strategy taking lead laps from him. Bobby Allison had a strong showing giving up the lead to Dale Earnhardt late. Dale has lead in points from the 1st race of the season and don't look to be letting up any time soon.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I had a very good clean race. I pulled talked to by NASCAR about my lack of skill on the track so far this season and was told to just sit back and learn the ropes and that's what I did and it payed off with my 2nd career top 10 finish. I did have one mistake late, but far from the 5-6-7 mistakes I have been having in every other race this season.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Virginia 500
Martinsville, Virginia
April 27th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

In a bad crash at North Wilkesboro a few days ago Bill Elswick was injured when his car was hit on the right side and spun hard into the wall on the driver side. Bill experienced injuries to his head that is not life threatening, but could be career ending. Ellswick moved over to NASCAR after becoming a pro boat champion. Bill only has 9 career starts in NASCAR starting last year. Just one week prior at Darlington Bill had his best showing finishing 11th including leading his 1st career lap. With Bill unable to compete for at least the rest of this year Rahmoc Enterprises called up fellow rookie, John Anderson to take over in the 75 car for the rest of the season whom had his 2nd career top 5 last week at Darlington.

"Crash Highlights"





"#23 Nub's & LeRoy's Citgo Charlotte Practice for the World 600 in May"
​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Virginia 500"
April 27th, 1980


"Martinsville Speedway"
Martinsville, Virginia


Race 9 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt leads the field to take the green flag fr some classic short track racing"

"#47 Harry Gant looks to be trying to get back at #23 Bryan Dehn for the last couple race mishaps"

"#40 D.K. Ulkrich has another motor let go today making it his 3rd one of the season"

"#67 Buddy Arrington get's into #64 Tommy Gale turning him around in turn 1"

"#27 Benny Parsons dominated through out the race until the end, but got a little impatient with #90 Jody Ridley spinning him out of the way"

"#47 Harry Gant and #52 Jimmy Means get together on the front stretch with both sliding into the corner"

"#52 Jimmy Means is at it again this time getting #28 Buddy Baker and #70 J.D. McDuffie involved in his mess"

"#21 Neil Bonnett get's into #15 Bobby Allison sending him head on into the wall"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas, #70 J.D. McDuffie and #3 Richard Childress get together as Childress get's the worst of it ending up on his roof"

"#71 Dave MNarcis is able to capture his 2nd win of the 1980 season and his 6th win in 345 career starts"


"Race Recap"
A late race pit stop cost Dale Earnhardt a chance to keep his season point lead high, but Terry Labonte has had a very quiet season finishing up in the top 5 gaining some valuable points. Benny Parsons dominated for most of the race leading 103 laps, but the engine faltered near the end falling to a 14th place finish and falls to 3rd in the point standings. Buddy Baker and Neil Bonnett also had real good cars and up front the entire race until the end where their finishing positions don't truly tell the story of the kind of day they were having. There was 9 caution flags for 45 laps and 6 different leaders exchanging the lead 8 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Another good clean day for me. I wasn't the cause or a part of any cautions flags, but Harry Gant did seem to have lingering issues with me. Hopefully I can continue to run well and get top 10 finishes and prove that I did indeed belong racing with the best of the best.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Winston 500
Talladega, Alabama
May 4th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Winston 500"
May 4th, 1980


"Alabama International Motor Speedway"
Talladega, Alabama


Race 10 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt leads the field to take the green flag for the 3rd time this season"

"#19 Steve Spencer takes over for John Anderson and is able to complete 1 lap before the motor let go"

"#23 Bryan Dehn leads his only lap of the race while #15 Bobby Allison's motor let's loose in the middle of the pack"

"The 1st big wreck don't take anyone out, but quite a few drivers day's were effectively ended including #21 Neil Bonnett, #23 Bryan Dehn, #42 Kyle Petty & #90 Jody Ridley"

"#24 Cecil Gordon ends up back on all 4 wheels after a slow roll over down the backstretch, but not too many other drivers were involved"

"#12 Donnie Allison almost flips going down the backstretch bringing out the 3rd caution of the day ending the days of #66 Lake Speed, #50 Bruce hill and the points leader, #2 Dale Earnhardt"

"On the restart #93 Don Whittington was in the lead, but the motor let go before he even got to turn 1"

"The 4th and final caution came out late in the race during green flag pit stops when #42 Kyle Petty got in front of #71 Dave Marcis in the tri-oval"

"With the caution coming out #23 Bryan Dehn runs out of gas trying to make it around to pit road and also #11 Cale Yarborough has a blown motor"

"#7 Dick Brooks is pushed across the line to take the checkered flag by #3 Richard Childress which lead the most laps to day scoring Brooks his 1st victory since 1973 and his 2nd victory in 275 career starts"


"Race Recap"
Talladega sure knows how to ruin points chases. Dale Earnhardt came into the race with a 66 point lead in the standings, but leaves Talladega behind Terry Labonte by 30 points. There was 4 cautions during the race which didn't take many cars off the track, but messed up others cars just enough to not be able to keep pace along with the standard higher than normal amount of cars that didn't have enough motor to make to the checkered flag. 19 different drivers lead laps exchanging the lead 53 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day" The car was ok. We don't have the experience to really contend at the bigger tracks much less the biggest tracks. I was able to qualify really well and get up front to lead a lap, but that 1st caution I was caught high on the track and had no where to go effectively ending any change I had at a good finish. Then luck reared it's ugly head once again when the yellow flag came out right when I was about to make my green flag pit stop catching me on the track and ran out of fuel. Hopefully the more we drive these tracks the more we can take out of them to get more competitive.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Music City USA 420
Nashville, Tennessee
May 10th, 1980​

 

[goblue96]

Can't like this enough.

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Music City USA 420"
May 10th, 1980


"Nashville Speedway USA"
Nashville, Tennessee


Race 11 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough earns his 2nd pole of the season and the 45th of his career taking the green flag at Nashville"

"On the 2nd lap #2 Dale Earnhardt get's a little too close to #47 Harry Gant, but Gant makes a nice save to avoid a wreck"

"#94 Bobby Wawak is the 1st casualty of the race blowing his motor on just the 19th lap"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip leads 24 of the 1st 51 laps, but once again has to retire due to engine problems that has plagued his season so far"

"#47 Harry Gant and #64 Tommy Gale get together going into turn 3 collecting #71 Dave Marcis in the process"

"That wouldn't be all though where at the end of the pit road wall #11 Cale Yarborough's day ends and #44 Terry Labonte, #3 Richard Childress and #99 Dick May also get involved"

"#24 Cecil Gordon get's into the corner a little too hot turning #71 Dave Marcis around"

"#21 Neil Bonnett and #42 Kyle Petty get together in turn 1 with both ending up smacking the wall"

"With 5 laps to go #53 Slick Johnson get's into the back of #44 Terry Labonte backing him into the wall as #19 Steve Spencer is also involved"

"The race ends under caution and #2 Dale Earnhardt wins his 4th race of the season and his 5th career victory in 47 starts"


"Race Recap"
Terry Labonte got caught up in a couple wrecks putting him a few laps down and Dale Earnhardt wins the race to put him back on top in the point standings after surrendering it for just the only week of the season so far. Richard Petty finally is able to finish off a race and get a solid 2nd place finish to begin trying to make a 2nd half season run for a respectable finish in points. There was only 5 cautions in the race and had good battles through out the field.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Had my best finish of my career getting a 3rd place finish. Ran good and stayed clean once again and the finish shows. Didn't get to lead any laps, but moved up to 6th place in points and with Jody Ridley having a bad day I was able to inch really close to leading in the Rookie of the Year standings.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Mason-Dixon 500
Dover, Delaware
May 18th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Mason-Dixon 500"
May 18th, 1980


"Dover Downs International Speedway"
Dover, Delaware


Race 12 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough earns his 3rd pole of the season leading the field down to take the green flag at the monster mile"

"After leading 78 of 84 laps pole sitter, Cale Yarborough blows his engine and is done for the day"

"A pack of cars slow up to avoid wrecking, but #23 Bryan Dehn couldn't get slowed up in time and get's into the #24 car of Cecil Gordon"

"More cars get into each other trying to get back to speed on the back stretch after the melee in turn 2"

"#23 Bryan Dehn misses pit road causing him to go a lap down"

"Fighting to get his lap back Dehn tries too hard and get's loose in turn 2 and falls too far behind the leaders"

"Soon after the caution Dehn needed to get back on the lead lap #45 Baxter Price loses his engine bringing out the caution"

"The #75 car get's into trouble again, this time with John Anderson behind the wheel, but was able to continue"

"#28 Buddy Baker goes to make a pit stop, but Dehn didn't get the message and spins him around in turn 3"

"#71 Dave Marcis wins the race and takes the checkered flag for 3rd time this season and the 7th time in 348 career starts"


"Race Recap"
Cale Yarborough had another race winning car, but once again engine troubles forced him to retire. Dave Marcis dominated the last portion of the race and took the checkered flag. A lot of the drivers in the top 10 in points had bad days so Dale Earnhardt's 2nd place finish pads his points lead that much more as we near the half way point of the season. There was 5 caution flags for 20 laps and 14 different drivers lead a lap exchanging the lead 31 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Mistakes reared their ugly head once again after a few weeks of good clean racing. Missing the pits caused me to go a lap down that I could never make back. Finished just out of the top 20, but I am still sitting really well in the points standings in 6th place.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Winston Open
Charlotte, North Carolina
May 25th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1980 Winston All-Star Race"
May 25th, 1980


"Charlotte Motor Speedway"
Charlotte, North Carolina


"Winston Open Race"

"#72 Joe Millikan leads the field of 22 to earn a spot in the Winston All-Star race"

"The field comes in to make their mandatory pit stop near the half way point in the race"

"#44 Terry Labonte taks the checkered flag leading over half of the race to earn the 10th and final spot in the Winston All-Star race"


"Race Recap"
The race went caution free. No one really had the car to beat Terry in the race as he dominated from a little before the half way point to the finish line.


"Winston Open Results"

"Winston Race"

"#15 Bobby Allison won the draw to take the pole and is trying to win both the Busch Clash and the Winston in the same year"

"The field of 10 cars all bunched together going down the back stretch early in the race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough has had a strong car all year, but finally was able to finish a short race without his engine going sour taking the victory in the 1980 Winston All-Star race"


"Race Recap"
Bobby Allison went from 1st to last on the 1st lap of the race and stayed there the entire 30 laps. Richard Petty had a shot to win, but Cale Yarborough was just too strong to get the job done. There was no cautions during the 30 lap race.


"Winston Results"

"Next Race"
World 600
Charlotte, North Carolina
May 26th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"World 600"
May 26th, 1980


"Charlotte Motor Speedway"
Charlotte, North Carolina


Race 13 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt earned his 4th pole of the season and the 8th of his short career"

"Fighting to get into the top5 early on #23 Bryan Dehn tapped the fender of #27 Benny Parsons and was sent spinning nearly ending his day as he just get's out of the way of #88 Darrell Waltrip"

"#11 Cale Yarborough assumes the lead and leads the most laps in the race once again, but can he hold on and get a good finish on the day?"

"Dehn was over driving to get back up front and got into the back of #9 Bill Elliott causing both of them to spin out down the back stretch"

"#45 Baxter Price and #12 Donnie Allison get together in turn 3 to bring out the 3rd caution of the day"

"Now 2 laps down Dehn get's spun out by #5 Sterling Marlin causing a huge pile up on the front stretch ending many drivers day including Dehn"

"#39 Blackie Wangerin got the worst of the wreck fliping end of end and finishing up on his roof, but walked away with a few minor bumps and bruises"

"#44 Terry Labonte slowed on the front stretch causing #52 Jimmy Means to tag him in the rear causing the 5th and final caution of the day"

"#15 Bobby Allison dominated the end of the race leading 39 laps, but the off the pace car of #28 Buddy Baker slowed him up enough to lose the lead"

"#3 Richard Childress takes advantage of Allisons misfortunes and motors his way to his 1st career victory in his 246th career start"


"Race Recap"
For the 3rd time this season Cale Yarborough has led the most laps int he race only to have something go wrong, but a top 15 finish is a lot better than having to retire early in the race. He still sits out of the top 10 in points as we get closer to the half way point in the season still without a victory. Points leader Dale Earnhardt also had a forgettable day allowing Dave Marcis, Benny Parsons and Bobby Allison to move closer with Marcis within 100 points. There was 5 cautions on the day for 18 laps. 14 drivers each lead a lap today exchanging the lead 27 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Another race, another bad mistake filled day. The early spin was trying to force and issue that an experienced driver wouldn't have made along with the contact with Elliott on the back stretch. The big one that ultimately took me out wasn't my fault though and was spun out trying to get my laps back. After a few good weeks I fall out of the top 10 in points from 6th to 13th. The good thing is there is only a couple more tracks that I haven't run on yet this season and will not be going from week to week on a track I have never even been at yet.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Budweiser 400
College Station, Texas
June 1st, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Budweiser 400"
June 1st, 1980


"Texas World Speedway"
College Station, Texas


Race 14 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#12 Donnie Allison earns his 1st pole of the season and the 18th of his career"

"The racing mimicked a race run at Talladega with a different driver leading each lap and 3 wide racing from start to finish"

"#71 Dave Marcis and #93 Don Whittington get caught up in the 1st caution of the day racing the track in the wrong direction"

"The 2nd caution flag came out when #18 Randy Ogden tapped the rear fender of #23 Bryan Dehn sending him spinning up to the wall also collecting #93 Don Whittington"

"#24 Cecil Gordon couldn't get slowed down enough and slammed into the rear end of #28 Buddy Baker while approaching the pace car ending Gordons day"

"#23 Bryan Dehn tried to stay off the track to let the leaders by, but slid up just a bit and #15 Bobby Allison get just enough of him to send him spinning into the pit road wall and decided to just park it"

"#44 Terry Labonte get's into the #52 of Jimmy Means and the #15 of Bobby Allison spinning both of them out late in the race"

"With less than 10 laps to go #43 Richard Petty, #11 Cale Yarborough and #25 Ronnie Thomas get together causing the last caution of the day"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt got involved with #67 Buddy Arrington later under caution and rolls down the banking ending his day"

"Rookie driver, #90 Jody Ridley takes the victory and wins his 2nd race of the season"


"Race Recap"
With Dale Earnhardt having a bad day Benny Parsons is able to move to only 20 points back in the standings. If it were not for the 40 more bonus points on the year Parsons would actually hold the lead over Earnhardt. Dave Marcis had a bad day as well, but still remains within 100 points in the standings. There was 4 cautions for 15 laps in the race and 30 different drivers lead a lap exchanging the lead 77 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Had a terrible car in the draft. I couldn't keep up at all. Once again we couldn't figure out how to keep pace on a big track. I qualified well when alone on the track, but the car was not built good enough to keep up.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Warner H. Hogdon 400
Riverside, California
June 8th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Warner H. Hogdon 400"
June 8th, 1980


"Riverside International Raceway"
Riverside, California


Race 15 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"Dale Earnhardt took the checkers in the spring opener and starts the summer race where he left off earning his 5th pole of the season"

"#17 Roger Hamby get's into #52 of Jimmy Means on the 1st lap spinning Means and #08 Rick McCray"

"#70 J.D. McDuffie get's into the rear fender of #78 Jim Robinson spinning him out and hard into the fence"

"#70 J.D. McDuffie decides too late to pit and slams into the wall ending his day"

"On the restart #23 Bryan Dehn and #98 Hershel McGriff get together spinning Dehn out, but the caution flag does not come out"

"#45 Roy Smith runs out of gas and stops on the front stretch bringing out the caution"

"#24 Cecil Gordon with a tore up front end finally the engine let's go under caution"

"#72 Joe Millikan looking to win his 1st career race was leading under caution and the engine let's go ending his very promising day"

"With 3 laps to go #43 Richard Petty was forced to make a pit stop for fuel with a hand full of other drivers"

"#88 Darrell W@altrip is able to come out victorious for the 1st time this year and the 23rd time in 204 starts"


"Race Recap"
Dale Earnhardt was in jeopardy of losing his points lead for only the 2nd time this season, but with a hand full of cars pitting late ion the race including #27 Benny Parsons and #71 Dave Marcis Dale was able to come home with a big points day and put a 100 buffer on 2nd place. Finally Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough was able to put their bad season behind them for one week anyway with Darrell getting the victory and Cale taking home 2nd place. There was 5 cautions for 10 laps and 5 different leaders exchanging the lead 7 different times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Was rough a rough start to the race not being able to get out of the back of the field, but with the restart with 8 laps to go I was able to get the best out of my car on the day and move through the field with a little help from some of the drivers that had to pit late and ended up tying my best career finish in 3rd place. I haven't lead a lap in 5 races now and still stuck on 99 laps lead and I have been wanting to get that elusive 100th lap and even though it's not a big deal maybe I can lead 1 lap at Michigan and have it be the last one...


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Gabriel 400
Brooklyn, Michigan
June 16th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Gabriel 400"
June 16th, 1980


"Michigan International Speedway"
Brooklyn, Michigan


Race 16 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#23 Bryan Dehn catches a bit too much of the apron and uses the #28 of Buddy Baker to correct himself and keep going"

"On lap 20 the engine let's go on the #23 Citgo Chevy ending Dehn's day"

"On the same lap making his 1st pit stop of the race #45 Baxter Price looses his engine as well"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip blows engines more than anyone loosing another one on lap 43 of the race"

"#42 Kyle Petty is the next victim to loose an engine on the day"

"#44 Terry Labonte leads the field into turn 1 on a restart"

"#11 Cale Yarborough finally get's his 1st points victory of the season winning his 64 race in his 971st career start"


"Race Recap"
The race was paced by 5 drivers all leading around 20 laps with all of them finishing in the top 10. Richard Petty lead the most with 22, but still has yet to find himself in victory lane in 1980. Points leader Dale Earnhardt came home 7th, but the rest of the top 5 in points all finished well not allowing Earnhardt to add to his lead. There was 2 caution flags for 7 laps and 18 different lead changes amongst 9 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Can't really say much. Was able to keep pace during the 20 laps I was out there, but our engines just haven't been able to hold up. Tried to get more out of them today, but it cost us by blowing it up early.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

b]"Next Race"[/b]
Firecracker 400
Daytona, Florida
July 4th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Firecracker 400"
July 4th, 1980


"Daytona International Raceway"
Daytona, Florida


Race 17 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip leads the field to take the green flag earning his 2nd pole of the season and the 18th of his career"

"The action is intense early on going 4 wide up front with #27 Benny Parsons leading the way"

"But it don't last long as they get tangled up in front of nearly the whole field"

"Most of the field get's caught up in the wreck only 2 laps into the race taking out many of the top contenders"

"#23 Bryan Dehn didn't get the signal from #62 Rick Wilson that he was intending to pit and got into the back of him"

"Trying to stay on the leap lap #23 Bryan Dehn tries to block the leader #12 Donnie Allison, but ends up worse off then he was"

"#89 Jim Vandiver get's spun out by #75 John Anderson which got spun out by #23 Bryan Dehn which caught #22 Ricky Rudd & #2 Dale Earnhardt involved"

"A 3 wide battle on the last lap between #28 Buddy Baker, #90 Jody Ridley and #1 David Pearson"

"#28 Buddy Baker fights off the other 2 to get his 1st victory of the season and his 17th of his career in his 515th career start"


"Race Recap"
Two veterans ruled the race in David Pearson and Buddy Baker as they traded the lead back and forth leading a combined 27 of the 80 laps and holding off a charge from rookie Jody Ridley. There was only 2 cautions on the day for 7 laps and 50 lead changes among 15 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Well, I got lucky and found a little hole to get through the big wreck at the beginning of the race, but a spin out put me at the end of the lead lap and my inability to stay calm caused me to get into much more trouble through out the rest of the race costing me more than if I had just accepted that it wasn't my day and not tried to force my way back into contention.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Busch Nashville 420
Nashville, Tennessee
July 12th, 1980​

 

[goblue96]

Chances to win ROY are slip sliding away.

 

[Sacrafice]

Chances to win ROY are slip sliding away.

Ridley kicked my ass pretty hard, yes lol

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Busch Nashville 420"
July 12th, 1980


"Nashville Speedway USA"
Nashville, Tennessee


Race 18 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#43 Richard Petty leads the field to take the green flag earning his 2nd pole of the year and the 126th of his career"

"#71 Dave Marcis kept running into #23 Bryan Dehn eventually causing this pile up as #40 D.K. Ulrich get's the worst of it"

"#48 James Hylton turns the #21 of Neil Bonnett and #52 Jimmy Means is again in the wrong place at the wrong time"

"On the restart #3 Richard CHildress spins out #67 Buddy Arrington and #79 Junior Miller has no where to go and Arrington does a slow roll onto his roof"

"#45 Baxter Price does his best to not spin out #21 Neil Bonnett, but is rewarded by #53 Slick Johnson and ends up collecting the inside wall"

"#11 Cale Yarborough get's into the #23 of Bryan Dehn leading to #24 Cecil Gordon tagging him causing Dehn to roll over off the inside wall and was able to continue"

"After leading a race high 94 laps the engine let loose on the pole sitter #43 Richard Petty ending his day"

"#15 Bobby Allison is the next victim of an engine failure"

"The points leader pad his lead as #2 Dale Earnhardt crosses the strip first to win his 5th race of the year and 6th of his career"


"Race Recap"
There was 8 cautions for 35 laps and 12 lead changes amongst 5 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I was doing alright out there today. It looked as though everyone was in a hurry to get to the finish as there was a lot of contact out there and it wasn't all from me. I ended up getting turned around myself a couple times and the 2nd one from Cale Yarborough cost me a good finish as my car was too torn up to be competitive.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Coca-Cola 500
Long Pond, Pennsylvania
July 27th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Coca-Cola 500"
July 27th, 1980


"Pocono International Raceway"
Long Pond, Pennsylvania


Race 19 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads the field to take the green flag earning his 5th pole of the season and his 48th of his career"

"#99 Dick May was the 1st casualty of the day blowing his engine on lap 22"

"3 laps later the piston blew out on the #40 car of D.K. Ulrich"

"On lap 55 the #15 car driven by Bobby Allison blew up adding another miserable day to his 1980 season"

"#67 Buddy Arrington got into the back end of #21 Neil Bonnett causing the 1st contact of the day"

"#23 Bryan Dehn got loose on the restart which caused a chain reaction which seemed like everyone was going to keep er strait"

"But in the end #47 Harry Gant, #11 Cale Yarborough & #43 Richard Petty end up in the wall"

"#28 Buddy Baker is the next of many to end his day due to engine problems"

"#27 Benny Parsons leads the field onto the front stretch late in the race"

"#44 Terry Labonte wins the race and is his 1st win of his career in his 55th career start"


"Race Recap"
#27 Benny Parsons 2nd place finish gained him 68 points on #2 Dale Earnhardt and is only 32 points out of taking the points lead that Earnhardt has had since the 1st race of the season. There was 2 caution flags for 8 laps and 18 lead changes amongst 11 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I had a pretty quiet race for my standards, but a 25th place finish is not what I am looking for. Another case of a long track which needs a ton of power to keep up was too much for me and my car. Finished on the lead lap and didn't cause much trouble so it's a good thing I guess.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Talladega 500
Talladega, Alabama
August 3rd, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Talladega 500"
August 3rd, 1980


"Alabama International Motor Speedway"
Talladega, Alabama


Race 20 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#42 Kyle Petty leads the field to take the green flag earning his 2nd pole of the season (both on Superspeedways) and his 2nd of his career"

"#99 Dick May didn't last as long as last week making it only 13 laps before blowing up his gearbox finishing 43rd for the 2nd strait week"

"This wouldn't be the 1st time #11 Cale Yarborough has fallen asleep on pit road and probably won't be the last. Maybe it's time for him to call it a career"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip is going the wrong way as he get's caught up in the 1st wreck of the day"

"#87 Billie Harvey runs out of gas just before getting to pit road under caution"

"#44 Terry Labonte, #40 D.K. Ulrich, #25 Ronnie Thomas & #52 Jimmy Means get together going into turn 3"

"#23 Bryan Dehn gets into the back of #70 J.D. McDuffie turning him into #47 Harry Gant effectively ending both drivers day"

"pole sitter #42 Kyle Petty leads #23 Bryan Dehn & #3 Richard Childress to the white flag"

"#23 Bryan Dehn takes the lead in turn 3 of the last lap"

"But with help from #3 Richard Childress #42 Kyle Petty wins the battle to the line winning his 1st win of the season and of his career in his 23rd career start"


"Race Recap"
#42 Kyle Petty is the 2nd driver to win the race from pole this season. #2 Dale Earnhardt is able to get back a little room in the points standings over #27 Benny Parsons this week. There was 4 cautions for 8 laps and season high 59 lead changes amongst 22 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Great day. I had a shot at winning my 1st career race, but it wasn't meant to be today, but the biggest thing is the crew was finally able to figure something out to give this #23 Nub's & LeRoy's Citgo Chevy enough power to be competitive and not blow up during the race. Now it's time to try and figure out how I am going to make up 41 point difference between me and Jody Ridley in the Rookie of the Year standings with only 11 races left to go.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Champion Spark Plug 400
Brooklyn, Michigan
August 17th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Champion Spark Plug 400"
August 17th, 1980


"Michigan International Speedway"
Brooklyn, Michigan


Race 21 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#42 Kyle Petty wins his 2nd strait pol and the 3rd of his career as he leads the rest of the field to take the green flag"

"While battling with the leaders #23 Bryan Dehn get's in a little over his head and is spun by #43 Richard Petty, but his raw abilities was enough to save him from disaster"

"#89 Jim Vandiver & #22 Ricky Rudd get together coming out of the pits causing Rudd to shoot up the track and collide with #28 Buddy Baker"

"This little bit of contact between #28 Buddy Baker and #94 Bobby Wawak wasn't significant at the time, but would be later in the race"

"#23 Bryan Dehn is unable to check up in time when #94 Bobby Wawak suddenly looses power causing a big traffic jam behind him"

"Many of the front runners would get involved notably #2 Dale Earnhardt and ending the day of #23 Bryan Dehn"

"#94 Bobby Wawak would strike again with 6 laps to go getting in the way for leader #11 Cale Yarborough which pretty much had the race won as he tried for the season sweep at Michigan"

"A little farther back in the pack the 2nd & 3rd place cars of #24 Cecil Gordon & #45 Baxter Price both sending them back to the hauler"

"With 3 laps to go under caution the #2 car of Dale Earnhardt finally let go"

"#87 Billie Harvey had all the luck and was able to get by Yarborough to give him his 1st win of his career in only his 5th career start"


"Race Recap"
After the race Billie Harvey said he was going to shut it down in 1980 so he could run for Rookie of the Year in 1981 as this his his 5th start of 1980 and running 1 more would exclude him for next year. This is the 3rd race in a row that a drive would take the checkered flag for the 1st time in his career. There was 4 caution flags for 17 laps and 14 lead changes amongst 10 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I was having another great day staying in the top 10 all day until the 94 car suddenly lost power causing everyone to get their shots in on me. I hope it was payback for all the destruction I have caused through out the year and I am going into Bristol with a clean slate with everyone now.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

* Rookies with less than 8 races completed by the 20th race of the season do not gain rookie points for the rest of the season. Only the top 9 rookies will receive rookie points for the rest of 1980


"Next Race"
Busch Volunteer 500
Bristol, Tennessee
August 23rd, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Busch Volunteer 500"
August 23rd, 1980


"Bristol International Raceway"
Bristol, Tennessee


Race 22 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt wins his 6th pole of the season and the 10th of his career"

"#52 Jimmy Means and #45 Baxter Price get together and both crash into the inside wall."

"#11 Cale Yarborough get's into #53 Slick Johnson spinning him back up the track into #70 J.D. McDuffie"

"#23 Bryan Dehn didn't see the pit sign by #64 Tommy Gale spinning him out causing more commotion with #95 Tommy Houston getting the worst of it"

"#67 Buddy Arrington and #52 Jimmy Means get together also getting #11 Cale Yarborough involved"

"#44 Terry Labonte & #23 Bryan Dehn get together causing both of them to spin out"

"3 wide is acceptable, but 4 wide is impossible at Bristol as these 4 driver found out the hard way"

"#48 James Hylton suddenly looses power and #12 Buck Simmons has no where to go and crushes the rear end of Hylton's car"

"#23 Bryan Dehn tries his best to loose the 5 second lead he has with 40 some laps left to go in the race, but there was no caution and he was able to get it going just in time to hold the lead"

"#23 Bryan Dehn wins the race for the 1st time this season and for the 1st time in his career in his 22nd career start"


"Race Recap"
#23 Bryan Dehn was the dominant car today nearly lapping the field and leading nearly half of the race. With #90 Jody Ridley having a bad day he was able to take off half of the points he needed to get back into the Rookie of the Year chase as it seemed all, but wrapped up by Ridley. #2 Dale Earnhardt had a solid outing getting him back to a 100 plus point lead on #27 Benny Parsons with just 9 races remaining. There was 10 caution flags for 50 laps and 20 lead changes amongst 12 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I WON! Finally we were able to get to where I am at my best on a short track and the car was head and shoulders above the competition. It felt good to be to do whatever I want to do with the car, but the rookie in me did make mistakes and tried to give the race away, but I was able to limit them to minor inconveniences and have more than enough to put this car in victory lane.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Southern 500
Darlington, South Carolina
September 1st, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Southern 500"
September 1st, 1980


"Darlington Raceway"
Darlington, South Carolina


Race 23 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads the field to take the green flag earning his 6th pole of the season and the 49th of his career"

"#74 Joe Booher and #94 Bobby Wawak get together causing Wawak to spin out also collecting #77 Kenny Hemphill knocking both drivers out of the race"

"After the yellow flag comes out for debris the #72 car driven by Joe Millikan decides it's had enough of Darlington"

"#48 James Hylton and #99 Dick May get together going into turn 3 during a round of green flag pit stops"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas is the last to make his stop and in doing so forced every other car on the track to end up on the tail end of the lead lap"

"#23 Bryan Dehn and #2 Dale Earnhardt enter the pits for the last round of stops, but Earnhardt and Dehn get together and cause Dehn to spin and hit the wall ending any chance at a good finish"

"#7 Dick Brooks, #75 John Anderson & #40 D.K. Ulrich get together bringing out the final caution allowing most drivers to come back around to challenge Ronnie Thomas for the win"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas is able to hold off any challengers in the last remaining laps to win his 1st career race in his 84th career start"


"Race Recap"
Ronnie Thomas becomes 5th driver in the last 5 races to win his 1st career race. Dale Earnhardt looses 30 points in the championship chase over Benny Parsons and the man sitting 3rd in points, Jody Ridley is also the leader in the Rookie of the Year race by a commanding margin over Bryan Dehn. There was 4 cautions for 16 laps and 10 lead changes between 7 different drivers.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Every time I would make my way up through the field something dumb would happen to put me back in the back forcing me to start back over. The car had enough in it to get a top 10 and still have a chance at the Rookie of the Year award and looked like everything was going to fall into place until Dale Earnhardt had to hit me going into pit road ending any chance I had at any kind of a respectable finish.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Capital City 400
Richmond, Virginia
September 7th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Capital City 400"
September 7th, 1980


"Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway"
Richmond, Virginia


Race 24 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough earns his 2nd strait pole and the 7th of the season making an even 50 for his career"

"#44 Terry Labonte breaks down on lap 30 of the race and stops right in the middle of the track, but no one else got caught up in the misfortune"

"#99 Dick May get's into the rear end of #23 Bryan Dehn spinning him out and bringing out the yellow flag, but May also was able to straiten the 23 back out to keep going without further problems"

"#23 Bryan Dehn get's loose coming out of turn 4 and has it saved until #42 Kyle Petty made it 3 wide and they touched wheels pushing him down the front stretch and bringing out another yellow flag"

"#70 J.D. McDuffie's engine let's go under yellow on lap 88"

"The man with 9 DNF's and the most on the season #24 Cecil Gordon has his engine fail him again on lap 115"

"The top rookie of the season #90 Jody Ridley has engine problems and is forced to retire on lap 152"

"5 laps later #72 Joe Millikan has engine problems and is one of many to go down on this short track"

"#27 Benny Parsons and #67 Buddy Arrington get together causing Arrington to hit the end of the steel rails sending him back up the track into #21 Neil Bonnett"

"#47 Harry Gant takes the checkered flag winning his 1st race of his career in his 61st race"


"Race Recap"
Harry Gant becomes the 6th driver in a row to win his 1st career race. Dale Earnhardt is able to open the season point lead to 90 points following 10th top 5 finish of the year. Rookie of the Year candidate Bryan Dehn was happy to see his competition Jody Ridley fall out of the race early, but mistimed caution flag forced him into only a 15th place finish didn't allow him to capitalize and inch closer towards the title. There was 5 cautions for 25 laps during the race and 8 different drivers lead a lap exchanging the lead 10 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I had a top 10 and possibly a top 5 all wrapped up until I had to pit a bit earlier than the rest of the field causing me to be put a lap down. All in all a top 15 is great, but Jody Ridley having such a huge point lead a 15th place finish didn't allow me to capitalize and give me the boost I needed to steal the Rookie of the Year championship.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
CRC Chemicals 500
Dover, Delaware
September 14th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"CRC Chemicals 500"
September 14th, 1980


"Dover Downs International Speedway"
Dover, Delaware


Race 25 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads the field to take the green flag for the 3rd race in a row making it 8 times he has sat on the pole this season and the 51st time in his career"

"#12 Donnie Allison could only make it to lap 24 before his engine would let go"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt would have issues in the pit with the man chasing him in the point standing causing him to go a couple laps down that he would never be able to make up"

"#42 Kyle Petty would have to drop out of competition on lap 107 when his engine let go."

"While leading the race #23 Bryan Dehn was sandwiched in between 3 lapped cars when #64 Tommy Gale put a bumper to him causing Dehn to spin out"

"#75 John Anderson would have to put his car back on the hauler when his Ignition would go out on lap 145"

"#47 Harry Gant wouldn't be able carry the good luck of winning last week as he got tangled up with another car and barrel rolled down the banking"

"#19 Steve Spencer spun out due to the crash and #43 Richard Petty and #2 Dale Earnhardt had no where to go"

"#23 Bryan Dehn and #88 Darrell Waltrip get together in turn 3 causing a few other cars to get involved and ultimately get taken out of the race."

"#11 Cale Yarborough would get his 3rd top 5 in a row winning from the pole. It is his 2nd win of the year and the 65th win of his career in his 430th career start"


"Race Recap"
Benny Parsons only moves up a little bit in the point standings not being able to take advantage of Earnhardts miss fortunes. Cale Yarborough is making a last second run at the championship getting 4 top 5's in his last 5 races, but is still a little over 300 points behind in 4th place. There was 4 caution flags for 16 laps and 10 drivers exchanged the lead 23 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I had another solid race staying ahead of Jody Ridley to not lose any of the points I have earned the past couple weeks in the Rookie of the Year chase. I was dominant in the middle of the race, but some bad luck put me in the back of the pack and fought hard to get back and finish in 3rd place.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Holly Farms 400
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
September 21st, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Holly Farms 400"
September 21st, 1980


"North Wilkesboro Speedway"
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina


Race 26 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip earns his 3rd pole on the season and is the 19th of his career"

"#07 Jeff McDuffie is only able to complete 5 laps before his engine would let go ending his day"

"#17 Roger Hamby is not far behind loosing his engine on Lap 18 of the race"

"#44 Terry Labonte thought his pits were on the track as he stops right on the front stretch by his pits. Maybe he forgot something, but it ends up putting him 4 laps down that he would never recover from"

"#43 Richard Petty had to come in for an unscheduled pit stop putting him a couple laps down continuing his terrible season"

"With only 50 something laps to go #23 Bryan Dehn spins out trying to re-take the lead from #2 Dale Earnhardt bringing out the 1st caution of the day"

"#27 Benny Parsons had no where to go, but was able to slow up enough to not cause any major damage to either car"

"#23 Bryan Dehn get's by #2 Dale Earnhardt cleanly on the last lap to move into 2nd place"

"Engine problems reared their ugly head on the last lap for #43 Richard Petty"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip edges out #23 Bryan Dehn to win the race from the pole for the 2nd race in a row being the 3rd driver to do so in 4 races. Darrell wins his 2nd race of the season and the 24th of his career in 214 races"


"Race Recap"
Benny Parsons looses ground to Earnhardt in the points chase, but is still only 73 points back with 5 races left to go. There was only 1 caution flag for 5 laps and 6 drivers lead the race exchanging the lead 8 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Another top 5 and a great rookie points day and I now only am 19 points back with 5 races left. This is a good stretch of tracks for me and I am able to take of advantage of them so far. The only track left on the schedule that will pose a problem for me is Ontario at the end of the season, but Martinsville is next and hope to have another good run there as well.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Old Diminion 500
Martinsville, Virginia
September 28th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Old Dominion 500"
September 28th, 1980


"Martinsville Speedway"
Martinsville, Virginia


Race 27 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip wins his 2nd strait pole and his 4th of the season making it 20 career poles"

"#68 Lennie Pond get's into #52 Jimmy Means to bring out the 1st caution"

"#68 Lennie Pond is at it again this time trying to take out #11 Cale Yarborough"

"#3 Richard Childress and #75 John Anderson get together in turn 1 bringing out another cuation"

"#28 Buddy Baker takes out #2 Dale Earnhardt in turn 1"

"4 wide don't work at Martinsville as #52 Jimmy Means and #79 Junior Miller get tangled up coming out of turn 4"

"#23 Bryan Dehn and #12 Donnie Allison tangle in turn 3 trying to go 3 wide and Dehn looses control spinning out"

"#12 Donnie Allison didn't cause problems, but #23 Bryan Dehn thinks otherwise and retaliates a few laps later in turn 1"

"#28 Buddy Baker ends up on his roof after tangling with #70 J.D. McDuffie"

"Leading the last 14 laps of the race rookie #23 Bryan Dehn wins his 2nd race of the season and the 2nd of his career in just 27 starts"


"Race Recap"
Dale Earnhardt puts a little more space between him and the 2nd place Benny Parsons in the season point standings. In the battle for the "Rookie of the Year" Bryan Dehn's victory propels him into 1st place with 4 races left to go. Darrell Waltrip became the 2nd driver to win the pole the week after winning the race from the pole and dominated the race leading 157 of the 250 laps, but late in the race his car seemed to run a bit low on power and gave up his bid for a 2nd strait victory. This race breaks up a string of 4 strait top 5 finishes for Cale Yarborough pretty much ending his chance at a miracle comeback in the season point standings. There was 7 cautions for 35 laps and 7 drivers lead a lap exchanging the lead 12 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
This win came out of no where today. I was struggling to just stay near the top 10 all day including making a couple mistakes so I heard anyway. I hadn't lead a lap all day, but with 14 to go I found myself in the lead with a big cushion and lapped cars in between so I could coast my way into victory lane and this should help me out big time in the rookie of the year chase. Jody Ridley is 200 some points ahead of me in the standings so I know I must gain at least a 10 point advantage if I am to steal the rookie of the year honors away from him.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
National 500
Charlotte, North Carolina
October 5th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"National 500"
October 5th, 1980


"Charlotte Motor Speedway"
Charlotte, North Carolina


Race 28 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads the field to take the green flag for the 9th time this year and the 52nd time in his career"

"#4 Connie Saylor and #70 J.D. McDuffie get together in turn 4 spinning the rookie Saylor around and into the wall"

"#62 Rick Wilson has no where to go and slams into #4 Connie Saylor ending both drivers day on lap 85"

"#24 Cecil Gordon has run every race this season, but is 28th in points due to having a league leading 10 DNF's on the season"

"#1 David Pearson heads down pit lane for an unscheduled stop and eventually putted it back to the hauler and called it a day"

"#77 Kenny Hemphill lost his engine on lap 91 in front of a lot of cars, but everyone got through cleanly"

"#94 Bobby Wawak and #27 Benny Parsons get together going into turn 1 shortly after the restart"

"#23 Bryan Dehn goes onto the apron to miss the wreck and when coming back up onto the track he was met by #79 Junior Miller spinning both out, but not causing much if any damage"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt leaves the racing surface and makes an unscheduled pit stop effectively ending his day"

"#16 Rusty Wallace looks like a racing god winning both races he has entered this year giving him 2 wins in his first 2 career starts"


"Race Recap"
The only thing to make Rusty Wallace more impressive was to win both races back to back, but no one has ever won in their 1st carrer start much less in his first 2 races of his career. Someone has got to put this guy in a car full time next year. Dale Earnhardt gave up a lot of ground by having a loose lugnut on the final green flag run late in the race and gives up his points lead to Benny Parsons and is 22 points back with 3 races left to go. Bryan Dehn moves 5 points ahead of Jody Ridley in the "Rookie of the Year" standings with his 4th top 3 finish in a row. There was 2 cautions for 8 laps and 16 drivers lead a lap exchanging the lead 37 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I am surprised at how well I have been running each week after struggling to even keep the car clean through out the year. My 4th top 3 and 5th out of 7 races has put me back into the rookie of the year chase, but Jody Ridley don't finish out of the top 10 very much which makes it a must for me to finish in the top 5 each week to still have a chance.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
American 500
Rockingham, North Carolina
October 19th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"American 500"
October 19th, 1980


"North Carolina Motor Speedway"
Rockingham, North Carolina


Race 29 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#47 Harry Gant leads the field to take the green flag earning his 1st pole of the season and his 2nd career pole in his 66th career start"

"#53 Slick Johnson just get's enough of the rear bumber of #79 Junior Miller to send him hard into the inside wall on lap #17"

"#9 Bill Elliott blows up on lap #51 during green flag pit stops"

"#40 Stan Barrett get's into the back end of #2 Dale Earnhardt sending him up into the wall, but he keeps going and doesn't bring out the yellow flag"

"#40 Stan Barrett is a little aggressive in his 1st ever start getting into the rear end of #23 Bryan Dehn and he is able to save it without hitting anything in the process"

"#2 Dale Earnhardt wasn't very patient as he turns the slower car of #18 Randy Ogden bring out the yellow flag"

"#67 Buddy Arrington came up off the apron and got into the #76 car of Mike Potter as he goes hard into the wall flipping over Arrington as they both barrel roll down the turn 3 banking"

"#07 Jeff McDuffie and #7 Dick Brooks get together coming off turn 4, but the unfortunate victim is #88 Darrell Waltrip as he spins down the front stretch"

"#23 Bryan Dehn tried to fit into a little hole, but #66 Lake Speed was there and spun both of them around and into the outside wall"

"#40 Stan Barrett wins the race in his 1st ever start."


"Race Recap"
Benny Parsons extands his point lead to 52 points after a 18th place finish over Dale Earnhardt which didn't have such a good day finishing 28th. There was 5 caution flags for 19 laps. 12 drivers each lead a lap exchanging the lead 23 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
I came home finishing in 12th place which is a good result, but Jody Ridley finished 6th and we are now tied to the Rookie of the Year honors, but I know those 11 points he will gain for being so far ahead of me the point standings means I can not finish behind him, but rather continue this great run I have been on along with some bad luck on Ridley's part if I am to have a shot at winning the award.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Atlanta Journal 500
Atlanta, Georgia
November 2nd, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Atlanta Journal 500"
November 2nd, 1980


"Atlanta International Raceway"
Atlanta, Georgia


Race 30 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads to field to take the green flag for the 10th time this season and the 53rd time in his career"

"Two old foes renewed their rivalry early on in the race as #1 David Pearson and #43 Richard Petty fought for the lead"

"While the two stars of yesterday battled the two top rookies, #90 Jody Ridley and #23 Bryan Dehn took it to each other in a side by side battle"

"#25 Ronnie Thomas slowed up on the track and #24 Cecil Gordon didn't react at all slamming into him and taking #9 Bill Elliott along for the ride"

"While leading with 30 laps to go #23 Bryan Dehn got into it with #48 James Hylton while pitting under green flag conditions causing both to hit the wall hard"

"While coming out of the pits #64 Tommy Gale got into #11 Cale Yarborough and sent him up the track into #88 Darrell Waltrip"

"While checking up to go into the pits again under caution #48 James Hylton rear ended the field causing all kinds of mayhem ultimately leading to only having #23 Bryan Dehn left on the lead lap"

"On turn 2 of the last lap #2 Dale Earnhardt passed #27 Benny Parsons to pick up a couple much needed points for the championship"

"What looked like disaster turned into a gift for #23 Bryan Dehn after all was said and done he was the only car on the lead lap and cruised to his 3rd victory of the season and the 3rd of his career in his 30th start"


"Race Recap"
With the last lap pass Dale Earnhardt made up 5 points and trails Benny Parsons by 47 going into the final race of the season. Benny needs a 8th place finish or better to secure his 2nd career Winston Cup Championship. There was 2 cautions for 8 laps. 13 drivers exchanged the lead 35 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
Look what the cat dragged in! I thought my day was over after making contact with James Hylton and my hopes for the Rookie of the Year was over, but the racing gods shined down on me and I lucked my way to my 3rd win of the season. Unheard of year for Rookies. It is hard enough to find any rookie that wins a race much less 3 and with Jody Ridley & Rusty Wallace winning 2 including his first 2 starts along with many other 1st time rookie winners this season has been one for the record books for sure. I need to finish 10 points ahead of Jody next week to win which means it's top 10 or bust with a lot of help.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"Next Race"
Los Angeles Times 500
Ontario, California
November 15th, 1980​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Los Angeles Times 500"
November 15th, 1980


"Ontario Motor Speedway"
Ontario, California


Race 31 of 31 during the 1980 Season


"Qualifying"

"Race"

"#11 Cale Yarborough leads the field to take the green flag earning his 11th pole of the season and his 54th of his career"

"#22 Ricky Rudd and #67 Buddy Arrington get together early in the race to bring out the 1st caution"

"#27 Benny Parosns has only his 2nd DNF of the season giving #2 Dale Earnhardt the shot at the championship, but was also involved in the wreck and had to retire"

"Top Rookie of the Year contender, #90 Jody Ridley was turned by #66 Lake Speed opening the door to loose the title finishing 38th"

"#45 Roy Smith was turned around on the front stretch by #70 J.D. McDuffie"

"Trying to make his way to the front #23 Bryan Dehn was tagged in the rear by #73 Bill Schmitt sending him into the wall, but was able to continue"

"An altercation with #02 Chuck Bown did end the day of Rookie of the Year hopeful #23 Bryan Dehn putting him behind pit wall and finishes short of the title"

"#88 Darrell Waltrip wins the final race of the year. It is his 3rd win in 1980 and his 25th career win in his 220th career start"


"Race Recap"
There was 5 cautions for 19 laps and 7 different drivers exchanging the lead 12 times.


"Video Recap"



"#23 Bryan Dehn's Day"
The long straits held us back. No power to make many passes, but it was a problem for many here today. Thought we had our big track problems fixed, but we were mired in the back all day. We got the luck we needed to put out the huge come from behind upset and a top 10 was all that was needed, but I got to antsy and put the car into the wall not only once, but twice so here we are. We had a great season. Finished 6th in the point standings and hold the rookie record with 3 wins in my rookie season.


"Race Results"

"Point Standings"

"#90 Jody Ridley sits in turn 4 smoking and out of the race, but he is your 1980 "Rookie of the Year" Champion!"

"The crew got the #27 car back together enough for Benny Parsons to take his victory lap winning his 2nd NASCAR Winston Cup Championship!"​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"NASCAR Champions"

"Final 1980 Schedule"

"Final Drivers Point Standings"

"Final Owners Point Standings"

"Final Manufacturers Championship Standings"

"Your Top 10 for 1980"
#1) "#27 Benny Parsons" 3,977 Points

#2) "#2 Dale Earnhardt" 3,927 Points

#3) "#90 Jody Ridley" 3,836 Points

#4) "#71 Dave Marcis" 3,663 Points

#5) "#11 Cale Yarborough" 3,656 Points

#6) "#23 Bryan Dehn" 3,619 Points

#7) "#15 Bobby Allison" 3,482 Points

#8) "#88 Darrell Waltrip" 3,481 Points

#9) "#67 Buddy Arrington" 3,468 Points

#10) "#47 Harry Gant" 3,442 Points

 

[Sacrafice]

Last post for 1980. After this it's the start of the 1981 season!!!

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"Career NASCAR Statistics"

"Season NASCAR Statistics"

"Career NASCAR Victories"

"Career NASCAR Poles"

"Career NASCAR Starts"

"Career NASCAR Top 5's"

"Career NASCAR Top 10's"

"Career NASCAR Average Start"

"Career NASCAR Average Finish"

"Career NASCAR Laps Run"

"Career NASCAR Laps Lead"

"Career NASCAR Lead Lap Finishes"

"Career NASCAR Running at Finish"

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Silly Season"

Simulation Life: With winning the championship comes a nice pay day and M.C Anderson thought the best driver to have would be the guy that gave them their first championship. Like in his first championship season Benny only won 1 race in the spring Darlington race, but was able to keep the car clean and on the track at the finish with his 13 top 10's and 13.6 average finish. It is his 9th strait year he finished in the top 5 in season points.

Real Life: Benny Parsons went on to drive for Bud More in the #15 Ford in what would be one of his last full seasons as a driver and last season where he would finish in the top 10 in points.

Simulation Life: Coming up 2nd in the points championship after leading for nearly the entire year Dale Earnhardt got Wrangler as a sponsor and is looking to get over the hump and win his first championship in 1981. Dale had a season leading 5 victories including 2 in a row to start the year at Riverside and his first Daytona 500 victory and followed those up with a 2nd place finish at Richmond to put himself firmly in the point lead, but late season problems seen him fall to 2nd where he had a chance in the final race of the season, but fell out of the race due to an accident. Dale finished with a season leading 15 top 10's, but the DNF's even if only 4 was the undoing of his season.

Real Life: Dale Earnhardt won the 1980 championship in just his 2nd full year. Rod Osterlund would sell the team nearing the end of the 1981 season to J.D. Stacy and after a couple starts Dale left to finish the season with Richard Childress.

Simulation Life: The 1980 Rookie of the Year might have had a chance at the season championship if hadn't crashed in his Twin 125 qualifier and miss out at starting in the Daytona 500 finishing just 141 points out of 1st place while only running in 30 of the 31 races. Jody was the model of consistency with a season leading 15 top 10's and also having a 14.2 average finish. Just one week after not qualifying for the Daytona 500 with a bad wreck he went on to win at Richmond and followed that up with an amazing come from behind victory at Texas for become the 1st rookie to win 2 or more races in his rookie season only to be out done by Bryan Dehn and Rusty Wallace later in the season.

Real Life: Jody did win the 1980 Rookie of the Year, but was without any victories and did stay in the #90 Ford for Junie Dunlavey.

Simulation Life: Dave Marcis enjoyed a bit of a resurrection season in 1980 winning for the first time since 1976 coming home with 3 victories at Rockingham, Martinsville and Dover early in the season to firmly put him into the top 5 in the final season point standings, but a not so great 2nd half of the season proved that a championship was still out of his grasp. Marcis had a season leading 12 top 5's along with 13 top 10's.

Real Life: Nothing has changed for Marcis in the 1981 season driving a car owned by himself and in his familiar blue #71.

Simulation Life: Cale Yarborough thought about slowing down to run a limited schedule in 1981 and told his car owner Junior Johnson to go after Darrell Waltrip as his replacement in the #11 car, but Johnson convinced Cale that he would field second team and wanted him to give it one more shot at his 4th season championship. Cale agreed late in the season and is now the driver of the #10 Burger King Buick with limited support from Pepsi which will the fans will be seeing double at select races with both the #10 and #11 cars running green and white Mountain Dew paint. Cale tied Bobby Allison for the modern day pole record of 11 and brought home 2 point victories at Michigan and Dover, both from the pole. Cale also won the Winston All-Star race and finished 5th in the final season points championship. He would have done better, but car issues throughout the season took him out of contention early.

Real Life: Cale slowed down a bit and ran a limited schedule in 1981 driving for M.C. Anderson in the #27 car.

Simulation Life: The runner up to the 1981 Rookie of the Year still did things no other rookie has done like winning 3 races late in the year at Bristol, Martinsville and Atlanta. Bryan finished 6th in the final season points championship which is amazing in it's self if not for Jody Ridley doing that much better. Bryan finished the season with 10 top 5's and 12 top 10's, but consistency issues and the lack of experience at the bigger tracks lead to his coming up short in his bid for Rookie of the Year.

Real Life: Yeah, didn't have a real life in NASCAR.

Simulation Life: Bobby Allison struggled big time in 1980 and was really unhappy driving for Bud Moore in a Ford. He did win 2 poles, but went the season winless after starting out the season winning the Busch Clash. The most telling stat for Allison in 1980 was the 18 lead lap finishes. Barely half the season. This season though Bobby will give Harry Ranier and the #28 team a full time driver in his bid to win his first season championship in a car known for it's speed.

Real Life: Fast is an understatement for this car and team. In the 11 years of existence between 6 different drivers they had 24 wins and 39 poles including 7 front row starts at the Daytona 500 from 1979 to 1988 with 3 Daytona 500 victories and two 2nd place finishes. In 1981 Bobby Allison won the pole and finished 2nd only due to smart pit strategy by Richard Petty.

Simulation Life: DiGard wasn't happy with Darrell Waltrips mouth throughout the 1980 season saying he deserved to be in better equipment and to be paid more than what he is getting so when Junior Johnson came calling to drive the car that had won the season championship 3 years in a row with Cale Yarborough it was a no brainer. Darrell finished up the 1980 season with a victory at Ontario which would be the last race held there giving him three on the season. The others at Riverside and North Wilkesboro. 1980 wasn't quite the season he had hoped for as his win totals dropped, but he came on towards the end of the season to finish 8th in points and looks to be a front runner for the championship in 1981.

Real Life: No changes to what really happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Not much to say about Buddy Arrington. He was sitting back each and every race waiting for everyone else to put it behind the pit wall while keeping the only Dodge for 1981 on the track and was rewarded with a top 10 season championship finish. Only lead 45 laps throughout 1980, but finished with 4 top 5's and 13 top 10's.

Real Life: No changes to what really happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Harry Gant won his 1st career race at the fall Richmond race and was able to sneak into the top 10 in the season championship with a 2nd place effort at Ontario. Harry moves on from the #47 car owned by Jack Beebe to drive for new owners Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds along with rookie and Hollywood stuntman, Stan Barrett whom also won a race in 1980 to form what could turn out to be a formidable team.

Real Life: Harry Gant wouldn't actually join the #33 team until the 8th race of the season at Darlington, but with Ron Bouchard taking over and actually winning Rookie of the Year the move was made early to give Bouchard a full season.​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Silly Season"

Simulation Life: Richard Childress won his first career race in the World 600 and had a career high 5 top 5's during the 1980 season. He finished just out side of the top 10 in the season championship and has finished 11th or better in the last 6 years.

Real Life: Richard Childress will try to complete the whole season instead of giving up the seat to become a full time owner when Dale Earnhardt's team was sold near the end of the season due to his victory and remained a driver to see if he could build off his good fortunes.

Simulation Life: Neil Bonnett had a bit of a down year compared to 1979 where he won 2 races and had 4 poles. In 1980 he failed to win any races or start on the pole in 8 more starts than a year ago. A 12th place finish in the season championship was a bit of a disappointment considering he had the talent and the car to finish in the top 10.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Terry Labonte started off the 1980 season hot with 6 top 5 finishes int he first 10 weeks of the season even gaining the season point lead at one point before falling off the wagon with only 2 more top 5's in the last 21 races and falling down to 13th in the season championship. Terry did pick up his first victory at Pocono in the midst of his power slide down the standings.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Ronnie Thomas picked up his first career victory at one of the sports biggest events in the Southern 500 at Darlington and was inside the top 10 of the season championship for most of the year until he back peddled after his lone victory even failing to make the fall Charlotte race to finish in 14th. With his victory he also earned his first top 5 locking down 3 of them over the season along with a career high 9 top 10's.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Jimmy Means quietly goes about his business on the track and don't know he is there until the end. He picked up 5 top 5's through out the season including 3 in the last 5 races of the season and 8 top 10's in route to a 15th place finish in the season championship.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Another Rookie of the Year candidate in 1980 had a pretty solid year finishing 3rd in the standings behind the ultra rarer seasons of Jody Ridley and Bryan Dehn. Speed earns a chance at a good ride with Bud Moore and the #15 car. Fords struggled in 1980, but this is a win, win situation if Lake Speed can do more in the car than Bobby Allison did a year earlier it can make his career and if he fails it would be blamed on the car and owner for falling behind the times in NASCAR and move back to his own team if he needs to. Speed earned 3 top 5's and 8 top 10's and finished 24 of the 29 races he entered in route to a 16th place finish in the season championship.

Real Life: Lake Speed would continue to drive his own funded #66 car throughout the 1981 season with very limited results.

Simulation Life: What a disappointing year for the king Richard Petty. He was able to secure 2 poles, but went without a victory, but this wasn't his first bad season as he also went without a victory in 1978, but this season was down right terrible with a 21.6 average finish. It was the first time in 15 seasons that Richard failed to finish in the top 6 in the final season championship finishing a beyond belief 17th place. Could the king be finished? Hard to say, but he should be able to rebound and you would think he would be able to push his win total to at least 200 wins before he career is over.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: James Hylton's best years seem to be behind hom and his career seems to have run it's course, but he continues to turn laps and isn't showing any signs of slowing down as he turns 45 this year. An 18th in the season championship is his worst in quite some time, but he did manage to get back and finish in the top 5 again with 3 along with 5 top 10's on the season.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: 1980 was Roger Hamby's final full season and he went out with a bang finishing 19th in the season championship, but his 10 top 10's were nothing to be ashamed of. 1981 will see various drivers take over the #17 car with Hamby occasionally strapping up the seat belts to take a stab at getting his first career victory.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: A Petty and didn't really challenge for the Rookie of the Year title. What's wrong with that picture? Well after you look at his 20th place in the season championship and that he didn't have much of a chance in the rookie title you will see that he sat on the pole for the 1980 Daytona 500 along with his first victory at Talladega from the pol and followed that up with his 3rd pole of the season the very next week at Michigan. So all in all it was a successful season for Kyle and will look to improve on that when he finally tests the waters at Riverside hoping to run a full 31 race season and continue building on the Petty legacy.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Silly Season"

Simulation Life: Bill Elswick's bad wreck at North Wilkesboro last year left the #75 team without a driver, then came in John Anderson and the season was promising again. The 1980 was a disappointment though and out went John Anderson and in came in Joe Millikan which lost his ride when L.G. DeWitt sold off his racing team. ole' Joe comes from the same pond as the Petty's and spent much of his life working in the shop and on the pit crew for Richard Petty, but strives to step out and become a successful driver which he has for the most part. In 1979 he had 20 top 10's in 29 starts including a pole. Last year wasn't as good, but he still showed he can run up front and hopes to do the same this year in the 75 car.

Real Life: Joe ran the #75 for the first half of the season before moving over to the Cliff Stewart 5 car. Joe will remain in the 75 for the whole season.

Simulation Life: J.D. McDuffie has always been around the top 10 in the season championship, but this past year he fell off the wagon a bit and finished in 22nd. He did record 3 top 5's, but was unable to crack the top 10 in any other races. In 1979 he had a career high 115 laps lead and was looking forward to 1980 to maybe get that first elusive victory, but it wasn't meant to be, but there is always 1981 and this J.D. is looking to get back to maybe getting back into the top 10 in the season championship for only the second time in his career.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life

Simulation Life: Dick Brooks didn't have a great season, but he did pick up his second career victory at Talladega. Nelson Malloch likes Brooks enough to keep him around for the 1981 season and they start the season without a sponsor which will only hurt the underfunded team more and it's unlikely that Brooks will be able to pick up another victory this season, but he is a crafty veteran and anything can happen.

Real Life: Nelson Malloch ran his last race as an owner in the 1981 Daytona 500. He will not sell his team until the end of the 1981 season here.

Simulation Life: Bobby Wawak pretty much ran his first full season in NASCAR in 1980 competing in 29 of the 31 races and picked up his first career victory at Bristol in the spring. 1980 was the first year Wawak lead a lap (55 in total) and earned a top 5 (4 in total) along with 6 top 10's to complete his season. 1981 he looks to run the complete schedule and build off the best year of his career even if it was only good enough for a 24th place finish in the season championship.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life

Simulation Life: Tommy Gale ended up with the 25th spot in the season championship. For the first time in his career he lead 46 laps and nearly came away with a victory at Darlington in the spring leading 31 laps late in the race. This is not a bad team nor a bad driver and has a good sponsor to keep the money coming in, but the Sundays didn't go their way in 1980 and they are looking to make a big improvement in 1981.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life

Simulation Life: The last of the 5 Rookie of the Year contenders in 1980 finished in 26th in the season championship. Slick didn't threaten for any victories, but did run well at times. He had 3 top 5's and 7 top 10's in 26 starts finishing 23 of those races. Don't look for 1981 to be much of an improvement.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life

Simulation Life: In 1980 Dick May wasn't able to finish in the top 5 in any of the 27 starts he made running for Bill Hollar in the #99 car, but he did manage 5 top 10's before Hollar sold his team to D.K. Ulrich at the end of the season. This year he will be called upon to pilot the #19 Henley Grey car for most of the season possibly sharing the seat with a couple other drivers along the way.

Real Life: Dick May's life at the track involved showing up without a car and looking to see if any owner needed him that week and sometimes he found a ride. The vet was the first choice for many when their normal driver couldn't run that day as he did his job and usually brought the car home clean.

Simulation Life: Cecil Gordon ran every race in 1981, but failed to finish 12 of them mostly due to some kind of engine problem. The year and the car wasn't to kind to Gordon whom did manage to score 1 top 5 and 6 top 10's. His first top 10 since 1978 so that is something he can build off of for 1981. It sure seems like it's been ages since Cecil was a front runner finishing in the top 4 in the season championship just a few years ago, but is more of a obstacle for the leaders now a days.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life

Simulation Life: Lennie Pond stays right where he is for the 1981 season and is a very talented driver with a not so talented car, but finishing 29th in the season championship while only running in 21 races is a pretty good accomplishment. He had 1 top 5 and 5 top 10's while finishing 20 of those 21 races so they opt for a car that can make it to the finish rather than win every race. I would like to see Lennie Pond do well even though he screwed Darrell Waltrip out of Rookie of the Year and hope he can run some good races in 1981 and maybe get a look at one of the stronger teams in 1982 and be able to compete again.

Real Life: Jim Testa sold the team to Lennie Pond after the Richmond race, but as always to make it easier for me and my sanity of doing the Owners points no team will change hands half way through a season.

Simulation Life: Buddy Baker moves from the Ranier team as they found themselves a full time driver and replaces David Pearson in the Hoss Ellington #1 car. The very same car that fought him tooth and nail in the Firecracker 400 in 1980 for his only victory of the season. Baker ran in 23 of the 31 races this past season and had 4 top 5's and 6 top 10's to go along with his lone victory. Expect pretty much the same schedule for Baker in 1981 along with maybe another victory as he still has some left in the tank and don't look for him to quit trying to win the Daytona 500 until he is 90 or he can finally manage to win the big one.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life​

 

[Sacrafice]

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Silly Season"

Simulation Life: D.K. Ulrich seems to be heading more and more over to the owner side of NASCAR, but is still running races as much as he can. He now owns 2 teams in the #40 team and the #99 team. Both cars should see a bevy of drivers for each throughout the season as he is going to struggle to keep one driver in the car while he builds the team up to becoming competitive. On the track in 1980 D.K. didn't have much success and gave up the seat at the end of the year for Rookie Stan Barrett and won the race for D.K. in his very first start at North Carolina. D.K. won't mount any challenge again this season, but maybe he might find the right driver at the right track this year to get another victory as an owner.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: John Anderson is a promising driver with 2 top 5's in his first 4 career starts, but it seemed like the long season took it's tool on the man and his results were less than stellar in the #75 Rahmoc car. They split on good terms and found a ride in the #38 car owned by Sandy Satullo. Not a very good opportunity, but an opportunity none the less and is hoping at least at some point during the season Rahmoc will need his services again or anyone for that matter.

Real Life: Anderson drove the #77 in Daytona, but failed to qualify after a nasty flipping wreck in the qualifier. He drove 1 race in this car and 2 in the #17 Hamby owned car. Most likely he will stay in this car for the whole season.

Simulation Life: Donnie Allison still coming around to the track every now and then to hopefully get one more good run in before his days are over. Donnie did secure a pole at Texas in 1980, but the success pretty much ends there as he only had 5 top 10's in 21 starts to his credit. He only finished on the lead lap 9 times in those 21 starts and may not be able to hold on much longer. It just might be the car he is running, but Kenny Childers is not a bad owner to drive for. Maybe 1981 will bring him some better fortunes.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: With Darrell Waltrip gone and DiGard looking to capture lightning in a bottle with a fairly unproven driver for cheap they turn to Ricky Rudd the 1977 Rookie of the Year and had a very successful season in 1979 with Junie Dunlavey, but in 1980 driving an under funded car owned by his father he struggled mightily to finish races. He posted only 4 lead lap finishes in 17 starts making 1 top 10 finish. #88 car is a strong car that won 3 races and 4 poles last year with Darrell Waltrip so Ricky Rudd has a chance to prove himself and become a contender and if he fails it won't be the car, but rather him that fails.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: In 1981 Bill Elliott improved on his 1979 efforts with 2 top 5's and 3 top 10's in 14 starts. Still not a full time driver and running a car prepared by him and his family they have yet to secure the money needed to run a full schedule even though they have a good sponsor. Bill Elliott should be strong in the races he does attend and maybe grab a victory and prove he might be worth putting in the money to become a full time driver.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: David Pearson failed to win a race in 1980 for the first time in 17 years. He really never was a full time driver never once finishing the full schedule and with only 11 starts in 1980 it makes it harder to win a race. He was just edged out of a victory at the Firecracker 400 in July and finished the season with 2 top 5's and 5 top 10's. Pearson won't be runnng many races in 1981 either probably, but we can expect him to run well in the races he does decide to attend.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: In what looked to be a career ending crash at North Wilkesboro last year did end his season in the #75 Rahmoc car, but he returns to see if he can get it done on pavement in a second Rahmoc team #57. Elswick can sure get it done on the water, but hasn't been able to translate that to NASCAR. If Elswick wrecks bad again it could very well be his last run, but let's hope that don't happen.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Taking the #14 over from his dad Coo-Coo Marlin and owned by his father, Sterling Marlin looks to get another few races in this season before turning it loose as a rookie in the future.

Real Life: Will only drive the #14 car this season instead f of making a start in the #99 car.

Simulation Life: Can't believe this man is not going to run for Rookie of the Year in 1981 as he only has 2 starts under his belt and won both races. It is unheard of, but I guess he has other obligations and just looks to get some more seat time in before he makes the move to full time NASCAR racing.

Real Life: Will only drive the #72 car this season instead of making starts in the #98 car.

Simulation Life: The open wheel driver than won in his first ever start back in the 1963 Daytona 500 looks to turn his attention to NASCAR in 1981. We are expected to see a lot of him this season, but whether or not he will make all the races remains to be seen. Considered a rookie, but will not challenge for the Rookie of the Year honors.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Pretty much the king of short track racing in the midwest the last few years mainly due to the huge financial support that he has and his competitors don't. Looking to get into NASCAR and start making a future for himself on a national level, but will just look to get a few races in to get some seat time before going all out in the future.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.​

 

[Sacrafice]

Finally the 10, yes 10 drivers competing for the "Rookie of the Year" title.

"NASCAR Winston Cup Series"


"1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Silly Season"

Simulation Life: Why oh why Connie do you make yourself eligible for the Rookie of the Year title when you know your not good enough to compete much less make the races needed to compete. Should I even say that and should I even follow real life and make him him eligible and instead just let the #4 car rot in a junk yard somewhere. Connie does have 1 top 10 in his 10 career starts, but no where near it in 1980 and probably won't come close to one in 1981 either. Don't expect to see this car in the highlights unless he is wrecking like at the fall Charlotte race in 1980.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: Morgan Shepherd has been around for 10 years now making only 8 Winston Cup starts in that time, but 1981 is the year he goes all out and is one of the 4 drivers I peg as having a real shot at the Rookie of the Year honors.

Real Life: Near the halfway point in the season Morgan and CLiff Stewart parted way for reason I don't know and wouldn't understand as they were doing good, but here he runs the entire season in the #5 car.

Simulation Life: The second of 4 drivers I think has a real shot at winning the Rookie of the Year honors. Joe Ruttman has been around for quite some time running his first race in 1963 and finishing in the top 10. Since then he has only run in 2 other races.

Real Life: He started out driving the #6 car, but moved to the #2 car when Osterlund sold the team to J.D. Stacy. Will stay in the #6 car the entire season.

Simulation Life: Stan Barrett won in his first career start at North Carolina in 1981. This is a new team and may have some early struggles, but as long as the owners put the money they have into the team they will eventually produce good results with 2 seemingly capable drivers.

Real Life: Only drove a handful of races in 1981 ending with a top 10 at Talladega mainly due to his commitments in Hollywood. Will try to run the full schedule here.

Simulation Life: Billie Harvey got lucky and won the Michigan race in his 5th career start and decided to pack the 1980 season in so he could run for Rookie of the Year in 1981. Really don't think it's going to work out too well for him even if he has all the illegal (Yeah I said it) money in the world.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: The third of 4 drivers I think has a realistic shot at winning the 1981 Rookie of the Year title. Ron Bouchard has the luxury of having a strong finish in the Owners points to start the season should he have any issues qualifying.

Real Life: Didn't start the season, but once Harry Gant left the #47 team he stepped in and even with a limited schedule he was able to win the real 1981 Rookie of the Year title. Here he will have the opportunity to run the full schedule.

Simulation Life: Car owner Bob Rogers is looking for someone that can get into the car and drive it for the full season and Mike Alexander mibht be that guy in the future. Don Sprouse is looking to be the man in the car to start the season as the 23 year old Alexander has prior commitments, but after that Alexander will have plenty of opportunity to run well even if he is driving for an underfunded team.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: The road racing extraordinaire comes to NASCAR to try his hand at racing on ovals for an entire season. With that lack of experience it is safe to say he will not do well in NASCAR, but no one knows until they try right?

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.

Simulation Life: A good friend of fellow Rookie of the Year candidate, Billie Harvey he gave up his 1980 car for Balough to drive. This is the car that won at Michigan, but that was a fluke and no way can this car do it again. Or can it?

Real Life: Took over for Joe Millikan in the #75 car halfway through the season.

Simulation Life: And the forth and final driver that has a realistic chance at winning the Rookie of the Year title. Tim Richmond ran a couple races in 1980 with no real success in the #6 car owned by D.K. Ulrich, but the limited sponsorship he does have sits on the #99 car driven by Richmond to give him all the resources he has to give this guy a shot at some strong finishes. It just might not be enough to compete with the other 3 strong rookies, but the talent is there and it could happen.

Real Life: No changes from what happened in real life.​

 

[goblue96]

My picks:

1) Bobby Allison
2) Dale Earnhardt
3) Darrell Waltrip
4) Bryan Dehn
5) Cale Yarborough
6) Dave Marcis
7) Jody Ridley
8) Terry Labonte
9) Harry Gant
10) Richard Petty

ROY:

1) Ron Bouchard
2) Tim Richmond
3) Morgan Shephard

 

[Sacrafice]

Nice. Here was mine from back in the day.


1981 Championship:
1. Bobby Allison
2. Darrell Waltrip
3. Jody Ridley
4. Bryan Dehn
5. Dale Earnhardt
6. Richard Petty
7. Cale Yarborough
8. Ricky Rudd
9. Harry Gant
10. Terry Labonte


1981 Rookie of the Year:
1. Morgan Shepherd
2. Ron Bouchard
3. Tim Richmond
4. Joe Ruttman