Stock Car Racing Time Machine

The Cup Series returns to the Southern California area for the inaugural running of the California 500 presented by Napa in Fontana. Roger Penske's new racing palace was built on the site of an old steel mill and the track configuration is very similar to it's sister track Michigan Speedway. That means just like last week horsepower and fuel mileage will play a key role in determining the winner....

The 1997 Winston Cup Tour runs it's 14th race of the season at Michigan Speedway. Michigan's wide track and multiple grooves lends to great side by side and sometimes 3 wide racing. It's a challenge for the crew chief who has to decide whether to favor horsepower or fuel economy. Michigan has a reputation for not many cautions and races decided by who can best save fuel. Can Jeff Gordon overcome a...

The 13th stop of the Winston Cup tour would be in Long Pond, PA for the running of the Pocono 500. The unique triangular design and 3 very different corners always made for an interesting and entertaining race. Crew chiefs and drivers knew you could not get the perfect chassis setup for all three corners. In addition, is it best to prepare the engine for horsepower or fuel mileage? How would the p...

The 12th stop for 1997 Winston Cup Series was at Dover for the final running of a 500-mile race at the Monster Mile. It was an action-packed race from start to finish. Will Jeff Gordon make it four wins in a row at Dover? Can Dale Jarrett get back on track after he was plagued by engine problems in the last two points paying races? Does Mark Martin’s hot streak and climb in the points standings co...

The 11th race for the 1997 Winston Cup tour was the traditional Memorial Day Weekend running of the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It proved to be a very competitive race with some great action right from the drop of the green flag. Will Jeff Gordon or Mark Martin pick up the win and have a chance to win the Winston Million at the Southern 500 on Labor Day Weekend? Can Dale Jarrett...

The Cup series takes a break from the points chase to run The Winston All Star Race from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's a star studded event with special paint schemes, different rules, and a 10 lap dash for the cash. Bill Elliott and Dale Earnhardt are on the front row and both are hungry for victory. Can Jeff Gordon make it 2 wins in the past 3 Winston's? Will it be a surprise winner like th...

The postponed Winston 500 is the 10th stop on the 1997 Winston Cup Tour. Both races in 1996 at Talladega had massive wrecks that shook up the points standings. Can Mark Martin make it two wins in a row after breaking a long Cup losing streak at Sonoma last week? Will Jeff Gordon capture his second restrictor plate win of the season along with the second leg of the Winston Million? How will Da...

The 9th stop on the '97 NASCAR Winston Cup tour was Sonoma for some road racing. Which driver would be able to best negotiate around the over 2.5 mile 11 turn road course in the beautiful Napa Valley? Will Mark Martin break a long losing streak and finally get to victory lane? Can Jeff Gordon pick up his first career win on a road course? Is Dale Jarrett able to bounce back from a disappointing fi...

This episode takes a break from our race reviews to take a look at the big stories for the 1st quarter (8 races) of the 1997 Winston Cup Season. We take an in-depth look at the statistics of the drivers who were in the top 10 of the points standings. In addition, we'll discuss early contenders for the Winston Cup Championship, which drivers were having a pleasantly surprising season, the drivers w...

It's more short track racing as Martinsville is the 8th stop on the 1997 Winston Cup Tour. The shortest and tightest track will conclude the Spring short track season. Can Jeff Gordon win back-to-back races for the 2nd time in 1997? Will Rusty Wallace get his second short track win of the season? How will Kenny Wallace and Joe Nemechek fare after starting on the front row? Can the points leader Da...

The Winston Cup Series heads to Bristol for the running of the Food City 500. This is the seventh race of 1997 Winston Cup Season. The world’s fastest half mile track and the largest starting field in history at Bristol equals a ton of action, tight close quarter racing, crumpled sheet metal, and some tempers flaring as well. Can Jeff Gordon get back on track after 2 poor finishes in the past thre...

The next stop on the 1997 Winston Cup tour was the inaugural running of the Interstate Batteries 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway near Forth Worth. This was the sixth race of the season. Drivers were concerned about the design of the track especially the tricky transition off of turn four. The race had a major wreck on the first lap and plenty of action throughout the race. Will the points leader D...

The Winston Cup Series heads to historic Darlington Raceway in South Carolina for the 5th race of '97 Winston Cup Season. The Track known as "Too Tough To Tame" lived up to it's reputation with a rash of early race crashes and cautions flags. Can Jeff Gordon get back on track and win for the fourth consecutive time at Darlington after a poor finish at Atlanta? Will Dale Jarrett win back-to-back ra...

The Winston Cup drivers had an off weekend after 4 consecutive races to the start the season. In this episode, we'll discuss what media options were available for race fans especially when many did not have internet access 25 years ago. Next week we'll get back to our race reviews and discuss the 1997 Transouth Financial 400 from Darlington. 

The Winston Cup Series heads to the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia for the 4th race of '97 Winston Cup Season. This would be the final race on the oval configuration with the long corners and short straightaways before the track would be reconfigured to look similar to Charlotte and Texas. Will the defending champion of the race Dale Earnhardt get on track after missing the top 10 in t...

The Winston Cup Series heads to the Richmond International Raceway for the 3rd race of '97 Winston Cup Season. This was the first short track race of the season and it did not disappointment. What two drivers who had strong cars were involved in an early race incident? The race would feature a lengthy green flag run but there was plenty of excitement and positions being swapped throughout the fiel...

The Winston Cup Series heads to the North Carolina Motor Speedway (aka "The Rock") for the 2nd race of '97 Winston Cup Season.  How would the drivers who had disappointing finishes at Daytona such as Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, and Ernie Irvan fare at The Rock? Will Jeff Gordon and the rest of the Hendrick team keep the momentum rolling at Rockingham? Find out which driver wa...

This episode takes a look back at all the big moments from start to finish of the 1997 Daytona 500 on it's 25th anniversary. We'll examine what drivers had bad luck and who ran surprisingly well. The exciting final 20 laps of the race will be reviewed in-depth. If you remember the closing laps and who won see if you agree with my analysis.  

This episode has three major parts-- a discussion of '97 Winston Cup Schedule, a look at some of the important rules for the season, and a review of the preliminary events of Daytona Speedweeks leading up to the '97 Daytona 500. The changes to the schedule and the era of expansion to new markets is examined. Daytona 500 qualifying, the Busch Clash, and the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying races are re...

Our driver preview of the '97 Winston Cup Season concludes as we discuss the top 5 points finishers in the '96 Winston Cup Season. Drivers discussed include Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Terry Labonte. We'll take an in-depth look at each driver's '96 season, past career highlights, and expectations for the '97  season. 

Our driver preview of the '97 Winston Cup Season continues as we discuss the final set of drivers who finished outside the top 10 in points in the '96 Winston Cup Season. Drivers discussed include Kenny Wallace, Dick Trickle, Bill Elliott, and Jeff Burton. The second part of the podcast will focus on the 10th-6th place points finishers in the '96 Winston Cup season. Drivers discussed will include...

We continue our driver preview of the 1997 Winston Cup Season by looking back at drivers who finished outside the top 10 in points for the 1996 season. Drivers discussed in this episode include Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner, Ken Schrader, Robby Gordon, Kyle Petty, and others.

We begin our driver preview of the 1997 Winston Cup Season by looking back at drivers who finished outside the top 10 in points for the 1996 season. Drivers discussed in this episode include Bobby Labonte, Jimmy Spencer, Michael Waltrip, Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, Ward Burton and others.