Spade Racing

Foundational Bricks—The 1994 Brickyard 400: Outside Pole, Dale Earnhardt

Join me as I take a look back every Monday at the starting lineup for one of the biggest races in NASCAR history, the inaugural Brickyard 400.

Earnhardt in 1994

Starting 2nd: Dale Earnhardt #3 GM Goodwrench Richard Childress Racing Chevy

Finished: 5th

Career Highlights: Seven-time Cup Series champion, 76 Cup Series wins, 1998 Daytona 500 winner, subject of a bunch of memes for some reason.

Total Brickyard 400 Starts: 7

Best Brickyard 400 Finish: Winner (1995)

Autographed by Richard Childress

1994 Fun Fact: Dale was on his way to a record-tying seventh Cup Series championship in 1994, clinching in the third-to-last race—proof that sometimes a contrived “playoff” points system can be a good thing.

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AUTO-Biographies: J.D.: The Life and Death of a Forgotten NASCAR Legend

Author(s): Brock Beard

The Good: If I could explain the reason for this book existing, it would be this: Some legends cannot be allowed to fade away. J.D. McDuffie was not a successful driver in terms of on-track results, but he did more with less than virtually anybody out there. And this book does his career justice, explaining the “little wins” that he had by outracing those with similar equipment, or how a top-ten could’ve been bigger for him than a win was to a top team.

The Not-so-good: The book borders on hagiography at times, and I felt some more focus could’ve been placed on J.D.’s run of DNQ’s in his final few years. And while it deserved an in-depth look, a bit too much time was spent on J.D.’s final, fatal race.

What I’d Change: Not much really, other than perhaps some analysis of why a driver would choose to spend their career running lesser equipment, and maybe a few more critical voices.

Read It?: Yes, although if you’re not a hardcore fan this could be a bit too esoteric.