Top Row Seat - Loudon
Dateline: 09/19/99NASCAR Winston Cup racing has often been considered an "insider" sport where the only people capable of winning a race are those who have already done so. Michael Waltrip, Ted Musgrave, Dick Trickle, and many others know the frustration that the sport can bring. These drivers have all fought futility and frustration in an effort to track down that elusive first win.
Lately, however, the flood gates have opened for first time winners as the last two races in a row have seen victory lane filled by fresh faces.
Last week impressive rookie Tony Stewart dominated the race leading over three-quarters of the event on his way to his first win in just his twenty-fifth Winston Cup start. A proven winner in every type of racecar he has ever sat in, it was just a matter of time before Tony would put it together and collect the first of what will surely be many NASCAR Winston Cup wins.
That set the stage for this week's exciting duel between fresh first-time-winner Tony Stewart and never-before-winner Joe Nemechek. As the laps ran down, it was clear that the BellSouth #42 was faster on the restart but was fading on longer runs. However, this race was to be decided on short runs as a plague of cautions broke up the last 30 laps of racing which never allowed the second or third place cars of Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte to get a run on him.
The one sad aspect of this is that Joe's parents, Martha and Joe Sr., were not able to be there to witness Joe's first win in person. One of my favorite racing moments of all time was Martha Nemechek's emotional reaction to Joe's victory at the Charlotte Busch Grand National race in May of 1996. I'm sure that wherever she was this weekend, Martha Nemechek was on a roller coaster ride of nerves and tears as Joe finally scored his first big-league victory.
Do you think it's too hard for a first-time winner to break through in Winston Cup? How do you think NASCAR should change the rules to help out the smaller teams? Tell the world what you think on the bulletin board. Or you can talk about all things NASCAR in the chat room Wednesday nights from 8-9pm EST.
