9 Tragic and Near-Miss Aviation Incidents That Rocked NASCAR
Champions, race winners and superstars were among NASCAR s toughest losses.
By Al Pearce Bob LeveroneGetty Images
And while NBA legend Kobe Bryant s death in a helicopter crash in California on Jan. 26, 2020, got the the attention of NASCAR drivers and teams, drivers say they plan no changes to their travel plans.
“(The Bryant tragedy) rings home when you’re in a profession where you’re constantly traveling, taking off and touching down, sometimes almost daily, said Bowyer. It hits home and makes you think and appreciate every touchdown. But we can’t change anything because this is how we make our living. The sad thing is that those things happen all the time, but it takes (losing) a superstar like Kobe for us to realize it and wake up and learn from it.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Shocked on Podcast Hearing Story About NASCAR President Talking With His Dad on Radio During Races, Including 1998 Daytona 500
February 11, 2021
Dale Earnhardt was the definition of NASCAR, winning seven Cup Series championships in his legendary career. For Earnhardt, being the face of the sport included special privileges, like close ties with the top bosses at NASCAR headquarters.
In the latest
Dale Jr. Download podcast, Larry McReynolds genuinely shocked Junior when he revealed just how cozy his father got with some of NASCAR’s top brass. McReynolds detailed an unbelievable incident that happened mere minutes before Earnhardt won the 1998 Daytona 500 and how that moment almost cost him his job and career in NASCAR.
Motor racing: Fun over, back to work for Elliott at Daytona 500 By Steve Keating
NASCAR: Xfinity 500
(Reuters) – There are perks that come with winning but perhaps the biggest is the freedom to try new things and NASCAR champion Chase Elliott enjoyed a close season indulging himself from racing on dirt tracks to featuring in the Disney/Pixar Cars franchise.
Since claiming the NASCAR Series crown in November, Elliott has been busy trying his hand at midget cars and dirt tracks at the Chili Bowl to getting behind the wheel at the 24 Hours of Daytona and assuming his Disney/Pixar role as Chase Racelott.
This 1988 Pontiac Grand Prix is a former Daytona 500 pace car Autoblog 1/29/2021 Joe Lorio
Hopefully, the fans of GM s W-body 80s/ 90s intermediates can forgive us, but we had pretty much forgotten or had never really known that one of the ways that era s Pontiac Grand Prix bathed itself in glory was by serving as the pace car for the Daytona 500. In fact, the Grand Prix paced NASCAR s marquee race every year from 1988 to 1992, and again in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003.
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That first year, 1988, the Grand Prix was all-new, making its debut on the W-body platform. It was also
Motor Trend s car of the year. The 1988 Daytona 500 marked the 17th year in a row that a Pontiac was chosen to set the pace but the first time a front-wheel-drive car was so honored. The 88 Grand Prix followed a spate of Pontiac Trans Ams.
The Scene Vault: Phil Parsons Wins At Talladega January 13, 2021 at 3:31 AM
By Rick Houston
Five years later, he reached the mountaintop at the very same race track.
Despite that early accident at the sport’s biggest and fastest race track, Parsons seemed to do his best work at Talladega and Daytona. He looked forward to those races, and it showed. He’d trailed Bobby and Davey Allison to the checkered flag in the 1988 Daytona 500 in third place, setting up a chance for a decent run at Talladega just a couple of months later.
This time, it was Parsons’ turn to hold off Bobby Allison at the stripe, to score the first Winston Cup victory of his young career. He was looking forward to more.