INSIDE MOTOR SPORTS
Fast Facts
by Ed Hinton
Posted: Wed November 12, 1997
Close finishes are the norm in NASCAR's Winston Cup series, on
the track and in the point standings. The season champion has
been decided in the last race 16 times since the scoring system
now in use was adopted in 1975. History is on the side of the
driver who holds the lead going into the finale; only twice has
a driver come from behind in that race to win the championship.
In 1992 Alan Kulwicki made up a 30-point deficit when
points leader Davey Allison crashed with 74 laps to go (Allison
finished third in the standings, behind second-place Bill
Elliott). And in 1979 Richard Petty overcame Darrell Waltrip's
two-point lead to win the title—his seventh—by 11 points. Here
are the 10 closest finishes in Winston Cup history.
POINT
DIFFERENCE
|
1ST-PLACE
DRIVER
|
2ND-PLACE
DRIVER
|
YEAR
|
|
10
|
Alan Kulwicki
|
Bill Elliott
|
1992
|
|
11
|
Richard Petty
|
Darrell Waltrip
|
1979
|
|
12
|
Rusty Wallace
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
1989
|
|
19
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
Cale Yarborough
|
1980
|
|
24
|
Bill Elliott
|
Rusty Wallace
|
1988
|
|
26
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
Mark Martin
|
1990
|
|
34
|
Jeff Gordon
|
Dale Earnhardt
|
1995
|
|
37
|
Terry Labonte
|
Jeff Gordon
|
1996
|
|
47
|
Bobby Allison
|
Darrell Waltrip
|
1983
|
|
53
|
Darrell Waltrip
|
Bobby Allison
|
1981
|
Issue date: November 17, 1997
|
