1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series - Overview

Overview

The major story heading in to the 1995 season was Dale Earnhardt's attempt to make history. After winning his seventh Winston Cup Championship in 1994, Earnhardt tied Richard Petty's record for Cup Championships. Going in to the 1995 season, Earnhardt had won four of the last five Winston Cup points titles, and was considered the favorite to win his eighth in 1995.

As the season progressed, the race for the series championship became a battle between Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin, and Jeff Gordon. The majority of the spotlight soon shifted on the 24-year-old Gordon. Gordon, who had won two of 1994’s biggest races (Coca Cola 600 and the Inaugural Brickyard 400), visited victory lane in three of the first six races of 1995. Gordon would become the most consistent driver of the season. During one stretch of the season, he rattled off 14 straight top ten finishes, winning four times during that stretch. Despite a late season challenge by Earnhardt, Gordon would win the season’s championship by 34 points. In doing so, he became the youngest Winston Cup Champion of the modern era (post 1971). Gordon made light of this at the season ending banquet, toasting Earnhardt with a glass of milk instead of champagne.

However, there were several other major stories in 1995.

• 1995 marked the return of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, replacing the Lumina, which had been Chevrolet's official car in NASCAR since the 1989 Winston 500. The Monte Carlo would prove to be the dominant car in 1995, winning 21 of the season's 31 races. After winning the season's first seven races, NASCAR gave advantages to the other two makes: Ford and Pontiac.
• In contrast to its GM counterpart, Pontiac continued to struggle. The manufacturer won only twice in 1995, and did not have a single driver in the top ten in points (12th place Michael Waltrip was the highest).
• Goodyear was the sole tire supplier in 1995, after winning the "tire war" against Hoosier. Despite two wins in 1994 with driver/owner Geoff Bodine, Hoosier decided to leave NASCAR after the 1994 season. Its reasoning, according to Hoosier president Bob Newton, was "to concentrate our efforts in short track racing, which remains our bread and butter."