|| *Comments on the 1990 Pontiac Excitement 400:* View the most recent comment <#51> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Michael Lindeen posted: 12.12.2003 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin won the race, but was later penalized 46 points (the difference between 1st and the last car on the lead lap) for using an illegal part. In the end, it cost him the Winston Cup championship has he finished 29 points behind Dale Earnhardt. 2. James Knight posted: 01.25.2004 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was my Very First Winston Cup Series Race I ever want to the only thing I remember from the Race IT WAS COLD and Freezing, and I sat in The Henrico Granstands. 3. HomeDepotKid posted: 06.21.2005 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (3) (1) Roush Racing was(and might still be) very bitter over this, and they feel that they were screwed out of the 1990 title. I have to say, I agree, even though I was an Earnhardt fan. 4. Brian posted: 06.23.2005 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) A huge earnhardt fan, but there is NO denying it... Martin was screwed out the championship. 5. CBCMikeyfan posted: 06.30.2005 - 4:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) From what I remember from an interview with Martin, it wasn't even the part that was illegal, it was how it was attached or something weird like that. 6. Mash_Guy posted: 07.26.2005 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The infraction in question was that a carburetor space was bolted on, rather than welded on. The official story from Roush is that they didn't have time to do the welding. People forget in the aftermath of the controversy how Martin won this race - with a rare (at the time) two-tire pit stop. 7. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.15.2005 - 3:19 am Rate this comment: (3) (3) NASCAR didn't like what they saw on the car and they penalized him for it. Right or wrong, it's not what cost him the title as the team had the rest of the season to make up for the mistake. They cost themselves in the final few races. 8. SPENCER posted: 12.31.2005 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Another top 10 for Jimmy! 9. Dalejrfan14 posted: 03.24.2006 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) 1st race here with the 3/4 mile version 10. CanucksAndNASCAR Fan posted: 05.18.2006 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dalejrfan14, the first race with the 3/4 mile version of RIR was the fall race in 1988. 11. Steve posted: 05.20.2006 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Meacham made his Winston Cup debut in this race. He made 3 starts, and this 34th place finish and 33rd place start were his best. 12. Doug posted: 07.23.2006 - 4:54 am Rate this comment: (4) (4) The rule was broken, he was penalized, no further discussion needed. It's as simple as that. Jack Roush is probably the one who's bitter. Mark Martin in my opinion has too much class for bitterness. I'm not a Martin fan(I'm an Earnhardt fan) but I think Mark Martin is the classiest driver in NASCAR history. 13. Steve posted: 12.03.2006 - 2:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Mark has a lot of class. So did Harry Gant, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Alan Kulwicki, and Terry Labonte in their careers. Very few other drivers showed true sportsmanship throughout their careers. 14. Matt posted: 12.22.2006 - 5:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ: J.D. McDuffie, Tommy Ellis, and Jerry O'Neil. 15. myself posted: 03.15.2007 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (4) (6) This is one of the earliest SERIOUS pieces of evidence of Earnhardt bias by Nascar! 16. Dan posted: 03.26.2007 - 6:40 am Rate this comment: (10) (1) "This is one of the earliest SERIOUS pieces of evidence of Earnhardt bias by Nascar!" You can not HONESTLY think that NASCAR knew after the SECOND RACE of the season that Mark and Dale would be battling for the championship. 17. The Real Thomas posted: 08.01.2007 - 8:16 am Rate this comment: (4) (7) It damn sure was Earnhardt bias since Earnhardt (and especially Childress) were the two guys that bitched, pissed, and moaned to NASCAR about the "infraction." To hell with both of those sore losers and to kissass NASCAR. Congratulations to Mark Martin, the REAL 1990 Winston Cup Champion and 2007 Daytona 500 Winner. 18. RaceFanX posted: 01.21.2008 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tough luck for then-points leader Derrike Cope who dropped seven places after a crash DNF reglated him to a 29th place finish. I don't think Derrike ever lead the points again. 19. Ryan W posted: 02.14.2008 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (3) (8) The Real Thomas get over it buddy. Childress owns Roush and Martin and he owns you! He had all year to make up those 48 points... He had a big lead during the middle of the year. He messed up at Phoenix by pitting late. You know Earnhardt had some misfortune at Daytona with a flat tire, that cost him 20 points, but he didn't go out and moan and groan and cry about it like most men would, he went out and kept competing and "won" the championship. Harvick beat Martin to the line fair and square also! If Martha Martin had any guts about him he would have banged Harvick's car to the line so Harvick couldn't side draft off of him. That's the difference between a winner and Martin, he has women tendencies. People refer to Martin all the time as a woman, a bridesmaid. 20. Tooj117 posted: 04.26.2008 - 7:58 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Ryan W., Mark Martin can, and will pwn you any time. He has more guts in one fingernail than you have in your entire body. How often do you get into a 3000 lb car and drive at 180 miles an hour for 400 or 500 miles? Exactly. 21. Kevin posted: 08.01.2008 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Ryan W. does not have a clue about great drivers! Martin is one of the best, PERIOD!! 22. Ryan posted: 01.02.2009 - 12:52 am Rate this comment: (2) (6) How often do I get in a 3000 pound car and drive 180 miles and hour... hardly ever... and these days Mark is having a hard time getting up to 180 MPH, lmao! Martin just never had what it took guys 23. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.25.2009 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Really? Is that why Mark has won FIVE races this season? To say he never had what it took is stupid. 24. 18fan posted: 02.18.2011 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I know this seems random, but if you took away this infraction and Earnhardt's flat tire at Daytona, Mark and Dale would've been tied for the championship at the end of the season with Dale winning the championship on a tie-breaker by winning a series-high 10 races. (He won 9, but if he won Daytona it would have been 10) 25. martin-n-rusty posted: 02.29.2012 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm a Mark Martin fan, but Ryan is partially right. The guy sometime knew what it took to win a race, but there were other times he just cowered back, or was too gentlemanly about things. That's why Wallace, Earnhardt, Gordon are champs. They sometimes took liberties, but enough to be champs. Martin just is too nice a guy to be a champ. 26. Matthew L. Lewis posted: 12.02.2012 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What car did Tommy Ellis DNQ? Another Days Of Thunder movie car possibly? I know he did some stunt driving for the film and ran in the Twin 125/Daytona 500 for no points or money in a movie car. 27. Walleyewhacker posted: 04.06.2014 - 7:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) Earnhardt never won another Phoenix race after this or ran like to did at this race. I wouldn't be shoched if NAASCAR officials gave the #3 team the wink prior to race for stretching the rules. 28. Anonymous posted: 06.06.2014 - 5:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the coldest recorded race ever run. The temperature peaked at 23*F, and with gusts of wind up to 41mph, the wind chill was a freezing 5 degrees. 29. WardBurtonfan posted: 09.23.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look!! Dick Trickle 5th in the NASCAR Winston Cup Point Standings 30. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 09.30.2014 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tommy Ellis drove a #83 sponsor by Prestone. Owner was Lake Speed and car was Oldsmobile 31. Anonymous posted: 04.10.2015 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Post #27....that's called the "golden handshake." 32. Jessie Henry posted: 08.11.2015 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) This Race Nascar Got It Wrong 33. chevyfan98 posted: 08.31.2016 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) The tears on this page taste delicious! 34. Xxplode posted: 09.01.2016 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've always been a big fan of Ford, but I wasn't mad when Mark lost the title in 1990. It was on him not getting the job done over the whole season not just this race. 35. Maverick19 posted: 01.14.2017 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The right guy won the 1990 title (and I'm far from an Earnhardt fan). Although Mark had a better average finish by about 1 spot and had the same amount of top 10's, Dale had more top 5's, more poles, three times as many wins, and almost SIX times as many laps led. If Mark had one more bad day, it wouldn't have been a discussion, 1990 was Dale's title. 36. Josh posted: 02.01.2017 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sponsor update for Rick Mast's #2. I'm watching the race on YouTube now and V8 vegetable juice logo was on the hood of the #2. 37. Greg24ChaseFan posted: 08.22.2017 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back when it actually got cold in the south! haha 38. GoPM21 posted: 09.23.2018 - 7:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @13 Going to disagree with you on Rudd. I remember when he tried to wreck Jeff Gordon out of the '94 Mello Yello 500 but took himself out too. He also seemed to be embroiled in other controversial incidents as well...'91 Sonoma, '89 Wilkesboro, '90 Martinsville, '86 Martinsville. Those are just off the top of my head. He may not have be ed n the antagonist in all those, but he was at least a central fixture. 39. Kentucky Wildcat posted: 09.23.2018 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look at The Ageless Dick Trickle sitting 5th in the NASCAR point standings 40. T Ferguson posted: 10.12.2018 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As seen on the TBS race broadcast, Earnhardt wrecked his primary car in final practice the day before, and drove a superspeedway backup car that had never been run on a short track 41. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.27.2018 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 1990 was the first year of the past champions provisional rule. Richard Petty, the man the rule was put in place because of, has to use it for the first time here starting dead last in 36th, before going out early in a crash and finishing 35th. Ironically, he has to use the champions provisional for the first time at the same race that the streak of races started by him ended the year before, in what would be the first of 4 DNQs for Petty in 89. 42. BVCN posted: 12.29.2018 - 8:42 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Just finished this race. Thought it was very interesting how Ricky Rudd lost the lead in the pits taking on 4 tires and ended up running SLOWER. Then, Mark Martin gains position later by only taking two tires and outruns the three cars behind him with 4 fresh tires. Earnhardt and Wallace came together in the final laps when Wallace came down on Earnhardt (similar to how Earnhardt came down on Ricky Rudd at North Wilkesboro the year before). Only this time, Wallace lost several positions rather than both spinning out. Earnhardt was unapologetic. Didn't know anything about the Mark Martin controversy, but whatever. That did not cost him the championship anymore than the Ricky Rudd incident cost Earnhardt the championship the year before. The championship is decided by the whole season, not one race. Still feel bad for Mark Martin, though. That's tough. 43. JSPorts posted: 12.29.2018 - 8:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree about Martin. You can say it "lost him the championship," but at the end of the day, the team broke the rules and the punishment was deserved. Also, Earnhardt probably would've raced differently at the end of the year had the points situation been different. 44. BOBO83329521 posted: 05.30.2020 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race had its own Big Five... and NONE OF THEM WON. Mark Martin who was in the back half of the top 10 for the majority of the race had two great pit stops at the second half of the race to help him get to the front and battle Rusty Wallace for the win. Then the caution came out, short run happened, Mark scampered away while the Wallace machine struggled to get up to speed on the short run, leading to Earnhardt's bump 'n run for second place. Big Five: 7- Alan Kulwicki: Was the dominant car on long runs but unfortunately got caught up when the 8 car spun out right in front of him 5- Ricky Rudd: Was the polesitter and led late in the event and looked to be quite dominant on restarts but got damage on a restart when he was in the back on fresh tires. 3- Dale Earnhardt: One of the dominant short run cars along with Rudd and the 11, and the race ended on a short run but he couldn't catch Martin after the 27 held him up for multiple laps before the bump 'n run. 27- Rusty Wallace: Also great on the long run, was leading before the final caution came out while he was battling Martin. Had the caution not come out he would have had a chance but he got bumped out of the way a few laps after the restart. 11- Geoff Bodine: Was running up front early but something happened to him mid race and he ended up in the booth 45. BOBO83329521 posted: 06.03.2020 - 3:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin's penalty: They had a 2 inch carburetor spacer limit in 1990, and they had rules as to whether or not they could weld or bolt them on. Apparently Martin broke both of these rules. His spacer size was 2.5 in. according to ESPN report. 46. SweetRich posted: 06.27.2020 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Ken Squier and Chris Economaki. The pit road reporters were Steve Byrnes and Charlie Harville. And in The STP Pit Communication Center was Dave Despain. 47. Thomas posted: 08.10.2020 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After his crash in final practice Earnhardt had to start at the back of the field since they had to use the backup car. The backup was a front-wheel drive car, which apparently Earnhardt had never used at Richmond before and he drove it to the front before having to settle for 2nd. As to the Mark Martin discussion--keep in mind that Mark had been 2nd in points (1 point ahead of Earnhardt) going into Atlanta the previous fall, so the Childress crew were well aware that Roush was a potential title contender. Regardless, a rule was violated and the Roush team had the rest of the season to make up those points. There was no way NASCAR could have known 2 races into the season that the title was going to be decided by fewer points than they penalized Martin after this race. 48. possum posted: 08.10.2020 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @47 - no sir, no front wheel drive cars in the Cup series. I think what you meant was "front steer" car. In Cup at that time the steering box could be mounted either in front or in back of the wheel centerline, referred to as front steer or rear steer respectively; there are advantages and disadvantages, handling wise, to either location and some teams built cars both ways for different tracks. 49. RaceFanX posted: 10.25.2020 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mickey Gibbs failed to qualify at Daytona and quipped afterward that it was disappointing but at least that would give them more time to prepare for Richmond. The extra preparations must have paid off. He got his family-owned Days Inn #01 Ford in the field here and brought it home with a top-20. 50. Tigerman posted: 11.10.2020 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #90 car was actually sponsored by Wolmanized/Pitts Lumber. Diet Pepsi wasn't even on the car. 51. LW97 posted: 12.17.2020 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Like Benny Parsons said, losing 46 points for this, is like hanging a guy for shoplifting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: