1988 season recap

Perennial NASCAR Winston Cup Series contender Bill Elliott finally broke through in 1988 to win his first NASCAR Winston Cup championship. After turning in one of the stellar seasons in NASCAR history in 1985 and falling short of the title, the 1988 season was extra sweet for Elliott. Six victories and six poles was not as electric as his 1985 statistics, but a more consistent Elliott made for a championship.

In 1988, three NASCAR stars were caught in one of the tightest battles in NASCAR Winston Cup history.

FIVE RACES TO GO: Charlotte, NC - Coming off a third place finish the previous week to pass Dale Earnhardt for second in the standings, Rusty Wallace continued to fight back at Charlotte. He rallies from two laps down to capture his first checkered flag at the famed speedway. In the process, Wallace trims 15 points from Bill Elliott's lead and trails by 109 with four races remaining.

FOUR RACES TO GO: North Wilkesboro, NC - Rusty Wallace notches his second straight win, this time rallying from one lap down to beat Phil Parsons and Geoff Bodine in a bumper-banging finish. Points leader Bill Elliott finishes fifth and now leads by just 89. Three-time and defending champion Dale Earnhardt, who was in second and 117 points behind four races ago, drops out of the title picture, 188 points off the pace.

THREE RACES TO GO: Rockingham, NC - Red-hot Rusty Wallace records his third consecutive win, and fifth of the year, to move within 79 points of the leader, Bill Elliott. Elliott lost a lap in the pits, but hung on for a fourth place showing. Elliott picked up five bonus points for leading the most laps over Wallace, two more than Rusty.

TWO RACES TO GO: Phoenix, AZ - Bill Elliott survives two cut tires to finish fourth, while Rusty Wallace leads early, gets knocked out of line, has a cut tire and eventually finishes fifth. Dale Earnhardt's 11th place finish mathematically eliminates him from the title chase.

FINAL RACE: Hampton, GA - Despite threatening weather, more than 70,000 fans pack Atlanta International Raceway to see their hometown driver win the NASCAR Winston Cup title. Bill Elliott didn't disappoint them, although it was a struggle. Rusty Wallace dominated the race, but Elliott drove conservatively to an 11th place finish to win the title. Elliott's final margin of victory was 24 points over Wallace and 232 over third place Dale Earnhardt.