1989 season recap

1988 runner-up Rusty Wallace captured his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship as he outdueled three-time champion Dale Earnhardt and newcomer Mark Martin in a classic championship race that left all three drivers a chance to win heading into the season finale. Wallace persevered with six wins and 20 top tens.

With 12 races to go in the 1989 season, Dale Earnhardt held a 126-point advantage as it looked like he would wrap up his fourth title. But by the end of the year, things had vastly changed.

FIVE RACES TO GO: Charlotte, NC - With five races remaining on the 1989 schedule, Dale Earnhardt led Rusty Wallace by 75 points heading into Charlotte. A broken camshaft ends Earnhardt's day after just 13 laps and puts him last in a 42-car field. Wallace jumps on the opportunity and finishes eighth, gaining 110 points on the Intimidator as the points race takes on a new complexion. Wallace now leads by 35 points. Earnhardt's misfortune allows Mark Martin to climb back into the title picture.

FOUR RACES TO GO: North Wilkesboro, NC - Run two weeks late after a rainout, starting positions are determined by car owner points prior to the Charlotte race. Dale Earnhardt dominates the race, leading 342 of the 400 laps, but a late caution with five laps remaining sets up a final shootout between Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd. On the final lap, Earnhardt and Rudd collide and Geoffrey Bodine tip-toes past the melee and on to victory. Loose lug nuts during a stop juggle Rusty Wallace's handling and he finishes seventh. Earnhardt is tenth after the wreck and Wallace gains two points, stretching his lead to 37. Mark Martin finishes second and now trails by just 128 points.

THREE RACES TO GO: Rockingham, NC - After several runner-up finishes, Mark Martin finally claims his first career win. However, Rusty Wallace leads the most laps and finishes second, losing no ground to Martin. Dale Earnhardt and Wallace, racing to make up a lap after being caught speeding on pit road, collide in turn three. Earnhardt is hammered by Sterling Marlin, who is also trying to make up a lost lap. The major damage relegates Earnhardt to 20th. Wallace gains 72 points and now leads Earnhardt by 109 with two races to go.

TWO RACES TO GO: Phoenix, AZ - Hollywood stunt man Stan Barrett, making his fourth NASCAR Winston Cup start of the season in a Junie Donlavey Ford, tangles with leader Rusty Wallace with 47 laps to go, knocking Wallace in to the second turn wall and ending his hopes of clinching the crown in Phoenix. Wallace stays on the lead lap despite four stops under yellow, but cuts a tire on the restart, pits under green and finishes 16th. Bill Elliott holds off Terry Labonte by .47 seconds for the victory. Mark Martin finishes third to pick up 50 points on Wallace, while Dale Earnhardt gains 30 points with a sixth place showing. Wallace will clinch the title with an 18th place finish or better in the season finale.

FINAL RACE: Hampton, GA - Dale Eanrhardt dominates the race, leading 294 of the 328 laps and wins by more than 25 seconds over Geoffrey Bodine. Rusty Wallace nurses his Pontiac to a 15th place showing to win the crown. It was a struggle for Wallace, losing a lap pitting under green early. A stop for a cut right tire under a green cost him another lap and loose left rear lug nuts ended up with another lost lap. Mark Martin, never a real factor in the race, eventually saw his Ford's engine blow in fiery fashion. Wallace's final margin over the Intimidator is 12 points, the closest finish in NASCAR Winston Cup racing since Richard Petty beat Darrell Waltrip by 11 points in 1979. Martin finished third in the points race, with Waltrip fourth, Ken Schrader fifth and Elliott sixth.