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Then & Now

NASCAR.COM pays tribute to two outgoing vets
and welcomes two rookies to the Cup fold.

Each week will preview one year in the career of the retiring drivers,
as well as a pop-culture look at what's going on in the world today.
Mark Martin

Mark Martin

Rusty Wallace

Rusty Wallace

Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace first raced against each other at Talladega in the Winston 500 on May 1, 1988 -- when Phil Parsons posted his only Cup victory.

Seventeen years later, the veterans will make their penultimate trip to rural 'Bama for the Aaron's 499.

Sunday's race will be Martin's 39th start at the track. He has two wins (1995 and '97), 10 top-fives and 21 top-10 finishes. Martin's average finish is 14.0, and he has four DNFs.

Wallace will be making his 44th start at 'Dega. He has never won there, and has only one top-five finish and 12 top-10. Wallace's average finish is 20.4, and he has 14 DNFs.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

Kyle Busch and Travis Kvapil will make their first Nextel Cup starts at Talladega Superspeedway.

Busch started 13th in last year's Busch race at 'Dega. He led for two laps and eventually finished fifth.

Kvapil has never raced at the 2.66-mile track.

After eight races, Busch continues to lead the rookie of the year standings. He now holds a an 11-point advantage over Kvapil, 97-86.

Last week at Phoenix, Busch posted his second top-10 finish of the season. Kvapil, who was involved in his third crash of the year, finished 40th.

Also in 1995 ...

  • News
  • Feb. 17 -- Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the Long Island Rail Road shootings in December 1993. He receives a 200-plus-year sentence.
  • Entertainment
  • March 1 -- R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry leaves the stage during a Switzerland concert after suffering a brain aneurysm, which requires immediate surgery.
  • Sports
  • Oct. 28 -- The Atlanta Braves win the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians 4 games to 2.
  • Deaths
  • Kennedy family matriarch Rose Kennedy ... rapper Eazy-E ... singer Selena Quintanilla Perez ... sportscaster Howard Cosell ... actress/dancer Ginger Rogers ... Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia ... baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle ... entertainer Dean Martin

Also in 2005 ...

  • News
  • April 26 -- Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000-troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country.
  • Entertainment
  • April 25 -- It is announced that comedian George Lopez underwent a kidney transplant last week with an organ donated by his wife. Lopez had a genetic condition that caused kidney deterioration.
  • Sports
  • April 23 -- Utah QB Alex Smith is the first pick in the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He is the fifth consecutive QB taken first overall and seventh in the last eight years, following Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, David Carr and Michael Vick as top selections since 2001.
  • Still to come in 2005 ...
  • July 6 -- Host of the 2012 Summer Olympics to be announced by the IOC in Singapore during its 117th Session.
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