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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 made his Cup debut at Richmond on Sept. 13, 1981, in the Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400. He won the pole -- his second pole that season -- and finished seventh behind winner Benny Parsons.

Rusty Wallace first raced at Richmond on Feb. 26, 1984, in the Miller High Life 400. He qualified fifth and finished 16th, four laps behind winner Ricky Rudd.

Wallace and Martin finished 1-2 in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 on Sept. 12, 1992.

Saturday night will be Martin's 39th start at Richmond. He has one win (Spring 1990), 12 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s. His average finish is 12.3 with three DNFs.

The Chevy American Revolution 400 will be Wallace's 43rd start at Richmond. He has six victories on the .750-mile Virginia track, with 21 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s. His average finish is 9.2 with four DNFs.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

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

Busch has raced at the track twice times in the Busch Series, and started from the pole and won the Spring 2004 event, leading 236 of 250 laps. In the fall race last year, Busch qualified second and finished fifth.

Kvapil competed in four Truck series races at Richmond. He started on the pole in 2003 before finishing ninth, his only top-10 at the track. He has never led during 773 laps.

Last week at Darlington, Busch finished 23rd and was the highest finishing rookie of the year contender for the sixth time this season. Kvapil finished 35th, 47 laps off the pace after being caught in a Lap 242 accident with Dale Jarrett and Scott Riggs..

Busch now leads the rookie standings by 11 points over Kvapil. They are the only two rookies to start all 10 races.

Also in 1992 ...

  • News
  • June 15 -- During a spelling bee at a Trenton, N.J., elementary school, veep Dan Quayle corrects a student's spelling of the word potato by indicating it should have an 'e' at the end.
  • Entertainment
  • June 3 -- Presidential candidate Bill Clinton appears on The Arsenio Hall Show. Clinton even plays the saxophone with the live band.
  • Sports
  • March 26 -- Boxer Mike Tyson is given a six-year sentence for raping 18-year-old Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington.
  • Deaths
  • Miss America host Bert Parks ... author Alex Haley ... comedian Benny Hill ... actress Marlene Dietrich ... musician Lawrence Welk.

Also in 2005 ...

  • News
  • May 11 -- Former child star Macaulay Culkin is expected to take the witness stand in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial -- the biggest celebrity name so far to testify.
  • Entertainment
  • May 10 -- Uchenna and Joyce Agu win the seventh edition of CBS' The Amazing Race and the $1 million prize.
  • Sports
  • May 10 -- Tony Pena resigns as manager of the Kansas City Royals. In three-plus years, his record is 198-285.
  • Still to come in 2005 ...
  • May 25 -- UEFA Champions League final to be held at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu in Istanbul, Turkey.
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