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Features

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

Between the Fall 1993 and Fall 1999 races at Dover, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace were top-10 staples and frequent Victory Lane visitors.

Both drivers won three times during that stretch, including three consecutive for Wallace from 1993-1994 (sweep). Martin won each of the fall events from 1997-99.

In the spring race this year, Martin was third and Wallace fifth - only their second joint top-10 effort this decade (Fall 2000).

In 38 starts at Dover, Martin has four victories, 18 top-five finishes and 23 top-10s. His average finish is 13.4 with nine DNFs.

Wallace will be making his 44th start at The Monster Mile. He has three Ws, 11 top-fives and 21 top-10s. His average finish is 12.6 with six DNFs.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

Nextel Cup rookie of the year contenders Kyle Busch and Travis Kvapil will be back at Dover for their second trips to The Monster Mile.

Busch qualified 22nd and finished as the runner-up to winner Greg Biffle in the MBNA RacePoints 400 on June 5. It is one of his seven top-five finishes this season.

Kvapil started 33rd and finished 17th in that race. It is one of seven races in 27 starts that he has finished 20th or better this season.

Through 27 races, Busch leads the rookie of the year standings by 69 points over Kvapil entering Dover.

Kvapil has only one top-10 finish this season (seventh at Bristol in April), while Busch has one win, seven top-five finishes and 10 top-10s.

Also in 1999 ...

  • News
  • April 20 -- Columbine High School massacre: Two Littleton, Colo., teen-agers -- Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold -- open fire on their teachers and fellow students. The teens killed 12 students and 1 teacher, and then killed themselves.
  • Entertainment
  • Dec. 29 -- Former Beatle George Harrison is stabbed several times in the chest by an unknown assailant, who had broke into Harrison's home. Harrison's wife wrestled the knife out the assailant's hand before the police arrived. The man believed that Harrison was the devil.
  • Sports
  • April 18 -- "The Great One," Wayne Gretzky, plays his final game in the NHL. Gretzky played on four different teams during his 20-year career and held or shared 61 league records upon his retirement. He had 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records and 6 all-star records.
  • Deaths
  • King Hussein of Jordan ... film critic Gene Siskel ... baseball's Joe DiMaggio ... author Mario Puzo ... John F. Kennedy Jr. ... golfer Payne Stewart ... The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore)

Also in 2005 ...

  • News
  • Sept. 21 -- Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals said the number of deaths blamed on Hurricane Katrina has reached 1,033 -- Louisiana (799), Mississippi (219), Florida (11), Alabama (2) and Georgia (2).
  • Entertainment
  • Sept. 14 -- Pop princess Britney Spears gave birth to a baby boy at UCLA Medical Center. It is the first child for the 23-year-old Spears, while husband Kevin Federline, 27, has two young children -- Kori, 3, and 1-year-old Kaleb -- with ex-girlfriend, Shar Jackson.
  • Sports
  • Sept. 20 -- Wayne Gretzky stepped behind the Phoenix bench as head coach for the first time, but it wasn't enough as the Coyotes lost 8-4 to the L.A. Kings in a preseason game. Gretzky had watched the first two exhibition games from suite level, analyzing the strengths of his team.
  • Still to come in 2005 ...
  • Oct. 31 -- The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is scheduled to complete the Orange Line, a busway across the San Fernando Valley.
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