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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

Five years after Mark Martin won his only race at Phoenix (1993), Rusty Wallace won under caution on Oct. 25, 1998, at PIR with Martin finishing second after rain ended the race after 257 laps.

The rain-shortened event hampered Martin's quest for his first Cup championship; he left Phoenix trailing eventual champion Jeff Gordon by 329 points with two races remaining. In the end, Martin finished second in points for the third time.

In 18 starts at Phoenix, Martin has eight top-fives and 13 top-10s for an average finish of 9.1 with only one DNF.

Wallace has seven top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 18 starts at PIR. His average finished is 16.9 with two DNFs.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Travis Kvapil

Travis Kvapil

Rookie Kurt Busch and Travis Kvapil return to the desert this weekend with little more than turning laps for experience on the agenda. Neither driver is in the Chase, or in the running for the $1 million bonus for finishing 11th in points.

Kvapil and Busch each have started one race at PIR; both made their track debut April 17. Busch finished eighth; Kvapil was 40th.

Busch's season has been marked by his first Cup win (California in September) and 12 top-10s. Kvapil has struggled in his inaugural season, posting only one top-10 (Bristol in April).

With only two races remaining, Busch leads Kvapil by 76 points and will be the 2005 Cup rookie of the year.

Also in 1998 ...

  • News
  • Jan. 22 -- Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty and accepts a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
  • Entertainment
  • Jan. 20 -- 'Dawson,' 'Joey,' 'Jen,' and 'Pacey' became household names with the premiere of Dawson's Creek on the WB.
  • Sports
  • July 12 -- Spurred by two goals from Zinedine Zidane, France wins 3-0 against Brazil to claim its first World Cup.
  • Deaths
  • Comedian Henny Youngman ... politician Barry M. Goldwater ... athlete Florence Griffith-Joyner

Also in 2005 ...

  • News
  • Nov. 9 -- A Texas court let stand a lower court ruling that threw out Andrea Yates' murder convictions for drowning her children. (Story)
  • Entertainment
  • Nov. 9 -- The Weather Channel will feature Lewis Black -- known for his rants on The Daily Show -- in a handful of segments. (Story)
  • Sports
  • Nov. 7 -- Phillies pitcher Ugueth Urbina was arrested and held pending a formal charge of attempted murder. (Story)
  • Still to come in 2005 ...
  • Dec. 14 -- The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service will launch in Canada and the U.S.
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