Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch before Sunday’s The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VisitPA.com at Pocono Raceway (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).
1980 Coca-Cola 500:
Kannapolis, North Carolina’s Dale Earnhardt arrived at Pocono Raceway in July 1980 as quite possibly the biggest surprise of the season.
Earnhardt, who was in his second full-time season, led the series standings after the first 18 races of the season thanks to a victory during the previous race at Nashville Speedway. It was his third victory of the season, which left him 48 points ahead of Richard Petty before the trek to the Pocono Mountains.
Unfortunately for Earnhardt, the last time he was at the track, he was involved in a crash that left him injured and put him out of action for a few weeks.
It looked like Petty had the upper hand on Earnhardt as he piloted his iconic No. 43 Chevy in the third position. He backed that up quickly as he led a handful of times for a total of 18 laps.
Everything went downhill fast for Petty when he was involved in a multi-car incident, one that also heavily damaged Darrell Waltrip’s No. 88.
Cale Yarborough, the race’s pole winner, looked to be one of, if not the strongest, car in the field as the race progressed. As the laps quickly passed by, a battle for the lead between Yarborough, Buddy Baker and Neil Bonnett kept fans on their feet, unsure of who would take the checkered flag.
The drivers’ hard battle for the lead ended with Bonnett and the Wood Brothers Racing Mercury crossing the line first. It was the team’s first win of the season as they were only driving a part-time schedule.
Earnhardt finished right behind in fourth, which moved his gap over Petty in the standings to 144 points.
1982 Mountain Dew 500:
It was yet another Pocono race with the trio of Petty, Earnhardt and Waltrip stealing the spotlight, but the race came down to fuel mileage as another top driver swept his way to victory.
Waltrip was coming off an absolutely torrid race at Nashville, one where he led 400 of the race’s 420 laps on his way to Victory Lane. He looked to back up his 1981 Cup Series championship with another statement at Pocono.
Earnhardt sat fourth in the standings heading into the event, but his weekend came crashing to a halt past the halfway point of the race. He lost his breaks as his No. 15 Ford approached the first turn and collected Tim Richmond in a horrifying crash.
Earnhardt’s car caught the back of Richmond’s and slammed into the wall before turning over and sliding on its roof. He climbed from his car and was helped across the track by Richmond.
The impact broke the wall, keeping the field under caution for 12 laps. This turned the rest of the race upside down as strategy was now in play for the race’s final laps.
This set up Petty and Waltrip to battle for the victory, but their bout ran both drivers to the pits for fuel, allowing Bobby Allison to take advantage and grab the checkered flag at Pocono for the second time in 1982.
Petty took a splash-and-go and was able to come back out on the track and finish in second. Terry Labonte, Ron Bouchard and Buddy Baker rounded out the top five, while Waltrip was just behind in sixth.
1984 Like Cola 500:
It didn’t take long for Harry Gant and his green No. 33 Chevrolet to look like the car to beat at Pocono. He qualified third for the race, right behind Bill Elliott and Neil Bonnett.
Gant powered past Elliott and Bonnett to lead the first eight laps before the caution flag flew for Ronnie Thomas.
As Gant and Cale Yarborough looked to be the class of the field, many other drivers saw their chance at a good run erased by attrition.
Richard Petty, Dave Marcis, Ricky Rudd and 18 total drivers received a DNF for various issues, leaving only 22 cars running at the finish of the race.
The green flag flew with just under 30 laps remaining, bringing Gant to the pits for new tires but soon returned for a vibration. He quickly pushed his way toward the front following the restart and led the final 16 laps on his way to Victory Lane.
Yarborough followed Gant to the line in second, with Elliott, Terry Labonte and Benny Parsons right behind.
In a remarkable effort, Kyle Petty finished eighth after his crew chief and six other team members left the organization before the race.