By Cindy Pischel
Neil Bonnett was one of the members of the famous "Alabama Gang" which included Red Farmer and the Allison family. In fact he started his career in racing under the instruction of the great Bobby Allison.
Bonnett was born in Hueytown, Alabama and his career spanned over an 18-yr period. He is ranked 35th in all time NASCAR Cup wins. He was someone who always gave 100% to everything he did. As well as being a great racecar driver, he also made his mark on the broadcasting scene as an analyst and commentator for races and hosted his own show on TNN.
Bonnett began driving in NASCAR events in 1974 and also competed in IROC racing for three seasons. He placed second in the series two times. In 1984 Bonnett joined up with the powerhouse Junior Johnson racing team, making him a teammate to Darrell Waltrip. 1985 was one of the best seasons for Bonnett-he finished fourth in the points series behind his teammate's win for the Championship.
In 1990, Bonnett suffered a life-threatening crash that left him with some amnesia and dizziness and his driving career was put on hold for a couple of years. That's when he got into broadcasting, but he still had a desire to be behind the wheel of a racecar. He was good friends with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress and when the opportunity came to do some test driving for them, he jumped at the chance.
Bonnett was cleared to race again in 1993 and Childress gave him a ride for the DieHard 500 at Talladega. His comeback was interrupted though, by a crash that took him out of the race. Uninjured and undaunted, he headed for the broadcast booth and called the rest of the race.
In 1994, Bonnett was ready for the season to begin and he had secured a sponsor for at least six races with owner James Finch. The season opener was the Daytona 500 but the practice session turned out to be a tragic one. During his practice run, Bonnett's car lost a right front tire, causing him a hard hit to the outside wall. He was taken to the nearby Medical Center, but he had died in the impact. Neil Bonnett was someone who took pride in his driving and in being known as a "hard charger" but he also enjoyed the love and respect he felt from everyone in the garage and pit areas. His talents behind the wheel and in the booth will long be remembered.
More articles about NASCAR news and auto racing can be found at http://www.speedweekly.net
The best way to watch NASCAR can be found at http://www.watchautoracing.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_Pischel
http://EzineArticles.com/?NASCAR-Legend---Neil-Bonnett&id=1475811
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
NASCAR Race Legend - Mark Martin
By Cindy Pischel
Mark Martin has often been called Mr. Consistency due to his frequent top-ten finishes. Hailing from the state of Arkansas, he spent his early years driving on short dirt tracks. From there he moved to the AMA and won the Rookie of the Year title in 1977. He then won three consecutive championships from 1978 to 1980 and then another in 1986.
But Mark Martin was made for bigger and better things and headed for NASCAR racing in 1981. By 1982 he was running a full schedule with a family owned team. After running only 22 events from '83 to '87, he took on a full schedule in the Nationwide (then Busch) Series for owner Bruce Lawmaster. Martin won at Dover, becoming the first Ford driver to win there. That win caught the eye of another owner who was setting up his Cup team for 1988-Jack Roush. That was the start of a 19-year relationship between the two of them. During this time he's been runner-up to the championship four times but hasn't been able to grasp it.
In 1990 he lost the title to Dale Earnhardt by only 26 points and in 2002 by just 38 points to Tony Stewart. Martin parted ways with Roush racing after the organization announced that they could no longer field a team for him in 2007 for all 20 races that he wanted to run. After the '06 campaign, Martin joined Ginn Racing to run a part time schedule in 2007. Martin is the leader for wins in the Nationwide Series with 47 even though he doesn't run a full schedule. He also made 14 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006. That single year brought an astonishing record of 6 wins, 11 top-5s, 12 top-10s, and 3 pole positions.
In July of 2007 DEI acquired Ginn Racing, so Mark Martin joined Dale Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., and Paul Menard. After Dale Jr. left DEI, Martin shared the #8 car with Aric Almirola sponsored by U.S. Army. The 2008 Auto Club 500 was Martin's 700th career start. Still going strong in 2008, there has been talk that Martin will leave DEI to join Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season. 2009 is to be his official final season after almost three decades of racing.
More articles about NASCAR news and auto racing can be found at http://www.speedweekly.net
The best way to watch NASCAR can be found at http://www.watchautoracing.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_Pischel
http://EzineArticles.com/?NASCAR-Race-Legend---Mark-Martin&id=1475752
Mark Martin has often been called Mr. Consistency due to his frequent top-ten finishes. Hailing from the state of Arkansas, he spent his early years driving on short dirt tracks. From there he moved to the AMA and won the Rookie of the Year title in 1977. He then won three consecutive championships from 1978 to 1980 and then another in 1986.
But Mark Martin was made for bigger and better things and headed for NASCAR racing in 1981. By 1982 he was running a full schedule with a family owned team. After running only 22 events from '83 to '87, he took on a full schedule in the Nationwide (then Busch) Series for owner Bruce Lawmaster. Martin won at Dover, becoming the first Ford driver to win there. That win caught the eye of another owner who was setting up his Cup team for 1988-Jack Roush. That was the start of a 19-year relationship between the two of them. During this time he's been runner-up to the championship four times but hasn't been able to grasp it.
In 1990 he lost the title to Dale Earnhardt by only 26 points and in 2002 by just 38 points to Tony Stewart. Martin parted ways with Roush racing after the organization announced that they could no longer field a team for him in 2007 for all 20 races that he wanted to run. After the '06 campaign, Martin joined Ginn Racing to run a part time schedule in 2007. Martin is the leader for wins in the Nationwide Series with 47 even though he doesn't run a full schedule. He also made 14 starts in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006. That single year brought an astonishing record of 6 wins, 11 top-5s, 12 top-10s, and 3 pole positions.
In July of 2007 DEI acquired Ginn Racing, so Mark Martin joined Dale Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., and Paul Menard. After Dale Jr. left DEI, Martin shared the #8 car with Aric Almirola sponsored by U.S. Army. The 2008 Auto Club 500 was Martin's 700th career start. Still going strong in 2008, there has been talk that Martin will leave DEI to join Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season. 2009 is to be his official final season after almost three decades of racing.
More articles about NASCAR news and auto racing can be found at http://www.speedweekly.net
The best way to watch NASCAR can be found at http://www.watchautoracing.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_Pischel
http://EzineArticles.com/?NASCAR-Race-Legend---Mark-Martin&id=1475752
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