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1988 - The Morning After
In
1988, Richard Childress Racing took on GM Goodwrench as ist primary
sponsor. With a change in team colors, the No.3 car's paint scheme
changed from a cheery blue and
A repeat of Dale's phenomenal 1987 season was a little too much to expect as the calendar rolled to 1988. But considering the heights he had ascended, his 1988 effort represented a precipitous drop-off. Though never far removed from the top of the standings, Dale was also not a serious factor in the last third of the season, ultimately won by Bill Elliott. Dale placed third in the final standings, 232 points behind Elliott.
Dale held the points lead for seven races, from Darlington to Dover in early spring. He surrendered the advantage despite a respectable fourth-place run at Riverside, but plunged the following race with a DNF at Pocono. A mid-season flurry pulled him within 58 points of then-leader Rusty Wallace, but a poor effort at Michigan (29th place) began his slow drop from contender status.
By falling short of winning the championship in 1988, Dale missed a chance to match Cale Yarborough's record three straight titles. Though he would also miss in his next two opportunities to win three straight, no driver has won back-to-back championships more often than Dale Earnhardt.
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yellow to an ominous
black. From this
point the stock car racing world would never be the same.
Wins
are logged at Atlanta in the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, at
Martinsville in the Pannill Sweatshirts
500 and in the Busch 500 at Bristol. The three races after the Bristol
win illustrated how 1988 wasn't going to be Dale's year. Despite a run
of one third and two seconds, Dale still lost a point to Bill Elliott in
the points battle.