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1989 - Carolina Blues, 12 Points Short Of The Fourth Championship
As
a native of Kanapolis and a product of the state's dirt tracks, Dale
Earnhardt certainly qualified as one of
Disappointment turned to anger the follwowing week at North Wilkesboro. Dale thoroughly dominated the Holly Farms 400- leading 343 of 400 laps- but saw a sure win degrade into a 10th place finish when he and Ricky Rudd made contact and spun out on the race's final lap. Had Dale won, he would have overtaken Rusty in the point standings and enjoyed a 12-point advantage with three races to go. Instead, the spin actually dropped Dale two points further behind Rusty. The
series stayed in the Tar Heel state another week for a trip to
Rockingham, but Dale's luck didn't get any better. Momentum now squarely
behind Rusty Wallace, Dale finished in the 20th place and fell 109
points behind. A sixth-place effort at Phoenix and a win at Atlanta
could not help him overcome the deficit. At season's end, all that stood
between Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace was 12
How close was the Earnhardt-Wallace battle? Dale actually led Rusty in average finish (10.28 to 10.34), but lost the title on bonus points; Rusty accumulated 20 more points than Dale by leading one more race than Dale and by leading the most laps three more times. That, along with the North Wilkesboro fiasco in October, was the difference. The victory at Atlanta was Dale's fifth of the year, following earlier triumphs at North Wilkesboro in April, Darlington and a sweep of the two Dover races. Dale's performance at Dover was stunning. He led a track record 831 of 1,000 laps run on the track. For the season, he led 2,735 laps, a total he bettered during his career only once (in 1987).
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North Carolina's favorite
sons.
But his home state did him no favors during the 1989 Winston Cup season.
Heading into Charlotte with five races to go, Dale led Rusty Wallace in
the championship battle by 75 points. That margin evaporated just 13
laps into the All Pro Auto Parts 500, when a broken crankshaft ended his
day early and relegated him to 43nd place, his career-worst finish.
Dale's 75-point lead became a 35-point deficit.
points- the third thightest points battle in Winston Cup history.