The 1998 NASCAR Cup Season was Dominated by Just 2 Drivers | The Mark Martin Apologetics Tour Part 3 

To me it was a cultural rivalry. It was really Jeff vs Dale, Rusty, Jarrett, Irvin, Mark, Terry etc. Dale was just the figurehead of it.

Pretty much like the Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson rivalry of today

Would be a good movie. You see the rise of a superstar while a legend comes to terms with his own morality.

Oh yeah, the fans had a rivalry, but the drivers more or less saw it as a passing of the torch. Still, it was fun to watch people bicker about it back in the day.😂

@@S1apShoes Yep. If you look... well not too hard, you can still see people bicker about it today. There was also a pretty good documentary made on it, iirc , something like "Unrivaled" here on youtube. I liked that one, and if you haven't seen it I do recommend it. There is also Jeff Gordon's time on Jr's podcast where they talked a bit about that as well.

Funny how Mark touted Joey as a replacement.

@James Joey is The Omen of NASCAR

Still a ‘Sliced Bread’ fan

The Iceberg i was born in 92’, i was fan throughout the 90’s and early 00’s some of the best races you’ll see live and on television, imagine every week is Daytona.

The best part of the '90s NASCAR era was the television production and how GOOD it was. ESPN (and not the god awful iteration that returned in 2007) had the best broadcast team that's ever called a stock car race in Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, and Benny Parsons. They made the races entertaining to watch, but didn't make a fool out of the viewer like Darrell Waltrip tended to do. Even on TNN, Buddy Baker and Eli Gold somehow made 500 mile snoozefests at Pocono and Dover watchable, and when you had the rare race on CBS, you could count on the legend Ken Squier to narrate the proceedings like he was reading you an old time novel by the evening fire. Races were patient and NASCAR tended to let them naturally develop. There wasn't caution flags thrown randomly to bunch the field up towards the end, there wasn't fake drama before a race to build up some anti-climatic conclusion (see the Kyle Busch/Kevin Harvick incidents in 2011 and how the Speed Channel was just trying to get them to deck one another). No stupid ass Chase system, and god damn, BRISTOL HAD NO PROGRESSIVE BANKING. I can't stand to watch NASCAR anymore. Brian France ruined it and I doubt they'll ever get it close to what they had before. At least I have the memories.

@@WhoopityDoo Couldn't agree more the tv coverage was amazing back then

It was awesome. I was young but I can remember what and where I was getting the news on 9/11 and the day in February 01

@@bryancurtislyles12 2001 Was Hard for Nascar and America as a Whole

I wouldn't feel too bad, he still has a lot more money than us

Me too

@@seantaylor2683 lol Marks living it up right now. He is a champion in my eyes,

Have you seen the video(s) on RU-vid called "empty cup" and how he lost that championship - at a guess it was 1990. Hope you're good

Even without it, he's one of the best.

Yes please! I personally feel his greatness doesn't get the love and attention it should. Also, this was a great video! As a Jeff Gordon fan, it was always cool to me that he won the October Daytona race a week before I was born.

PLEASE!!! With the 2nd most wins in NASCAR history (105) how could you not make a vid on David Pearson? You could talk about the 33-30 one two finishes he had with the King or go in depth on his one and only Daytona 500 win.

What about Jgr 2019 season i feel like they won most of the races last year

Ooh I would love a video on Pearson. I think you should also consider a video documenting the 2003-04 seasons. The landscape of NASCAR was much different by the start of 2005 than it had been at the end of 2002. 2003 served as the beginning of the Brian France era, the finale of Winston Cup era, the death of the Latford points system in Cup, the end of racing back to the flag, as well as the last full time season for Pontiac. 2003 also marked the last year of Union 76’s partnership, the Labor Day Southern 500 until 2015, the beginning of Ford’s sponsorship of the championship weekend, the start of homogeneous rooflines, as well as Rockingham’s final fall race. The Truck series ran its final races at Mesa Marin and South Boston. 2003 was also the first year that NASCAR’s second tier would be known as the Busch Series , with the name being shortened from the Busch Grand National Series. The championship battles that year also proved to be remarkable. Travis Kvapil snuck away with the Truck championship in a shocking upset, in which championship favorite Brendan Gaughan uttered the famous words, “Jimmy Smith can kiss my ass!” after being wrecked out late in the race. Brian Vickers late season charge in the Busch Series earned him the championship in a four way battle between himself, David Green, Ron Hornaday, & Bobby Hamilton Jr. In the Cup Series, Matt Kenseth dominated the points despite his lone win at Las Vegas, and wrapped up the championship one race early at Rockingham, making him the final Winston Cup champion, and the first driver to win the cup with a single win since Benny Parsons in 1973, as well as the fourth driver in Cup history to do so. This ultimately led to the implementation of The Chase in 2004. 2004 marked the beginning of Nextel/Sprint’s sponsorship of the Cup Series, which would continue until 2016 and Sunoco’s partnership. In 2004, Rockingham hosted its final cup race, and the fallout from the Ferko Lawsuit resulted in Darlington’s traditional spring race getting the boot. The Busch Series saw its final race at Nazareth, and Truck Series had Mansfield and Atlanta added to its schedule. Toyota also made its NASCAR debut, running the Tundra in the Truck Series that year. The championship battles that year proved to be remarkable as well. Journeyman Bobby Hamilton Sr. won the truck championship as an owner/driver, the only truck champion to do so and the first overall since Alan Kulwicki. Hamilton would die of cancer two and a half years later. Busch North standout Martin Truex Jr beat future teammate and rival Kyle Busch for the Busch Series championship driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Chance 2 Motorsports. Polarizing upstart Kurt Busch beat out Jimmie Johnson by a scant 8 points in the first year of the new Chase format, even losing a wheel at one point. Jeff Gordon had his first of three would be championships, something that remains controversial to this day. Overall, both seasons saw a change of guard as well. Bill Elliott, the Labonte brothers, and Rusty Wallace scored their final wins, and men like Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and many more established themselves as the next generation of superstars. Speaking of Earnhardt, these two seasons served as the unlikely peak of DEI’s success as well as Dale Earnhardt Jr’s career. Junior and Michael Waltrip won a combined 10 races during this time, including two Daytona 500’s and 5/8 restrictor plate races run during these two years. Waltrip never won again in Cup following 2003, and Dale Earnhardt Jr won just eleven times from 2005-17. DEI won just three times more and ceased to exist after 2009, the last remnants of the team dying with the end of the 2014 season. 2003 & 04 also serve as the only Cup championships for Roush, who had come frustratingly close with Mark Martin only several occasions. Kenseth and Busch, scored their only titles as well. Kenseth would go on to compete for the title year in and year out, leaving Roush for JGR in 2013. He retired quietly in 2018, driving part time for Roush. Kurt Busch remains a contender in the Cup Series, currently driving the #1 Camaro for Chip Ganassi. He has had a tumultuous career though, having been involved in numerous controversies over the years, but he has matured over time, and is now a respected veteran. These are just a few of the many story lines from 2003-04

S1apSh0es any whining about Wendell Scott in this video?

Denny Hamlin is equal

I was always a big Mark Martin fan too.

Only Carl Edwards is equal to Mark Martin since Carl has the most missing rings

exactly like Rubens Barrichello at F1.

Womb Raider Not your bud and just because something happened “way back in the good old days” doesn’t make it better. He’s equal or better

Same here

1990 1994 1998 2002 2009

Yup

😈🤣 >:)

@@DupontandLowesWarrior What hurt Mark Martin down the stretch was a 40th place finish at Darlington and at Talladega he had a 34th place finish. While Jeff Gordon the last 13 races was always finishing with wins or a top 5

Every time Martin dominated someone else existed 🤣. Poor dude

snappy452 You’ll live

@@nathanielhiggerson7679 ​ You didnt get it. Its commiseration. Slap was a huge Mark Martin fan as was I. I cant tell you how many times I drew that Winn-Dixie ride in my spare time, much like he forced his mom to get that diecast. Being a Mark Martin fan is to wonder what might have been if Roush had been just a little better in their engine department, or bad luck didnt take him out in an accident he didnt start. Being a Mark Martin fan means cherished memories that still come with a twinge of remorse in thinking "what if"...I was a grown man when he lost the 500 in 07, and I cried.

I share the same sentiment.

@@snappy452 Mark should've stayed in the #6 until his 2011 Retirement Tour (Brain Vickers drives the #55 in 2012-13 Full Time)

Because Mark Martin fans are more prone to heartbreak than multiple rewatchings of Old Yeller. Signed, a Dale Jarrett fan

They are actually falling short, going by performance per race, but they have an extra 3 races to work with.

Kyle Busch in Xfinity was a god for years.

Harvick Didn't Make The Final 4

@@DupontandLowesWarrior Damn the playoff format

Everyone does. I would rather watch a vintage race then a live one in today’s NASCAR

@@nathanielhiggerson7679 i don't even watch it anymore either. I want to like it but the stage racing , the playoffs and the brat drivers. Big turn off.

Hot Dogs yet it gets more coverage than the real racing that is Indycar.

Don't we all?

So does Jeff Gordon. He would have won 7 championships under the Winston Cup points bracket lol.

Having bought and really enjoyed the season review DVD of 2003 recently, I would also really like to see that. If not, the 2001 season.

That one's high on the list. Don't tell nobody >.>

I won’t tell anyone whose name isn’t Eric…

@@S1apShoes Its funny that he requested that video because I was thinking about that as well. Maybe a video saying "just think.....if matt Kenseth would've won multiple races to his championship in 2003 the chase wouldn't have existed".

The last true points season.

Kevin put up a streak of 1-2 finishes that Gordon didn’t even do during 1998!

M-magic *snort snort

@@S1apShoes Mr. Bean Joke

He worked out at the Golds Gym on 49 in Charlotte, where I did. He was a complete and total dickhead to everyone for no reason. Piece of trash

kidwave1 I met him at a Walmart. Had no sponsorship clothes on. He was a regular guy. Wanted to get his stuff and back on the road.

Great interview on Dale Jr. Download

I have been a nascar fan since the 90s Gordon was good but my favorite driver Dale Earnhardt was far better

In your opinion​@@rcracer8872

that was his breakout season, first time (correct me if I'm wrong) that Penske had 2 cars.

There are other weird point leaders in time after several races. Mike Skinner led after 4 races in 1999. Morgan Shepherd in 1990 after 11 races (and only gaining 15 bonus points for leading a race at that).

Derek Albert Poor skinner. He was a sleeper but never ended up winning

Jeremy had taken the points lead after winning the Pocono 500 from Jeff Gordon. He had an awfully fast race car but had some really bad luck in the second half.

@@badbooking3221 2000 is where Shit Hit Him Hard

Kid me loved Jeff Gordon but was terrified of Mark Martin. Even though Gordon was dominating, Martin seemed every bit as fast and capable of taking the points lead away. Weird, that one of the most compelling championship battles in NASCAR wasn't good vs evil, but great vs great.

@@jarrodswords3729 it was, and 2 of the most well mannered and respected drivers on the track.

And the greatest all-time Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt was great, no question, but Jeff Gordon is better!

@@Komodo_seeking and if Dale didn't pass away in 01 it would have been 8>3

@@rcracer8872 great, yes. Greatest of all time? No.

@@bryancurtislyles12 shows how little you know Dale is the best all time

Kevin could actually get 13 wins, Denny is having a mega season and Brad is having a solid season. They mirror Mark and DJ respectively. It’d be a shame to have a wildcard win the cup.

votekyle3000 yeah, I’m really hoping Kevin wins at Phoenix, it would look awful on Racing Reference if Harvick has as many wins (9 currently, and he will definitely win more) and top 5 &10 finishes but loses Phoenix. It would suck if the current format soiled one of the greatest seasons ever.

Except, the playoffs happened, and Chase won but hey Chase deserved it

Bryson Turner the thing is, the game was rigged in his favor for most of the sports timeline. Whenever he had a bad day, NASCAR would change the rules to keep him on top. He essentially just skated to the top without even trying thanks to the constant rule changes and shit points formats. As far as im concerned, he only earned 2 of those championships. The rest were handed to him by the NASCAR committee so that they had their 'golden boy' of the modern era.

his stats pale in comparison to David Pearson, and Pearson did it back in the days before all of this fancy safety equipment, power steering, A/C, radial tires and other cushy little girl luxury amenities, back when MEN were MEN, not unibrow gay boys like Jeff & Jimmie (even spells his name like a girl!)

@@Lrules364 You arent in touch much with reality, are you?

John Carpenter yes, yes I am. Anyone that thinks jimmie earned 7 trophys sure isnt though.

@@Lrules364 Ran under the rules presented by NASCAR. Earned titles. Next.

Ditech Cup Series it was mostly matt kenseth and jimmie Johnson for a bit

@@BuckeyeM80 In '07?

To recent

I almost won 30 races in nascar thunder 2003

Super Hornio Bros.

Super 64 I was just thinking that when I saw the final race at Atlanta. Totally forgot about that until now. I was 14 and a complete Nascar and Jeff Gordon nut back then so the thought of them completing that race at night kept me watching.

His videos are full of misinformation and lies

That car was a beauty.

He actually ran out of gas. We still poke fun at Ray for that one lol

His engine didn't blow. JFC

Star Trek Theory lol. I still don’t but I remember sears point days and people chain smoking packs despite it being 100+ degrees outside