Why Late ‘90s NASCAR Was Awesome (Besides Dale Earnhardt) 

This video needs so many more views. It seems like it’s become popular to rip on the old fans to defend the bad decisions of modern NASCAR. Great video man, absolutely loved it.

THIS. It’s ALL TRUE. It wasn’t just the racing. For me, from the mid 90s to 2004, everything was a labor of love. The commentary, the starting lineups, the commercials. This was a sport FOR the fans, rather than for money.

Bob Jenkins is king, and that speedworld intro is still awesome

"All of this was in service to the greatest hope of all, that Jeff Gordon wouldn't win yet another race". 😀 That sir is hilarious!!

The personalities were awesome. But, the tracks weren't all so similar, and the cars weren't so Aero dependent. Guys could pass. The cars weren't so over engineered.

Personalities and TV production are really what is missing

I was a crew member in those awesome times for a few different teams I have always said the same thing ...nascar will never be the same again

That piece is truth down to every last word Brock, and while I was a Gordon fan in that era (one of the very very few at that time), and all the way up to the end too, Earnhardt was also one of my heroes, and both still are to this day, I will say 80s and 90s NASCAR was the very best era in the sport for sure.

This was the golden age of NASCAR as far as I’m concerned. Great video.

Even the era of the early 2000s was still pretty exciting. You gotta remember the type of personalities guys like Harvick, Stewart, and Kurt Busch were when they stepped on the scene. Tony gave great interviews because he was liable to say anything he wanted, Kurt had attitude enough for himself, his car, and the backup sitting in the trailer, and had no problem ruffling some feathers on track or voicing his displeasure about "has-beens" and "never-wases" racing with him on track. And Happy Harv used to like vaulting race cars after the finish to get in someone's face about how he was raced on track. The 90s are what made me love this sport. I used to have the 1993 Daytona 500 recorded on VHS, so I saw Kyle Petty and Bobby Hillin almost fight, Rusty Wallace flip on the backstretch, and "the Dale and Dale show" at the finish over 50 times. I could almost recite the broadcast word-for-word at age 13 in 2000. I got into NASCAR Racing on the PC, and played every NASCAR game I could find until I realized EA was ruining console NASCAR games for me. It was those years in the 2000s, though, before they started using any playoff system, that settled it for me, that I would be a lifelong fan. The personalities now are... a bit monocrhomatic sometimes... But we also have a changing of the guard beginning to happen, and these young guys have shown a lot of promise. So unlike most people who were fans in the 90s and hate today's NASCAR, I'm still excited week-to-week to see how the next race will unfold. Given enough time, these young guys will start to show some personality. I mean, Jeff Gordon didn't have much in the way of color commentary starting out... he just won races. Sorry this ended up so long, I just really like these kinds of videos. Thanks Brock!

The voice of Bob Jenkins and the music of speedworld always gets me pumped

MAN...... what a great video! I'm a Jeff Gordon fan but you hit the nail on the head with this video!

I wish I could've lived in this era. Everyone that experienced it has always told me it was the absolute golden era.

The diveristy of teams is something I also miss. Smaller teams could hang with the bigger ones. Maybe not every single week but they'd still get their share of top 5's and top 10's. It grew so fast so much of that magic got lost. It is, was, and will always be my favorite era and it was when I fell in love with the sport.

@9:15 "All of this was in service to the greatest hope of all: That Jeff Gordon wouldn't win yet another race." I've never heard it put that way, but it is so true. The 24 really was the greatest "villain" the sport had ever seen.

One of the most vibrant decades in all of sports, including auto racing. I grew up in the 2000s era, when NASCAR (and literally everything about the sport) was undoubtedly at its peak. This era though, should be known for its fresh and colorful style, and vibes. It was an aesthetic version of what good was to come in the next decade. Almost everything in the sport at that time got as creative as possible, and then some. Innovations were prominent-- they were seen left and right, while some traditions still existed, providing young fans a glimpse of the past. Historic moments were seen more often than ever, and in some cases the racing was top-notch. It didn't reach the height in popularity that 2000s NASCAR had but the variety in creativity reached its peak. I wish I could've lived in this era of NASCAR because it seemed like a good portion of the fanbase watched together as family, and the only things fans were split on were on-track occurrences. I don't think NASCAR will ever get this vibrant again. It isn't entirely impossible for popularity levels to be what it was at the time, but the vibes that were felt in that era look like they're gonna stay in that decade locked up as in a treasure chest. If only we had a time machine!

Thanks for helping me re-live my childhood for a little bit

Ernie Irvan was who kept me watching in the 90s . Ernie could win and wreck in back to back weekends . Always exciting knowing your favorite driver has a brick taped to his foot !!! Ernie drove every lap as if it was his last...............and Ernie could stay out on worn tires and stay at speed better than most could even dream about . Hard Charging Ernie Irvan !!!

Outstanding video, almost depressing to watch. stage racing is some kind of sick nightmare

Great video! Thanks for mentioning Gary Bradberry and Billy Standridge, and the footage of the 78 and 47 cars. My Dad worked/volunteered with those drivers and teams in the mid to late 90's. He would help them out in the garage area on race weekends. Real independents. It was an honor just to make it into the races in those days.

The late 90s also saw the highest average driver experience levels and ages in NASCAR history. A great deal of continuity.

Well done video. I fell in love with NASCAR in the 1990s as a child. Growing up every weekend we would go to my uncles to cookout and watch NASCAR. My first favorites were Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan. I thought Irvan looked really cool with the eye patch when he was in the booth after the accident. The late 90s is a million times better than today. Wish we could capture that same magic today but its long gone.

Needs a sequel: Why Late 90s/Early 2000s CART Was Awesome (Split Be Damned).

Don't forget 2000-2003 NASCAR. Those years were good as well.

I'm kind of a new fan, I knew most of these things but just how u explained and what u touched on really changed my mind on what made the 90s so amazing and what NASCAR could do to make it better today! Thank you for this amazing video!

Brock Beard said it best it was a perfect storm of several things that nobody had control over. One thing though that people don't realize is that when the movie the fast and the furious came out it really put street racing to a whole new light. When you say the word racing back in the 90s people thought about nascar. Now it's one of the last things people think about, especially young people.

100% agree on the commercials. We went from Drive the Big Brown Truck to Like you do sometimes grandpa?

This is one of the best NASCAR videos on RU-vid

This video is dead on. I started watching with my dad when I was about 5 in 1990. The deaths of Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki are the earliest senses of personal loss I can remember. Cheering for Richard Petty (shared the last name) over Dale Earnhardt. Cheering for Dale Jarrett over my middle-school English teacher's favorite: Jeff Gordon. Cheering for Yates and Roush drivers over Hendrick and Childress. Basically anyone in a Ford over anyone in a Chevy. Listening to Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, and Benny Parsons. Texas Motor Speedway got built an hour from my house. I had NASCAR '98 on Playstation. The beer and autoparts commercials. Then around the time I was nearing the end of high school, Senior was dead and The Chase came around, and the Thunderbirds had given way to the Taurus and then the winged Fusion "Car of Tomorrow," and the WWF Attitude Era-style drama between the drivers was picking up, and nothing seemed like the same racing I'd grown up with.

Early 2000's were great too. 2007 was the last great year of the sport.

Good moments that probably never been the same. The today's NASCAR is abysmal compared with this

Great video. This brought me back to the carefree days of my early teens when all I cared about was NASCAR. And that ESPN intro for the Richmond race at 6:42 with Bob Jenkins...I could watch that a hundred times. I remember hoping Gordon would crash every race, which is embarrassing to think about now. By the end of his career, I was pulling for him to win.

I looked forward to every race. Man I miss those days. Bunch of rich brats today. Rip Kenny Irwin too.

Damn dude you got that spot on. Everything about that era was great, especially whenever Gordon DNF.

There are MANY adjectives to use on Dale Jarrett. I don't know if "mean" was one of them, haha. Aside from yelling at Gordon after a race, he was as gentlemanly as his dad.

I know it's easy to say "NASCAR was so much better then!" but there's some kind of magic about that era that the current one lacks.

Hell yeah! Made the credits. Where's my cut of the royalties?

This video took me back to my teenage years and my favorite time in the sport. Brought tears to my eyes more than once and a lot of laughs. Thank you for this. Go JG#24 🏁

Absolutely amazing insight, Brock. Great job on this video.

Just seeing this for the first time. Everything said in this is exactly what I have said when ever I talk about the good old days of NASCAR with my friends, or when talking to a current fan about why I'm no longer a fan. I haven't watched any full NASCAR race since 2016, a full race live since 2015, and a full season since 2013. Everyone back then was pulling the same rope. NASCAR, the Tracks, the sponsors, the drivers, teams, car owners, TV networks, and announcers. They were all part of the same team, making the sport more and more popular.

I'm not crying you're crying..... what a great video. Well done. I think that "perfect storm" will be hard to come by again but what a ride it was. I grew up in this era. Anyone who was anyone knew about nascar even if they weren't a fan. The paint schemes were always my favorite. We have some sharp ones today, but it's less special nowadays with 5 sponsors for each car, and 3 different schemes per car (it seems).

As someone who was a teenager in the late 90's, and as someone who has read Lastcar extensively, and has come to love and support the great people who have made this sport what it is... thank you, Brock! I doubt the sport will ever get back to its late-90's glory days (which, as you mentioned, happened as a result of a confluence of factors that no one had any control over), but I'm glad we, the viewing audience, are glad to have lived it when we did.

Some people will never know about the “22 Cataputer Doge.”

8:58 *proudly sings the Busch jingle* "I don't even drink beer!"

This is the NASCAR I grew up on. It was exciting! I could name every driver and team to every car number, back then. It was awesome because popularity grew for the sport organically. They didn't need silly gimmicks. It was so fun to witness! How those days are missed.

“Crawling out of a pretty deep one right now..” Can’t imagine how DW felt in that moment. I know he said on one Jr’s podcast that Dale asking him to drive the 1 car helped him dig himself out of the debt he put himself in with his owner driver endeavor. Probably felt like he started to see a light at the end of a long dark tunnel.

Yep , the 90’s was the best time to be a NASCAR fan. Racing will never be that good again. This video made me want to go watch some old races. Awesome video. 👍👍👍

My two favorite things have so much in common. Wrasslin' and Racin' were AWESOME in the late 90's and now they are both struggling. I still watch them both but neither are the same as they were. I will always watch hoping for the good ole days. Sadly, once the good ole days go they don't usually return.

Something I think that hurts nascar a lot with young fans is the constant revolving door of sponsors for each race instead of just having one sponsor for a year that fans can identify with and associate with each driver. The late 90’s was golden age for this and I know I miss it terribly.

Segmented races and the “chase” format is how you destroy a racing series, there’s a reason why the IRL and the FIA don’t do those things. It’s because they’re absolutely stupid ideas

Great video. The best era of NASCAR by a long shot

It was awesome from Daytona 79 to Daytona 2001. Great video

Another amazing video! This brought back all the warm fuzzy feelings, thank you!

He was great agsin after his surgery. 99 and 2000 he was awesome. Especially for 49 years old

I remember you could win with the front ripped off basically

Way back in '97, I was a little kid of only 7 years old, and my dad won two tickets to a Nascar race at Darlington Speedway. My dad wanted me to go with him, instead he took his best friend because my mom didn't want me missing school the Friday he was going to be at the race. To this day I won't let go about how she did that to me 😂. At the time I was a big fan of Jeff Gordon. When my dad went to get his autograph for me a Nascar official whisked him away and for the longest time I blamed Jeff Gordon and started liking my second favorite, Dale Jarrett even more. Of course I know now it wasn't Gordon's fault but believe me, it broke my young heart. Still wish I could have gone to the race. My dad still talks about how exciting it was to be there!

My childhood. Grew up during this era and absolutely loved Nascar. Back when it was actually worth watching. Before the Chase ruined the championship. Before the "Car of Tomorrow" ruined the racing. Before stage racing managed to make bad even worse. Thankfully, as my fandom was dying, Indianapolis brought MotoGP in 08 and I had a new series to follow.

I watched NASCAR all through the mid 80s up until 2005 or so. After that, it just wasn't the same. As someone who lives in Wilkesboro, maybe they will undo some of the stuff they've done in the last 25 years. But I'm afraid it's too late. The return to Wilkesboro this year was probably a swan song. I hope they prove me wrong. I won't hold my breath. Great video. Hits that nostalgia and wishful thinking spot.

Fantastic video. Took me back to some great times. Love this sport but glad I got to live during the 90s.

this is great video as it gives all those 90s chills because my favorite outside of the racing was those awesome intros you mentioned 😎🙌🎉💚

God I miss those drivers and those days when NASCAR was great. Sucks today! Thanks for this video my friend, absolutely great!

Your Ward Burton pronunciation had me laughin so much. Great video.

I miss the 90s sure but man we are still seeing some great talent and great racing. I think some of you are seeing the stands and thinking what happened to nascar? Nothing we are still recovering from the recession. People realized the best seat was at home. It's free and in HD.

Hearing Ward Burton talk is always a treat within itself.

It's like a video on Dale Earnhardt I saw mentioned, although he was the most prolific name in the sport at his peak, not just with the number of titles he won, but with his antics as well to get his way, with the exception of 2001, where he won it posthumously, he was never the most popular driver. For those less familiar with NASCAR, like I was prior to 2020, it's another example of how a successful sports person doesn't necessarily mean that they're the most popular

The speedworld intro is iconic. There will never be another one better. Although I did love how CBS would use journey's music as an intro. And the track facts music on ESPN was great. The 80's and 90's were the golden age of racing

You hit it right on the head. It’s not all about the product on the track that draws fans to the sport. It’s the personalities as well, and today’s NASCAR doesn’t have much personality. I admire the talent of all of today’s younger drivers but nobody wants to root for a rich entitled 19 year old brat who’s mediocre at best but can afford great equipment. People admire the grit of someone who’s paid their dues to get there and appreciates their accomplishment that much more. Guys who didn’t get a shot until their 30’s. And when someone like tony Stewart calls people out on that he’s a villain because hurting people’s feelings is illegal in 2019. Spoiler height and horsepower aren’t gonna fix the sport but people in the car with personalities similar to those in the stand will. NASCAR was a blue collar spot with blue collar fans when clean cut Gordon came in and it attracted a different crowd. The problem is, most of the drivers after were just like Gordon but all of those newer fans lost interest. The blue collar fan stuck around and now has nobody they can relate to.

Dude you hit this topic dead on the head! Couldn't have said it better myself.

The 50s-60s-70s-80-and the 90s were all great racing from the local short tracks to the super speedways...when racing was at it's finest...I'm glad I was around to enjoy the real racing day's. 50+ years of the good stuff !

And the final nail in nascars coffin, stage racing. But like all things, nothing lasts. Nice video man.

But that Ward impression tho

Thank you for reminding me of my childhood watching nascar with my late grandfather ❤💪 born in 92 I loved Nascar from the earliest moments that I can remember

This video captures the essence of my favorite era of NASCAR including the early-mid 2000s. My childhood as well. Awesome video

I ran into Buckshot Jones in a Great Clips a year or so ago in Hoschton, GA where I grew up. He lives around there somewhere now and works in construction and land development. The lady at the counter said “See ya later Buckshot” as he was leaving. After he walked out I said “Buckshot Jones?” She said “Yeah he lives right down the road. Comes in here all the time.” I had no idea. He is from Monticello but that’s a ways from Hoschton. Cool stuff.

I grew up watching Nascar in the 90s if was great. I rooted for dale Earnhardt and DW and Jeff groden . I stop watching Nascar in 2011 but Dale Earnhardt was my Hero . And that race in 2001 that took his life I cryed for days .

Not only do I miss the mid to late 90's NASCAR, but I profoundly miss the ASA Series on TNN. One the best series of racing and it hardly ever gets mentioned

:46 That was an amazing race. Was 20th row on the front stretch by pit road entance. Jarrett had the fastest car by miles.

So nostalgic when I heard those opening intros from the different racing broadcasts!!!

Honestly this video shows why I still go back and watch races from the 90's it was so damn good and I love getting to go back and watch those races one more time

I'd love to see a video of the crossover of fanbases of WWF and NASCAR as they both went through their "Attitude Era" in the late 90's.

One of the ones I miss the most is Benny Parsons in the commentator booth. Or as he was called by most "BP" . I think one of my favorite moments in racing is where Jeff Gordon is about to qualify at Michigan and they decide to interview Dale Earnhardt. Dale says it's going to rain and stay on pit road and says going out is " not to smart".Gordon heads out and on the second lap destroys his car when he runs through the rain that was on the track. Just awesome times never to be repeated.

So greatful for those few nascar youtubers that wont forget the good ol days and still celebrate them in 2019.

I don’t even have the words to say how great this video was. Nascar is missing so much cool factor and personalities like it used to have. This...just spot on

Damn this makes me miss the 90s so much. It was a magical time.

Time to share this awesomeness on unforgettable Nascar's page

Absolutely fantastic video. You are right on the money, pal. Many thanks for this

The height of NASCAR was literally exactly parallel with the height and popularity of wrestling. I loved both, and have fond memories of spending all those Sundays watching races and Mondays watching Nitro and Raw - we were just a different culture back then!

True. The 90s ruled, and so did NASCAR for that time. I miss every single one of those awesome drivers. I was in the army when Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 in 1998 and I was so proud of him. When he died in 2001, I cried for over a week. I still have a 1998 release TShirt of Jeff Gordon! It's a bit faded, but I still have it and wear it from time to time. Great times, great sport, great drivers.

Yep everything you said is the reason I loved this era of NASCAR. Thanks

You also forgot about the cartoon series NASCAR Racers that aired from 1999-2001. That was a great show.

What a blast from the past, the paint schemes, drivers, even TV promos... very well done! Greatest generation of NASCAR hands down!

I am almost fifty years old, I did not grow up watching nascar. I went to my first live race in Phoenix in the fall of 2015 at the request of a good buddy who had been into nascar since the 80s. I was hooked the moment I walked up the steps to the fence as the Xfinity race was on, cars were screaming literally by my face at speeds I have never seen. I am mad at him for not getting me into it back then, since we pretty much grew up together. I now watch every race, and in between races, I watch the good old day races and truly understand what I missed out on, big regret!! I now look forward to Sunday more for nascar than football, and that is saying a lot! I always look at the stands during a televised race, and now compared to then is sad to see. I am hopeful and optimistic one day that not just I, but also true fans will get to see a day when the glory days return!

Epic, and I mean epic video. I think back to these days and think how spoiled we were. The CBS and ESPN Speedworld intros still give me chills.

@Brock Beard . . . your commentary at the wrap of this video was impressive! It was on a level of something I can imagine hearing from Ken Squire and Mike Joy!

Robert Pressley completing the flip killed me! Awesome way to introduce a guy haha

As a kid growing up In the 90s what an amazing time it was. It seemed like the whole world stopped on Sundays for Nascar. My family arranged everything we did around the race every weekend as did most everyone we know. It was so much bigger than racing. We felt like we knew all these guys. Even as a 10 or 11 year old kid I could name every driver, car number and sponsor without missing a beat. The best decade there will ever be for motorsports

“Only in America. You know what I mean?”

Not only were some of the paint schemes amazing but the introduction of the Craftsman Truck series in 1995 is what really drawn me to that era of nascar

Great video! I don’t miss a race to this day, but when I was a kid I would not miss a lap

Great, well made video! Early 90s to early 00s was my era. Love these guys!