SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.
So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!
10 Years Ago (Sept. 9, 2009):Â A perfectly timed caution flag plus a big push from David Reutimann was all Kasey Kahne needed to catapult himself to victory in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Kahne got by race-long leader Kevin Harvick during a restart with 11 laps left thanks to a push from Reutimann, allowing him to earn his second win of the season. The victory catapulted Kahne five spots in the points to sixth, all but assuring him a place in The Chase with one race left before the field would be set.
Other Happenings: Tony Schumacher bested Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final for his eighth victory in the U.S. Nationals, joining Ashley Force-Hood, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Hector Arana as winners of the Big Go; Jason Meyers inched closer to Donny Schatz in the World of Outlaws title race with a win and a third-place finish in two nights of racing at Skagit Speedway; Parker Kligerman completed a season sweep of ARCA’s two dirt races with a win at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
25 Years Ago (Sept. 7, 1994):Â Bill Elliott ended a nearly two-year drought in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition with a victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Tires were at a premium at the speedway, which was set to be repaved after the race. Elliott tracked down Dale Earnhardt for the lead 13 laps from the finish, eventually pulling away to a 6.39 second victory. He led only 21 laps, including the final 13, en route to his 40th victory in the series.
Other Happenings: Al Unser Jr. overcame food poisoning to win the Molson Indy Vancouver to increase his PPG Indy Car World Series points lead; 56-year-old Connie Kalitta won the U.S. Nationals in Top Fuel, joining Cruz Pedregon and Warren Johnson as winners; Mike Eddy won the ASA AC-Delco Challenge race at the Minnesota State Fair; Nigel Mansell ended his two-year run in Indy Car to return to Europe, where it was expected he would return to the Williams Formula One team.
50 Years Ago (Sept. 10, 1969):Â A.J. Foyt captured his sixth victory in the Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Foyt pocketed nearly $20,000 for his victory, which came over runner-up Gary Bettenhausen. Mario Andretti took the lead from polesitter Greg Weld in the first turn and held the position until the 55th circuit, when Foyt powered his Ford-powered Sheraton-Thompson into the lead for good.
Other Happenings: NASCAR President Bill France confirmed rumors that he intended to file an entry for the Alabama 500 at the new Alabama Int’l Motor Speedway in a car prepared by John Holman of Holman and Moody; Bobby Isaac won a Grand National Series event at Hickory Motor Speedway while Bobby Allison went to victory at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway; Ramo Stott pocketed $2,070 for an ARCA win at Salem Speedway; Don White won a USAC Stock Car race in Milwaukee.