Tragedy struck NASCAR Winston Cup's pit road 21 years ago on November 18, 1990 in the final race of the year at Atlanta. That was the day that Ricky Rudd slid on pit road into Bill Elliott crewman Mike Ritch, a fatal incident that led directly to today's pit road speed speed limits. I can't believe it's been 21 years and that many of today's fans have never seen an all out balls to the wall NASCAR pit stop. But we don't need a repeat of that tragedy. There are plenty of videos of the incident, but before you jump to post one, I'd just as soon not see it a second time.
That November 18, 1990 Atlanta race is also remembered as the day that Mark Martin might have been crowned Winston Cup Champion over Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress, except Martin had been penalized 46 points after winning the February Richmond race when Childress complained to NASCAR about the carburetor spacer on the Jack Roush Ford of Martin's. NASCAR determined that the bolted on instead of welded spacer held no competitive advantage and let the win stand, but the 46 point penalty was double the 23 point margin by which Earnhardt prevailed over Martin after the Atlanta finale.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
