1994 Ford Thunderbird NASCAR

The 1994 Winston Cup Season began with Derrike Cope racing for Cale Yarborough Motorsports with sponsorship by Fingerhut Companies, Inc. The first race of the season was at the Daytona 500, with Cope starting 16th. He finished the race in 21st. The following two races he scored a pair of 29th place positions, followed by a 34th at the Purolator 500 due to an accident. The team was unable to break the top ten position for most of the season, with most of their finishes being in the mid-20s.

At the time, the teams engines builders were Rick Swain and Tony Santanicola and their Crew chief and general manager was Ken Glenn.

As the season progressed, it became clear that a change was needed in order to achieve better resultes. Part way through the season, Derrike was dropped by Cale Yarborough and replaced by rookie Jeremy Mayfield. The lose of the #98 Fingerhut ride did not seem to deter Derrike, as he was able to quickly find a new team to pilot their vehicle. He was given an opportunity to drive the #02 car for T.W. Taylor of Taylor Performance Racing with sponsorship by the Children's Miracle Network. Mayfield had been driving for this team, so it was basically a switch for the two drivers and teams. Derrike later drove for Bobby Allison Motorsports.

In 1994, he made his CUP racing debut in the Mello Yello 500 in the #95 Ford Thunderbird with sponsorship by Mac Tools. He then found a ride in the #02 with sponsorship by the Children's Miracle Network. He raced with that team for four races before moving the #98 Fingerhut car for Cale Yarborough. His best finish of the season was a 19th place at Rochingham.

The following year he stayed with Yarborough as a full-time driver, receiving sponsorship from RCA. He qualified for 27 out of 31 races and finished the season in 31st place. The next season was more promising, scoring two Top Five finishes and won his first career pole at the DieHard 500. He finished the season 26th in points.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2007

Russell William 'Rusty' Wallace was born on August 14th in 1956 in Fenton Missouri. He is a former NASCAR champion, NASCAR Bush Series car owner, and a television broadcaster with ESPN and ESPN on ABC. His first live broadcast was at the Indy 500 on May 28th of 2006.

Prior to his debut in the NASCAR circuit, Rusty earned a pair of local track championships. he won more than 200 short track races. Against some very tough competition, he was named Rookie of the Year in the 1979 United States Auto Club (USAC).

His first race in NASCAR was at the Atlanta 500 driving for Roger Penske. He started 7th and finished in second place. He raced only one other time for Penske in 1980 on the NASCAR circuit, where he started 25th at the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway but finished in 14th place.

In 1988 he scored 6 victories, winning four out of the last five races of the season. He had 19 top 5s and 23 top 10s, and finished second in points. The following year, he won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He beat Dale Earnhardt for the title by just twelve points.

In 1991, he drove in the IROC series, winning the championship.

Rusty drove with Roger Penske/Penske Racing, with sponsorship from Miller Genuine Draft, beginning in 1991. In 1997, Miller changed the teams sponsorship to Miller Lite, replacing the black and gold car, known as 'Midnight' to a blue and white paint scheme. 'Midnight' had carried Rusty to many race wins over the year, and it was being retired in 1997.

Rusty Wallace won the Bud Shootout at Daytona in 1998. This race is a non-points event, established for the previous years pole winners and past winners of the race. This was a very impressive accomplishment for Wallace, and the first victory for Ford's new Taurus.

Wallace continued racing in NASCAR's Nextel Cup series until his announcement of retirement at the end of the 2005 season.

Rusty's career included 55 NASCAR wins, which places him in 8th place for NASCAR's all-time win list.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2007