Today In NASCAR History

1995: Dale Earnhardt dominates the race but comes up short in the final standings as Jeff Gordon clinches his first championship in NASCAR’s premier series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Gordon, who entered the season-ending NAPA 500 with a commanding 147-point lead, clinched the title early by gaining five bonus points for leading a lap and then coasted to a 32nd-place finish. Earnhardt, who led 268 of 328 laps, wound up 34 points shy of notching a record-breaking eighth championship. Sterling Marlin finished second with Rusty Wallace third.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.