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ALL-STAR: Earnhardt’s ‘93 Win Laced In Controversy
Dale Earnhardt's victory in the 1993 Sprint All-Star Race came on the heels of two questionable calls by NASCAR...
Jim Pedley  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted May 13, 2011   Charlotte, NC
Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a seven-time NASCAR champion. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
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Last May, at about this time, Mark Martin was at a press conference and was asked about the Sprint All-Star Race. Specifically, he was asked about his favorite memories of the event.

“I have a lot of great memories,” Martin said.

Chances are, not many of those great memories came from the 1993 race because that year, it appeared Martin should have won the annual May event at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time in his career, but didn’t.

He didn’t win it because, many thought then and still think today, he was a victim of star power. He was beaten – many thought – when officials gave an unfair, race-deciding break to the biggest star of all: Dale Earnhardt.

Because of who won that race and how he won it, the 1993 event checks in at No. 6 on the list of the 10 best Sprint All-Star Races of all time.

When 20 cars lined up to take the green flag at CMS for the ’93 race, Earnhardt had already won five of his seven Cup championships – he would win the sixth that year and the seventh the next.

He was The Man. In the eyes of many fans, Earnhardt was NASCAR and could do no wrong. The mere sight of his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet would draw standing ovations at tracks.

Many in the garages during those days believed that some of those standing and cheering Earnhardt were in the NASCAR offices in Daytona Beach and, even, in race control on race weekends.

Of course nobody had any proof that NASCAR officials gave special considerations to “The Intimidator," but in all sports, star power can be powerful and shadowy indeed. Especially to people who collect money from those who attend races.

Martin at the time was viewed much the way he is now: As a talented driver who kept his cool in the car and his mouth shut outside of it.

On the night of the 1993 Sprint All-Star Race, Martin appeared to have the best car on the track. He had a big lead as the final 10-lap segment of the race rolled toward a conclusion. Earnhardt was a distant second.

But with a lap to go, Terry Labonte’s car blew an engine, went out of control and hit the wall.

Mark Martin left the 1993 Sprint All-Star Race empty-handed. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
A caution flag waved.

But when did it wave?

“They threw a caution on the white-flag lap,” Martin said in an interview with SPEED.com, “which should have been, I thought, was over.”

Officials cleaned up Labonte’s wreck and lined up the field for a double-file restart with Martin and Earnhardt side-by-side on the front row.

When the green flag dropped, it was apparent that Earnhardt had jumped the restart – by about 20 car lengths – and another caution flag was waved.

“Got a little anxious there,” Earnhardt chuckled.

For the ensuing restart, however, Earnhardt was not sent to the rear of the field. Instead, the race was restarted with Earnhardt again next to Martin. It seems the All-Star rules were different from regular-season rules when a jumped restart would have sent Earnhardt to the rear of the field for the next restart.

On the final restart, Earnhardt tracked down Martin, passed him and got the victory – his third in an All-Star race.

After the race, Martin appeared to be biting his tongue.

“That’s what Winston put the money up for,” he said. “It’s a different format, built on excitement. It was more exciting the way it went down than on a single-file restart or whatever. That’s what Winston puts the money up for.

“When it comes down to deals like that, the fastest car doesn’t always win. He beat me. I don’t have an excuse.”

On the cool down lap, a smattering of boos from the grandstands could be heard. The boos followed Earnhardt to victory lane.

And it wasn’t just fans who thought something hinky had happened.

Several drivers suggested that Earnhardt had had the race handed to him.

Ernie Irvin, who was in the second row on the restart, famously told the media: "To jump the start and give (Earnhardt) another try at it is like giving a bank robber a second shot. It's like you didn't do it good enough the first time, try it again. The Winston is great, but let's not let somebody blatantly take a gun and steal the money."

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Davey Allison, who had won the two previous All-Star races, told the media: “It gets to me that somebody can get away with all this stuff and nothing ever gets said about it. If anybody else flinches, they get their hand slapped."

The victory stood and the lore of two of NASCAR’s great drivers was enhanced.

For Earnhardt, the finish made him the event’s first three-time winner.

For Martin, it was yet another runner-up finish for NASCAR’s Mr. Second Place.

Jim Pedley is a veteran, award-winning sports journalist who has worked at, among other places, the Boston Globe, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Kansas City Star. Pedley can be reached at jpedley@racintoday.com

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