1994 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results

Originally published on Dec. 7, 2024

By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #30 Michael Waltrip v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt

(7) #21 Morgan Shepherd v. (2) #6 Mark Martin

(6) #10 Ricky Rudd v. (3) #2 Rusty Wallace

(5) #25 Ken Schrader v. (4) #28 Ernie Irvan

Before starting the first round, an unprecedented scenario took place as Ernie Irvan, who had been in contention for the regular season championship, sustained a season-ending head injury after a practice accident at Michigan International Speedway. Obviously unable to start the final two races, Irvan dropped to fourth after the regular season finale at Bristol. Therefore, Ken Schrader, the #5-seeded driver, would essentially be credited with a first-round bye.

As the first round got underway at Darlington, Dale Earnhardt staked his claim for his third title with a second-place finish, while Michael Waltrip fell out due to engine failure. However, Morgan Shepherd pulled off an early upset over Mark Martin, finishing a strong third while Martin also suffered a late engine failure. Meanwhile, Ricky Rudd nailed down a fourth-place run while Rusty Wallace trailed behind in seventh.

The second race at Richmond saw Earnhardt move on to the semifinal round with ease, finishing third with Waltrip struggling throughout the night, eventually going several laps down. Not wanting to be the victim of an opening round upset, Martin fought back for a sixth-place finish at the Virginia short track, while Shepherd took the checkers in 14^th. Similarly, Wallace kept the series going after grabbing the fourth spot, just barely holding off Rudd in fifth. The remaining two series would be decided at Dover, though Wallace opted not to give Rudd any chances after the close call a week prior. The driver of the #2 grabbed the race win after leading 56 laps, while Rudd ended up back in 18^th. The Shepherd-Martin series, however, would see a stunning turn of events late in the going. With just seven laps to go, Martin looked to be in great shape, but coming out of turn four he would overdrive the turn and smack the outside wall. Now with significant damage, Martin was unable to continue as Shepherd claimed a modest 10^th-place finish to advance to the semifinals against all odds.

Semifinal

(7) #21 Morgan Shepherd v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt

(5) #25 Ken Schrader v. (3) #2 Rusty Wallace

Seeing what Shepherd had done to Martin in the previous round, Earnhardt was determined not to meet the same fate at Martinsville, taking the second spot while Shepherd finished 15^th. Despite a strong sixth-place effort from Schrader following the unconventional first-round advancement, he was no match for Wallace, who led 368 laps on the way to the race win. In fact, both series would be over about as soon as they had started, with North Wilkesboro Speedway seeing Wallace nabbing a fourth-place finish to knock out Schrader in 14^th. The battle between Earnhardt and Shepherd was even more decisive, as Shepherd crashed out of the race while Earnhardt maintained the seventh spot to meet Wallace in the finals in a rematch of the year before.

Final

(3) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt

Unfortunately for the fans at Rockingham, the final round’s first event would be a laugher as Wallace was forced out of the race with a blown engine, though Earnhardt took advantage of the misfortune to go for broke and eventually score the race win. However, Phoenix would be Earnhardt’s turn behind the wall, as his engine expired after just 91 laps. This, of course, rendered him unable to take advantage of Wallace’s ill-handling ride, as he ended up two laps down in 17^th.

With NASCAR racing in general reaching its peak in popularity around 1994, the hype was at an all-time high going into the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, just like the other two races in the round, this too would be decided in anticlimactic fashion. Just a quarter of the way into the event, Wallace ran over an exploded brake rotor, causing major damage to the suspension. With nothing else to do besides go behind the wall and repair the damage, Wallace’s team worked expeditiously to get him back out on track and kept their fingers crossed that Earnhardt would encounter similar issues. However, this was a miracle that would not come, as Earnhardt grabbed a second-place finish to secure his third career Cup Series title.

Dale Earnhardt’s stats for 1994 were four victories, 20 top-fives and 25 top-10s, scoring the championship in real life as well.