1990 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results

Originally published on Nov. 6, 2024

By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #42 Kyle Petty v. (1) #6 Mark Martin

(7) #5 Ricky Rudd v. (2) #3 Dale Earnhardt

(6) #15 Morgan Shepherd v. (3) #11 Geoffrey Bodine

(5) #9 Bill Elliott v. (4) #27 Rusty Wallace

The playoffs started off at Darlington Raceway and, true to form, Dale Earnhardt wasted no time in putting his best foot forward, leading 99 laps on the way to the race win. Meanwhile, Mark Martin scored an early victory over Kyle Petty, grabbing the sixth spot while Petty languished in 25^th. Geoffrey Bodine also led a solid chunk of laps and finished a solid eighth, while competitor Morgan Shepherd struggled to a 21^st-place result. The day’s least competitive battle was easily the one between Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace, as Wallace fell out with a blown engine after just 14 laps with Elliott bringing it home in fourth.

At Richmond, Earnhardt made it back-to-back wins, leading nearly half of the race in the process to make quick work of Ricky Rudd. Simultaneously, Martin grabbed the second spot to knock out Petty despite his solid sixth-place finish, and Bodine picked up an easy victory over Shepherd following the latter’s blown engine near the three-quarters mark of the race. The tightest battle came between Elliott and Wallace, but it would be Elliott taking the series with a fourth-place finish while Wallace came up one spot behind after leading 75 laps. With that, the rare four-way first round sweep was complete, paving the way for the second round to get underway.

Semifinal

(5) #9 Bill Elliott v. (1) #6 Mark Martin

(3) #11 Geoffrey Bodine v. (2) #3 Dale Earnhardt

At Martinsville, Bodine was able to score a critical opening round victory over Earnhardt, winning the race after 69 laps led while Earnhardt followed behind in the runner-up spot. Also putting together a strong run was Martin, who finished third at the paper clip while Elliott came home eighth. Martin successfully carried the momentum into North Wilkesboro, leading the final 38 laps on the way to the race win, eliminating Elliott to reach back-to-back championship finals. Bodine would not be so fortunate, as he could only wrestle his car to a 16^th-place result while Earnhardt finished second yet again to push the series back to Charlotte.

In NASCAR’s backyard, Bodine looked to have the early advantage as he started near the front, while Earnhardt was mired in the middle of the pack. On lap 116, it appeared that Bodine had just won the lottery as Earnhardt had a rare single-car spin and slammed the turn four wall. With Earnhardt now sitting in the garage, all Bodine had to do was ride out the last 200 laps. Unfortunately, his camshaft had other plans, as it failed nearly halfway through the event. With Bodine now done for the day, Earnhardt’s crew worked feverishly to get back out on track. Their hard work would pay off, as he finished 80 laps down in 25^th, but it was enough to surpass Bodine and win the battle of attrition to face Martin for the championship.

Final

(2) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (1) #6 Mark Martin

In the first race of the finals at Rockingham, both Martin and Earnhardt started behind the 8-ball with poor starting spots, but both also slowly began the crawl towards the front. Neither driver was a serious threat for the race win, but they were definitely locked in a compelling battle throughout the afternoon. As the checkered flag fell, Earnhardt edged Martin by just one spot, finishing 10^th to Martin’s 11^th.

Going into the next race at Phoenix, Martin would need a big day to keep his championship aspirations afloat. However, it didn’t take long for Earnhardt to prove that he was the class of the field. After passing by Wallace for the lead on lap 51, the Intimidator pulled away from the pack, never relinquishing the lead even through numerous caution flags throughout the day. The 1990 season came to a close with Earnhardt leading the final 262 laps on the way to his second Cup Series title.

Dale Earnhardt’s stats for 1990 were an impressive nine wins, 18 top-fives and 23 top-10s, earning the real-life championship as well.