By Zane Miller
First round
(8) #15 Geoffrey Bodine v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(7) #25 Ken Schrader v. (2) #2 Rusty Wallace
(6) #42 Kyle Petty v. (3) #6 Mark Martin
(5) #21 Morgan Shepherd v. (4) #18 Dale Jarrett
Once again, the playoffs started at Darlington Raceway, but the afternoon would belong to Mark Martin, who led the final 49 laps on the way to the race win to take the early advantage over Kyle Petty. Dale Earnhardt put together a strong fourth-place finish while Geoffrey Bodine ended up several laps down in 20th, while Rusty Wallace in third outlasted Ken Schrader in ninth. The closest battle of the day would take place between Dale Jarrett and Morgan Shepherd, as Shepherd in eighth was just able to hold off the former driver of the Wood Brothers’ famous #21 in 12th.
Shepherd’s good fortune came to an abrupt halt in Richmond, as he suffered mechanical issues and would finish over 100 laps down, while Jarrett had a forgettable race in 14th, but it would be enough to stay in contention at Dover. This would be the only series to remain undecided, as Earnhardt, Wallace and Martin would all finish inside the top-10 (with Wallace even winning the race). Petty put up the strongest fight in ninth, but would be unable to get by the sixth-place car of Martin. With all eyes locked on Jarrett and Shepherd in the Delaware state capital, Jarrett would lead two laps and finish fourth, while Shepherd was not quite able to keep up, coming home in ninth to officially set the field for the semifinal round.
Semifinal
(4) #18 Dale Jarrett v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(3) #6 Mark Martin v. (2) #2 Rusty Wallace
At Martinsville, while nobody was any match for Ernie Irvan who led over 400 laps on the way to the race win, Wallace used his short track prowess to his benefit to secure the runner-up spot with Martin trailing far behind in 16th. Earnhardt was forced to drop out of the race due to a failed rear end gear, while Jarrett finished a solid fifth.
The “Dale vs. Dale” series would be extended into all three races, however, as Earnhardt recovered to grab the runner-up spot after leading 59 laps while Jarrett could only salvage a ninth-place finish. This would not be an issue for Wallace, however, as he led nearly half of the event on the way to the race victory, while Martin again had a mediocre 16th-place finish. At Charlotte Motor Speedway, Earnhardt took care of business with a third-place result, whereas Jarrett was never a serious threat, eventually finishing nine laps down in 26th. In the final three races, the championship would be decided between two past champions.
Final
(2) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt
The two longtime rivals began their duel at Rockingham, with both overcoming poor qualifying runs to make their way into the top-five early. While both led a chunk of laps, Wallace proved that he was just a bit quicker than the Intimidator. The checkered flag fell with Wallace taking his ninth victory of the season, while Earnhardt could only watch from a distance in the runner-up spot. However, Earnhardt would get right back in the game at Phoenix, as Wallace fell behind despite a good starting spot. Wallace never found the handle on his Pontiac, ending the race in 19th while Earnhardt nabbed the fourth spot to force the trophy to be handed out at Atlanta.
Coincidentally, both title-hungry drivers would start right next to each other in row 10 on the starting grid, though Wallace wasted no time in getting to the front. By lap 81, the St. Louis native was in the lead, and would only relinquish it briefly for the rest of the race. With a nearly six-second gap over second-place Ricky Rudd, Wallace rocketed to the checkers for his 10th win of the year and his second career Cup Series championship, with Earnhardt finishing 10th. After the race concluded, both Wallace and Earnhardt paid tribute to both Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison, two drivers who had passed away in aircraft crashes earlier in the year, with a slow lap around Atlanta Motor Speedway in the style of Kulwicki’s famous Polish Victory Lap.
Rusty Wallace’s stats for 1993 were an outstanding 10 victories, 19 top-fives and 21 top-10s, claiming second in the standings to real-life champion Dale Earnhardt.
1993 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/1993-nascar-cup-series-season-recap
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