9 replies to this topic

[brabhamBT19]

I'll guess we'll have to wait untill americans tune in. The question is what happened to #28 cup car. This was quite unique and IMO became almost iconic car. Black car with a bright orange numbers and a big orange havoline-texaco star on the hood.
I always thought that the car was jinxed that it always bring some bad luck. The car originated from Lund racing where Davy Allison drove it. Than Robert Yates bought it and ran Ernie Irvan, who breached his contract with Morgan-Mcclure just to race the car his friend drove before he was killed in aircrash.
But then tragedy struck Irvan and he suffered near fatal injuries. He returend to 28 but with limited sucess. After Irvan, Kenny Irwin drove but he too was a victim of what was now so obvious to be #28 jinx. After Irwine died I thought they would retire #28, but they didnt, actuall Ricky Rudd drove it quite well.
Strange thing is it was finances that closed #28 down. Isnt that a bit sad. Imo #28 should have been retired while still active just like #3 was retired, than it would keep dignity, would mean something. It would be a great gesture towards three great but unlucky drivers that drove it in the 90s. This way it is just another unused number waiting to be acquired again.

Also when Yates still had M&M sponsorship why didnt he used it for #28 instead of #38?

Edited by brabhamBT19, 10 June 2009 - 12:13.

[MPea3]

I assume you mean Ernie Irvan?

[brabhamBT19]

lectors are never constructive

its fixed now

Edited by brabhamBT19, 10 June 2009 - 12:14.

[OfficeLinebacker]

You know JPM drove the black & orange Havoline car for a couple of seasons, only it was the #42.

Numbers are numbers, NASCAR owns them, it's hard to extract any historical significance from them.

You know about the number history function on NASCAR.com, right?

http://www.nascar.co..._number_28.html

[canon1753]

There are a couple of things in this. Davey Allison was on the verge of greatness when he died in the chopper crash. He'd won Daytona, and he was crashed out of a title decider which was the NASCAR equivalent of Adelaide 86. Irvin got hurt, then Dale Jarrett ran it for a year until Yates added the 88 car. Irwin raced it. and Rudd raced it. When Texaco went to Ganassi, it became the 38 car. The number will get picked up by another team sooner or later.

Texaco, with the great paint scheme came on the car in 1987, during Davey's rookie year (OT: got to meet him at Pocono that year, and went up the elevator with him at Loudon a few years later, really a great guy). Texaco left for Ganassi either for a larger deal or as a way to wind down their sponsorship. Since Texaco was merged or bought by Chevron and their current contracts ended, they have found other ways of getting their name out than racing sponsorship.


fixed for factual inaccuracies as noted by B squared

Edited by canon1753, 11 June 2009 - 01:43.

[B Squared]

Just to be clear, Kenny Irwin was not driving the #28 Yates car at the time of his unfortunate death at Loudon. He had been fired and was racing for Felix Sabates in the SABCO car.

B²

[MPea3]

lectors are never constructive

its fixed now

You don't think pointing out a spelling error is constructive? I guess I shouldn't mention "Irwine" either.

[OfficeLinebacker]

brabham, may I suggest you spend some time looking at the various histories of the car numbers on NASCAR.com, and then spend some time at Jayski, the comprehensive NASCAR color scheme catalog?

I think you'd get a kick out of it.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Texaco left for Ganassi either for a larger deal or as a way to wind down their sponsorship. Since Texaco was merged or bought by Chevron and their current contracts ended, they have found other ways of getting their name out than racing sponsorship.

Just a coincidence perhaps, but the Texaco/Havoline sponsorship manager became the sponsorship dude for all of Ganassi racing at the same time. He's now the co-owner of Hall of Fame Racing (which runs out of the Yates shop no less) and on the management for the San Diego Padres. Tom Garfinkel.

[Jim Thurman]

Kind of hard for Kenny Irwin to add to a "jinx" when he wasn't part of it at the time, as B2 pointed out.

Besides, #28 was iconic for being Fred Lorenzen's number long before...

Just like #3 was a white car with red stripes and Ray Fox