1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Season was the 47th season of professional in the United States and the 24th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 12 in Daytona Beach and concluded on November 12 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his first career championship.

The major story heading into the 1995 season was Dale Earnhardt's attempt to make history. After winning his seventh Winston Cup Championship in 1994, Earnhardt tied Richard Petty's record for Cup Championships. Going into the 1995 season, Earnhardt had won four of the last five Winston Cup points titles, and was considered the favorite to win his eighth in 1995.

As the season progressed, the race for the series championship became a battle between Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon. The majority of the spotlight soon shifted on the 24-year-old Gordon. Gordon, who had won two of 1994’s biggest races (Coca Cola 600 and the Inaugural Brickyard 400), visited victory lane in three of the first six races of 1995. Gordon would become the most consistent driver of the season. During one stretch of the season, he rattled off 14 straight top ten finishes, winning four times during that stretch. Despite a late season challenge by Earnhardt, Gordon would win the season’s championship by 34 points. In doing so, he became the youngest Winston Cup Champion of the modern era (post 1971). Gordon made light of this at the season ending banquet, toasting Earnhardt with a glass of milk instead of champagne.

However, there were several other major stories in 1995.

The 1995 Busch Clash, kicked off the season on February 12, at Daytona International Speedway. Geoffrey Bodine drew the pole. As an exhibition race, no points are awarded. The race was between 1994 Winston Cup pole winners. Also, in a first for the event, the driver who collected the most poles in the 1994 Busch Season was also invited. This honor went to David Green.

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