05/31/2019 – Joe Gibbs, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Waddell Wilson, and Buddy Baker are the 2020 inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Here is a brief mention of each individual’s most well-known Pontiac connections.
Joe Gibbs – As the car owner inherent of Joe Gibbs Racing, he changed his stable over from Chevrolet to Pontiac in 1997 and set the stage for Pontiac’s final glory days as a manufacturer and the marque’s final driver’s championships (see below) before the Red Dart’s exit from NASCAR prior to the 2004 Cup season.
Bobby Labonte – Driving for Joe Gibbs, Labonte was the 2000 Cup champion driving a Pontiac Grand Prix; Labonte’s championship was Pontiac’s first driver’s Cup championship since Rusty Wallace captured the championship in 1989 driving a Pontiac for Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max Racing. Labonte scored 15 of his 21 Cup wins driving a Pontiac for Gibbs; Labonte also scored Pontiac’s only restrictor plate win at the 1998 Talladega DieHard 500.
Tony Stewart – Also driving for Joe Gibbs, Stewart will go down in NASCAR’s history books as Pontiac’s last Cup championship driver, winning the title in a memorable 2002 season after finishing the season-opening Daytona 500 in last place. Stewart started his Cup career with Gibbs in 1999 driving the iconic orange Home Depot Pontiac Grand Prix, winning the Rookie of the Year and subsequently the championship in 2002; the next year Gibbs Racing reverted back to Chevrolet. Stewart scored 15 of his 49 Cup wins driving a Pontiac for Gibbs.
Waddell Wilson – During a long and illustrious career, Wilson was the crew chief for Cale Yarborough at the 1983 Daytona 500. During initial qualifying, Cale was on a record-setting pace when his Chevrolet Monte Carlo went airborne and was heavily damaged. Unable to salvage the Monte Carlo, Wilson then arranged to have the race team bring its only back-up car to the track, a Pontiac LeMans that was living out its days parked outside a Hardee’s restaurant as a show car. Under Wilson’s supervision, the car was transformed into a race-ready machine with Cale taking the win for Pontiac’s last Daytona 500 win. Wilson also was the engine builder for NASCAR’s first 200-MPH qualifying lap with Benny Parsons behind the wheel of Harry Rainier’s J.D. Stacy Pontiac LeMans for the 1982 Winston 500.
Buddy Baker – While better known for his exploits in other marques, Baker nonetheless started 16 races in Pontiacs with 3 top-5 finishes over the course of his 35-year Cup career. Baker’s last Pontiac start was at the 1991 Daytona 500 (almost 30 years after driving Pontiacs for 4 races in 1963 for Cliff Stewart) where he piloted Rod Osterlund’s Pontiac Grand Prix sponsored by the U.S. Marines.
Pontiac Racing 