09/23/2017 – With the Cup Series visiting New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second race of the Chase on 09/24/2017, long-time Pontiac fans can fondly look back when Cup racing visited Loudon for the first time on July 11, 1993, for the Slick 50 300.
Rusty Wallace had been on an absolute tear for the first half of the 1993 season, rebounding from a sub-par stretch in 1991-1992 and once again displaying the dominating form of 1988 and his Championship year of 1989. By the time the Cup circuit arrived at Loudon for Race #16 (out of 30 races on the calendar), Wallace had already wheeled the Penske Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac Grand Prix into victory lane on 4 occasions (and with Kyle Petty winning at Pocono, Pontiac had 5 victories as the season hit its midpoint).
Following the second Daytona race where Wallace was not a factor (plate races were never a strong suit for Wallace during his time in a Pontiac), the team was eager to get back to a track where their driver could put his demonstrated strengths to good use and not have to contend with the Russian roulette style of plate racing.
Despite qualifying a distant 33rd, Wallace worked his way to the front by lap 168 and proceeded to lead 106 of the final 132 laps, taking the win by 1.3 seconds over pole sitter Mark Martin in the Valvoline Ford Thunderbird (Kyle Petty finished 8th in the Sabates Mello Yello Grand Prix to place 2 Pontiacs in the top-10).
Despite Pontiac’s exist from NASCAR and its eventual demise as an automotive manufacturer, a Pontiac will always be listed in NASCAR’s history books as the first winning car at New Hampshire International Speedway/New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Pontiac Racing 