We saw the emergence of the Ford Taurus on the Winston Cup circuit. There were a few rules changes with rear spoilers and front air dams in an effort by NASCAR to make the Taurus, Monte Carlo, and Grand Prix more evenly competitive. There were still some die hard Thunderbirds out there, and If I'm not mistaken, the 1999 season is the last time that the Thunderbirds will be allowed on the track, unless that's been changed. Who knows, the ruling body of NASCAR changes it's rules more often than a lot of people change their underwear. This has made it very hard on less affluent race teams, costing them money and time that they don't really have. With the new Monte Carlo due out next year, I expect to see more mid stream rules changes in order to even the field around the new car.
We saw Dale Earnhardt break his losing streak, and finally win the Daytona 500, a race that he had never won before. That was a big one for Dale, but it was the only win he had during the season. We saw Rusty Wallace break his losing streak also, taking the win in a rain shortened event. That's not like racing to the checkered flag, but a win is a win.
We saw the emergence of some great Busch Grand National stars. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Buckshot Jones, and the Sadler brothers all had their chance to shine this past year. Lots of fans are saying that the Busch series was a lot more interesting than Winston Cup because of the high competition level. With Winston Cup, it seemed as though it was Mark Martin chasing Jeff Gordon, with Dale Jarrett right on their tails.
We also witnessed the hard luck of some great stars. Steve Park comes to mind, with his bad wreck and broken leg that pretty much took him out of the competition for Rookie of the Year in Winston Cup. Other long time stars like Ken Schrader, Jimmy Spencer, and Bill Elliott, seemed to be chasing their tails all season, trying to come up with the big one, but always falling short of the mark. There were a few of the top drivers that had to race with nagging ailments during the season, or quit, and I have a suspicion that the word "quit" never entered their minds.
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