DALE EARNHARDT’S DOMINANT RUN TO A RECORD-TYING SEVENTH CHAMPIONSHIP

BEFORE ERNIE IRVAN SUFFERED A SEASON-ENDING INJURY IN A crash at Michigan International Speedway in August 1994, he and Dale Earnhardt were locked in a close battle for the Cup Series championship that saw the two veterans pass the points lead back and forth on multiple occasions over the season’s first 20 races.

But Irvan’s injury effectively put the championship on ice as Earnhardt – who held a slim points lead at the time – never again relinquished his position atop the standings and put so much distance between himself and his closest pursuers that he managed to clinch the championship at Rockingham Speedway with two races still on the schedule.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible once NASCAR added a 10-race season-ending playoff for its top division a decade later, but with the championship back then being based on total points accumulated over the season, Earnhardt simply continued to pad his points lead in Irvan’s absence.

Earnhardt, who captured the title on the same day as his fourth and final win of 1994, became just the second driver in NASCAR history to win seven championships, joining “The King” Richard Petty, who celebrated his last championship in Earnhardt’s rookie season of 1979.