1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series

Race #29 - Cardinal 250

The NASCAR Busch Grand National Series made their 29th and final stop of the 1984 season in Martinsville, Virginia, the site of the Martinsville Speedway for the Cardinal 250.

Morgan Shepherd led the field to the green flag as for the the second and final time in 1984 drivers raced at the half mile at Martinsville while many drivers had other things on their mind. Sam Ard, who had locked up the championship at the previous race at North Carolina Motor Speedway, was still in the hospital after suffering career ending injuries and all thirty two drivers in the race had a special decals on their cars in show of their support for Ard. Shepherd would get a great jump at the start and quickly began to pull away as the short track proved to be a pretty calm race with only three cautions coming out and only two drivers retiring from the race, both due to mechanical issues.

Shepherd would lose the lead during the first round of pit stops to Geoffrey Bodine, who would lead much of the middle of the race, before he too would lose the lead during the last pit stop to L.D. Ottinger, but he too had to make a pit stop, handing the lead back over to Shepherd. Back out in front with fresh tires, Shepherd would be on defense for the remaining laps, as he was able to hold on for his first win in over two years.

Other Noticeables:
Morgan Shepherd scored his 1st win of the year,
Shepherd led 2 times for 169 laps, including the final 81 laps,
It was the 3rd win of his career in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series and his first since 1982 at Asheville; 79 races ago,
Sam Ard, who wasn't in this race due to injuries suffered one race ago, is the 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Champion, winning the title by 222 points over Tommy Houston

1.1-Morgan Shepherd (169 laps led)
2.10-L.D. Ottinger (4 laps led)
3.42-Elton Sawyer
4.15-Geoffrey Bodine (77 laps led)
5.4-Joe Thurman
6.32-Dale Jarrett
7.60-Ed Berrier-1 lap
8.11-Jack Ingram-1 lap
9.14-Ronnie Silver-2 laps
10.62-John Linville-2 laps
11.45-Charlie Luck-2 laps
12.9-Bob Shreeves-2 laps
13.3-Mike Porter-2 laps
14.7-Butch Lindley-2 laps
15.6-Tommy Houston-2 laps
16.28-Phil Parsons-3 laps
17.21-Larry Pearson-3 laps
18.24-Glenn Jarrett-3 laps
19.12-Tommy Ellis-3 laps
20.88-Jimmy Hensley-3 laps
21.2-Jeff Hensley-3 laps
22.99-Dickie Boswell-3 laps
23.04-Eddie Falk-3 laps
24.43-Dickie Linville-4 laps
25.16-Jimmy Lawson-4 laps
26.95-Bubba Nissen-4 laps
27.38-Brad Teague-5 laps
28.73-Billy Hogan-5 laps
29.51-Robert Ingram-5 laps
30.30-Bubba Adams-6 laps
31.41-Jack Bland-61 laps (Clutch)
32.27-Bosco Lowe-195 laps (Piston)

Morgan Shepherd-1-88
L.D. Ottinger-89
Geoffrey Bodine-90-158
L.D. Ottinger-159
Geoffrey Bodine-160-167
L.D. Ottinger-168-169
Morgan Shepherd-170-250

6 Lead Changes among 3 drivers

Caution Flags: 3 for 15 laps
Lap 87 (Car #95 Stalled Frontstretch),
Lap 93 (Cars #43, 45 and 62 Accident Turn 3),
Lap 112 (Car #73 Spin Turn 1)

Margin of Victory: 1.595 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 4 Minutes and 53 Seconds

Do you mind if I ask where you got the carset?