Sunday’s long-awaited Window World 450 marks the NASCAR Cup Series’ first points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996 — and for eight NASCAR legends, it’ll also be a reunion.
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Richard Childress, Ray Evernham and Chad Knaus will join fellow luminaries Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds, Kyle Petty, Kenny Wallace and Eddie Wood in taking part in pre-race driver introductions prior to the green flag on Sunday night at 7 p.m.
Rusty Wallace – a three-time North Wilkesboro race-winning driver and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee – will serve as grand marshal for Sunday’s race, providing additional star power for one of the most highly anticipated race weekends in recent memory.
Wallace led 43 laps and finished 10th in North Wilkesboro’s most-recent Cup points race. With eight more legends joining him for pre-race festivities, here’s a look at their varied roles in the fall of 1996:
RICHARD CHILDRESS: The 2017 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee was the car owner for the late Dale Earnhardt, who led 35 laps and finished second in the race. Childress-owned cars have won five Cup Series points races at NWS since 1972, with Earnhardt having claimed all five. Childress fields two cars for this weekend as well, piloted by Austin Dillon and Austin Hill.
RAY EVERNHAM: North Wilkesboro’s fall race in 1996 was a special one for Evernham, a 2018 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, who was the race-winning crew chief for Jeff Gordon. Gordon led a race-high 207 of 400 laps and recorded his and Evernham’s only win at NWS.
JEFF HAMMOND: “Hollywood” Hammond knew how to set up a car for North Wilkesboro. Best known as the longtime crew chief for Darrell Waltrip – winning 43 races as a crew chief, including seven at NWS – Hammond served as Waltrip’s team manager in 1996.
CHAD KNAUS: In a sterling career as crew chief, the 2023 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee won seven Cup Series titles with Jimmie Johnson – but in 1996, Knaus was far from a household name. He was the right-rear tire changer on Jeff Gordon’s race-winning, Ray Evernham-led Hendrick Motorsports team.
LARRY MCREYNOLDS: “America’s Crew Chief” captured two Cup Series wins at NWS, in 1990 and ‘92. By 1996, the legend who goes by “Larry Mac” was crew chief for Ernie Irvan’s No. 28 Ford out of the potent Robert Yates Racing stable.
KYLE PETTY: The son of seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty scored eight victories in his Cup Series career, with a pole in 1990 and a pair of runner-up finishes being his best results at NWS. In 1996, Petty was wrapping up a stellar, eight-year run as driver of SABCO Racing’s No. 42 entry.
KENNY WALLACE: The longtime Cup Series campaigner – and younger brother of Rusty Wallace – drove a No. 81 Ford for FILMAR Racing in 1996, scoring a 15th-place finish in a solid showing for one of the series’ most likable underdog outfits.
EDDIE WOOD: Now the CEO of the venerable Wood Brothers Racing team, Wood – the son of team co-founder Glen Wood – was a member of WBR’s No. 21 Ford team, driven by Michael Waltrip in 1996.
With a full slate of on- and off-track excitement coming to Sunday’s Window World 450 – including a Sawyer Brown Pre-Race Concert presented by Raymer Oil that’s free with Sunday admission – a limited number of tickets are available. They can be purchased online, along with Friday and Saturday tickets, at www.northwilkesborospeedway.com.
— North Wilkesboro Speedway —