In one word, the 1990's for Nascar, I would say "Explosion". Following the sport since the mid eighties, watching bigger and bigger name sponsors come aboard, watching the grand stands grow higher and higher, and bigger tv networks wanting to show a race on their network, this was all amazing. We watched the Underbird, driven by Alan Kulwicki, rise from an single car-owner/driver nothing to champion in 1992, Dale Earnhardt equaling "The King" with his seventh championship in 1994. The retirement of Richard Petty in Atlanta in 1992 with a beginning of a great career that same day by Jeff Gordon and three championships for him later this decade. And, on open wheel driver named Tony Stewart made his debut in 1999 and has since become a legend.
This decade also proved to be tragic. A little known prodigy, Rob Moroso, was killed in a non racing auto accident in 1990, just 22 years old. We lost J.D. McDuffie at Watkins Glen in 91, Kulwicki died just months after winning his championship in a plane crash in 1993. Bobby Allison lost one son, Clifford in 1992 at a race in Michigan, and Davey in a helicopter crash in 1993. Both Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr were killed in practice at Daytona in 1994, and John Nemechek (Joe's brother) was killed in a truck race in '97.
We saw sleeker cars and a transition from the Ford Thunderbird to the Taurus, the Chevy Lumina to the Monte Carlo, the Oldsmobiles and Buicks disappeared and the Grand Prixs just got sleeker.
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