Скачать или смотреть Stacy Compton's First NASCAR Winston Cup Race - 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville

There was a huge surprise in qualifying for the 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Martinsville. A young upstart driver from the remnants of the Alan Dillard #31 Cup team qualified in 9th position while full-time teams like Ward Burton, Bobby Hillin, Jr., and Wally Dallenbach DNQ'd. Wally's DNQ was the first one for Bud Moore since 1964! They were all upstaged by a local Lynchburg, VA native named Stacy Compton. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise. He was a South Boston Speedway track champion and had raced many times in Martinsville in the past.

During the race, he fell back to around 18th, but stayed there for a while. He eventually went several laps down, but kept out of trouble save for accidently spinning out Dave Marcis.

Unfortunately, his first Cup start came to a premature end with his brakes failing about 3/4 of the way through the race. Stacy would come back to Martinsville in the fall. The runs would earn him a full-time ride in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for three seasons. His Truck success would eventually lead him to full-time in Winston Cup.

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