One of the most famous cars in NASCAR history, Midnight will be featured
in Wallace's exhibit at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, beginning Saturday, February
9th.
Midnight, the ninth stock car assembled by Penske Racing South, made its
debut in the September 12, 1992 Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond, with
Wallace at its helm. The Missouri native started the event from the third
position and dominated the night, leading 231 laps on his way to victory.
Throughout his storied career, Wallace had a tradition of naming each of
his cars that had won a race. Thus, when the Missouri native drove into
Richmond's Victory Lane around the midnight hour, his veteran PR
representative, Tom Roberts, suggested naming the car "Midnight." It
was then that a legend was born.
Midnight became the workhorse of Wallace's Penske fleet during 1993 and
1994--seasons that produced 10 and eight wins, respectively. During that time,
the mere mention of its name often struck fear in the hearts of competitors.
"Back then, it was Dale Earnhardt and I racing for the win all the
time,” said Wallace. “I remember every week when we got to the track, he'd come
up and ask me, `What car you got? It's not that darn Midnight is it?’ If it
was, he knew he had his work cut out for him."
Starting with its 1992 debut, Midnight amassed a staggering record of 13
wins, 30 Top-5 and 31 Top-10 in 38 starts. The car led over 5000 laps during
that period--as both a Pontiac Grand Prix and a Ford Thunderbird--accounting
for nearly one-third of all possible laps in those events. To this day, the
car's 13 wins still comprise nearly 20 percent of Penske Racing South's Cup
Series win total.
Midnight's restoration began in mid-2012 and was performed by former
Penske Racing fabricator, Chuck Gafrarar, along with other former members of
Wallace's Penske team. The car has been fully restored to race-ready condition,
as a 1994 Ford Thunderbird featuring the famous black and gold Miller Genuine
Draft livery. As part of a complete team effort, Penske Corporation,
MillerCoors and Ford Motor Company all participated in the project.
Said Wallace, "I'm really excited to have Midnight in the NASCAR
Hall of Fame. That car was such a huge part of my career. Every time I sat in
it, it just felt right; it fit like a glove. I'll tell you what, if we had
Midnight at the racetrack, everyone else there knew that they had a long day
ahead of them; Midnight was just that good. The black and gold MGD paint scheme
was the coolest one we ever had too; it just looked mean and the fans really
loved it.
"My son Greg and daughter Katie have done a great job handling a lot
of the Hall of Fame stuff for me. Greg's the one that made everything happen
with Midnight. He and the guys are keeping the car a secret from me; they won't
even let me see it. When the Hall of Fame exhibits are unveiled on February
9th, I'm going to be seeing Midnight again for the first time, just like
everyone else. It's going to bring back a lot of memories for sure."
As a Rusty fan, I always got excited when he brought Midnight to the track. It's only right that it join him in the HOF.
ReplyDeleteloved it and still do...todays apparel is Rusty's last call t-shirt autographed and My Miller Lite jacket that I drug out of the closet one more time. Reminded me why I dont like white at the races...rum runners and white just dont mix.. LOL
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