Lost in History: The Peculiar Case of NASCAR’s 1996 Nazareth Speedway Truck Series Race

Ever since NASCAR’s Truck Series hit the road in 1995, it’s been a TV staple, with every race broadcast far and wide. However, there’s one exception that’s slipped through the cracks – the 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200. The race is like a ghost in the record books, with less than a minute of footage to its name, a lone photo, and no details on the twists and turns, like cautions or crashes.

Just recently, a YouTube channel by the name of NFJJ stirred the pot. The host dug deep, scouring local media, snippets of footage, and an article to piece together the story of this elusive race.

Mystery at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Nazareth Speedway

The DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 was a one-of-a-kind race at Nazareth Speedway, marking not only the Truck Series’ debut there but also Rusty Wallace‘s lone star turn in the series. Wallace jumped in mainly because Roger Penske owned the track and wanted a bit of star power to boost attendance. The timing was perfect since the Winston Cup Series was on a break. Wallace was keen on more races, but this turned out to be his solo show. Qualifying day, June 29th, saw Jimmy Hensley blaze the trail with his career-first fastest lap, joined at the front by Jack Sprague, a big name in the championship chase.

Then came NASCAR Truck race day, June 30th, and the skies opened up. Rain poured down, pushing the start time from 1:40 pm way back by four hours. This delay knocked the live broadcast off the schedule. CBS, under its sports banner, was supposed to air the race, but it seems they gave the slot to another event when the trucks finally hit the track.

Usually, TNN (The Nashville Network) covered these truck and Busch series races, but they were tied up with the Busch Series race at Watkins Glen. There’s a whisper that TNN aired the NASCAR truck race in a late-night slot a few days later, but that’s not set in stone, and no full race coverage has resurfaced. What we have is a one-minute clip before next week’s Sears Auto Center 200 – that’s it.

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From that brief one-minute highlight footage all that can be taken out is – Jimmy Hensley leading the first 103 laps before Hornaday and then Jack Sprague took over. But then, the race was cut short by rain at lap 152 of 200. The only known crash involved TJ Clark, who retired after 56 laps – a mishap likely between laps 51 and 61. He was the only driver to bow out due to a wreck. John Nemechek finished 20th. There were seven cautions, but their reasons remain a mystery.

Sadly, the race has vanished into thin air, partly due to a lack of media coverage. It wasn’t broadcast live, and there’s no replay anywhere. However, apparently, Super Finish 200 isn’t the only race lost in time – there are others with only fleeting highlights.

Races that missed their TV spotlight

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Think back to Jeff Gordon‘s first NASCAR victory, the 1992 Atlanta 300 Busch Grand National race. Sure, there are a few highlights floating around, but the full race never hit the airwaves. Back in the day, ABC held the reins to the spring Atlanta Cup race and used to record the Saturday support race, hoping for a broadcast. Before 1992, ARCA was the main event, but that year, BGN took the Saturday slot. The catch? They’d only air it if the Sunday NASCAR Cup race was a washout and they needed to fill the TV schedule. That’s why the 1991 ARCA race stayed in the can – they just ran out of broadcast time.

Then there was the 1991 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 in Atlanta. Rain pushed the race to Monday, but ABC had its hands tied with Monday Night Football. Hence, the thrilling finish never graced our screens. Ken Schrader was the unsung hero who took the checkered flag.

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Jump to the 2000 Albertsons 300 in Texas, and it’s déjà vu with another rain delay. This time, MTV raised eyebrows by choosing not to broadcast the NASCAR race’s finale. This left viewers hanging just as Mark Martin was clinching victory.

Missed any other races that should’ve been on TV but weren’t? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below!