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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 08: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, walks on stage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway on November 08, 2020 in Avondale, Arizona. Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to retire from full-time NASCAR racing after 2020. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 08: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, walks on stage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway on November 08, 2020 in Avondale, Arizona. Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to retire from full-time NASCAR racing after 2020. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
There have been a fair number of occasions when a NASCAR race is on the same day as a holiday. However, a Halloween NASCAR weekend was a bit of a rarity. Apparently, there have been a grand total of five Halloween races in the history of the sport. The very first one took place in 1965, with four more races taking place ever since, and Jimmie Johnson is the latest.
Curtis Turner had the honor of being the first Halloween winner. This was after he reached Victory Lane at the Rockingham Speedway. 17 years later, Darrell Waltrip achieved the feat in the 1982 season, once again at Rockingham. Then, after an 11-year gap, Mark Martin triumphed at the Phoenix Raceway in 1993. In 2004, it was Jimmie Johnson who won the race, this time at Atlanta. Finally, Clint Bowyer won at Talladega in the 2010 season.
Our own @ClintBowyer was the last Cup Series driver to win on Halloween. pic.twitter.com/5L1LcO6gH0
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) October 28, 2021
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Who will join Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer this year?
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Now, the big question is, who will be NASCAR’s sixth Halloween winner? Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are already making a strong case for themselves. This is largely because Larson is on pole position, leading a Hendrick Motorsports front row lockout. However, their rivals will be eager to try and stop that from happening and make it to the Final 4.
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LONG POND, PA – JULY 31: Clint Bowyer, driver of the #15 Maxwell House Toyota, gets in his car in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 31, 2015 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
This weekend, two Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets are pitted against three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas and three Penske Fords. To be precise, Larson and Elliott are up against Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr for JGR. Meanwhile, they also have Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano breathing down their necks.
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Whoever wins this race, if it’s not Kyle Larson, will automatically join him in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. From there, the third and fourth placed drivers in the Playoff championship, will also move into the Final 4. In other words, they will all duke it out at the Phoenix Raceway in a week’s time.
READ MORE: All You Need to Know About the Iconic and Unique Trophy for the NASCAR Race at Martinsville Speedway
