Start Your Engines!

Inspired by Griffin Spier's One More Spark, the goal of this timeline is to focus on various what-if scenarios. All of his ideas will be incorporated, and even more will be included. The results to every race will be simulated in full using NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season. One thing that will be included in this timeline is Pacific Coast Racing, a fictional team founded in 1948. One goal is to give tracks the spotlight they never got.

The following mods will be used for this timeline:


 * 1987-1988: Aero88
 * 1989-1996: Cup90
 * 1997-1998: WC98
 * 1999-2002: Cup2000
 * 2003-2010: Default Cup
 * 2011-2013: NWS11
 * 2014: BR Gen6
 * 2015-2016: Gen6 2015
 * 2017: MENCS17
 * 2018: MENCS18
 * 2019-2020: MENCS19
 * 2021-onward: Either NextGen4 or ICR (still not decided)

Detailed race reports, pictures, and additional lore and news for each race can be found on Sim Racing Design(look for the threads started by BNSF1995). Eventually, the series should go on YouTube once editing software could be provided, as well as Camera Control Master and a graphics package inspired by the networks of the time period. The theme music is "Pit Viper Guitar Lead" by Edd Kalehoff.

1987

 * What if Tim Richmond is still alive? - After the NASCAR championship banquet in 1986, Tim Richmond fell ill and missed the beginning of the 1987 season. In this what-if, the #25 and #35 run at the same time. Richmond stays in the #25 Folgers Chevrolet, and Benny Parsons drives the #35 car until his 1988 retirement. Ken Schrader stays in the #90 Ford for Junie Donlavey until the end of the 1997 season. After 1997, Richmond moves to the #12 Ford for Penske Racing. He stays in the car until his retirement in 2007. Ryan Newman instead drives the #02. Robert Pressley drives the #33 for one more season, and Bobby Hillin, Jr. stays in the #77 Jasper Ford for the rest of the 1997 season.

1988

 * What if Bobby Allison never had his crash? - In the 1988 Miller High Life 400, Bobby had a scary crash that wound up ending his career. In this what-if, Allison retires at the end of the 1991 season. The #12 and #84 run at the same time in the 1989 season. Allison would spend his final two seasons driving for his own team. Hut Stricklin drives for Allison in the Busch Series in 1990 and 1991, before replacing him in the Cup Series in 1992.
 * What if Chrysler returned in 1988 instead of 2001? - In our timeline, Chrysler tried breaking back into NASCAR with the Chrysler LeBaron, but General Motors and Ford had built unwavering support bases, though the LeBaron was fielded in ARCA to great success. In this timeline, Chrysler began fielding the LeBaron in the Winston Cup Series in 1988, with two cars on-track, these being Tim Johnson (no relation to the Johnsonverse Tim) in the #80, and Richard Petty in the #43. Chrysler fielded the LeBaron until 1997, when it brought back the Dodge brand with the Dodge Avenger, then switching to the Intrepid in 1999, the Stratus (as an interim car) in 2004, the Charger in 2005, then the Challenger in 2011, before going back to the Charger in 2014, and finally back to the Challenger again in 2019.
 * What if Coca-Cola Superspeedway existed? - Coca-Cola Superspeedway is a restrictor-plate fantasy track made by Papyrus for NR2003. It doesn't exist in real-life, but in Start Your Engines!, it does, being built outside Denver, CO in 1988 and holding its first Winston Cup Series event on the former off-weekend between the Pepsi Firecracker 400 and AC Spark Plug 500.

What doesn't Change

 * Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway is still reconfigured and renamed Richmond International Raceway.
 * Phoenix International Raceway still takes the Winston Western 500's old spot on the schedule.

1989

 * What if NASCAR never left Riverside? - In this timeline, the residents who complained about the noise were told "deal with it", and the track stayed on the schedule for at least one date, this being the Budweiser 400.
 * What if the Winston Cup Series raced at Pike's Peak International Speedway, The Milwaukee Mile, and Road America? - In this timeline, PPIR is built in 1984 instead of 1997, and NASCAR makes two stops at each track. For Pike's Peak, the Coor's 400 is run between the Pepsi 400 and Milwaukee's second date, the Mountain Dew 400, which has the side-effect of moving the Diet Coke 400 at Coca-Cola Superspeedway between Phoenix and the finale at Atlanta, while a second date for Coca-Cola, the Sprite 500, is added between the July Talladega date and Watkins Glen. Milwaukee's first date, the Pabst Blue Ribbon 400, falls between the spring Martinsville and Talladega dates.

What Doesn't Change

 * Sears Point Raceway is still added to the Winston Cup schedule, meaning there are now two road course races in California. Sears Point takes the old Budweiser 400 weekend, while the Budweiser 400 is moved to the week between the Autoworks 500 and the Atlanta Journal 500.
 * Grant Adcox still dies at the Atlanta Journal 500.

1990

 * What if Rob Moroso was still alive? - Moroso was a promising BGN prospect. In 1990, he moved to the Cup Series and struggled. In this timeline, Moroso lived, and he became the fourth Chrysler on track along with Richard Petty, Tim Johnson, and Chloe Johnson. Starting in 1999, Moroso Racing and Rudd Performance Racing merged to for Moroso-Rudd Racing, with Moroso in the #82 and Ricky Rudd in the #83. After the 2019 season, Moroso retired. His replacement was Pete Nelson.
 * What if there was a superspeedway in the San Francisco Bay Area? - This one is more of a personal what-if for BNSF1995. This track, called San Jose Motorplex, is located in nearby Gilroy. The track used will be Progressive Speedway.
 * What if Michigan and Pocono each lost a date? - Until the advent of the Pocono doubleheader, these tracks' two dates were always close together. In this timeline, both lose a date in 1990 in favor of other venues.

What Doesn't Change

 * Ricky Rudd's rear tire changer Mike Ritch is still killed at the Atlanta Journal 500 after Bill Elliott spins on pit road, and pit road speed limits and "lollipops" are implemented.

1991

 * What if NASCAR brought back mid-week races? - With its growing popularity, NASCAR decides to bring back Wednesday night Winston Cup Series racing, mainly at venues that wouldn't otherwise get any spotlight. These races are broadcast (either live or on tape-delay, depending on if it was a night race; this is done to accomodate fans who are at work or school) as part of ESPN's Wednesday Night Thunder, which they still broadcast even under the 2001-2006 and 2015-2024 television packages. Among the tracks run on Wednesdays are Five Flags, Langley, South Boston, Myrtle Beach, Motor Mile, Thompson, Nashville (Fairgrounds), Bowman Gray Stadium, Greenville-Pickens, Heartland Park, Road Atlanta, Portland International Speedway, Huntsville, Winchester, Caraway, IRP, among many other short tracks and road courses. The tracks that are raced change every year, with every track part of a rotation; the only tracks guaranteed a spot on the schedule are South Boston, Nashville, Iowa, and Road Atlanta (the latter two by virtue of being owned by NASCAR).
 * What if J.D. McDuffie was still alive? - McDuffie retired after the 1993 season, though he remained a team owner. His replacement was 20-year-old Crissy Helmsworth, who has driven the #70 Pontiac since 1994.
 * What if the convoluted pit road rules used early in 1991 were never implemented? - Exactly what is says on the tin.

1992

 * What if Clifford Allison was still alive? - Allison never had the crash that took his life at Michigan in 1992. He moved up to the Cup Series in 1994, and would retire after the 2016 season.

1993

 * What if Jeff Gordon drove for Bill Davis Racing? - The plan was for Gordon to move up to the Cup Series in 1993 to drive the #22 Maxwell House Ford. However, upon being noticed by Rick Hendrick, Gordon immediately jumped ship to Hendrick Motorsports. In this scenario, Gordon drove the #22 Maxwell House Ford (later Dodge) in 1993, and stayed in the ride until the 2015 season, after which he retired. Chase Elliott replaced him in the #22, which was renumbered to #9 for 2018 onwards with permission from Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. Bill Davis Racing's downfall never happened. For Gordon's Cup debut in the 1992 Hooters 500, Davis fielded a second car, the #23, with sponsorship from Gordon's then-sponsor in the Busch Series, Baby Ruth. Bobby Labonte drove the #23 car until the end of the 2009 season, with Jason Leffler replacing him from 2010 onwards. John Andretti stayed in the #43 Dodge until retiring after the 2011 season. Ward Burton drove a third car, the #24, from 1996 to 2007. Scott Wimmer has driven the #22 since 2008. Randy LaJoie stayed in the Busch Series. The #23 Winston Ford fielded by Travis Carter from 1994-1999 is instead the #32. Penske's #22 is instead the #02, and had the same drivers as in real life.
 * What if Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison were still alive? - Kulwicki's plane crash almost happened in this timeline, but the plane was hijacked by a pilot who knew what he was doing, and successfully landed the plane; a shaken Kulwicki vowed to take Amtrak from that day forward. Davey Allison, meanwhile, never had his helicopter crash at all. Kulwicki retired after the 2006 season, while Allison retired after the 2010 season.
 * What if Cale Yarborough successfully fielded the Mercury Cougar? - See this link. On NR2003, it will be used on a Chevrolet body, as no 1993 Mercury Cougar body exists in the Cup90 mod.

What Doesn't Change

 * New Hampshire International Speedway is still added to the Winston Cup schedule.

1994

 * What if Neil Bonnett was still alive? - Bonnett never had the crash at the 1990 TranSouth 500 at Darlington. From 1990, he drove the #31 Mom 'N' Pops Country Ham Lumina for Richard Childress before retiring at the end of 1996. He then became a broadcaster for TNN and later NBC/TBS full-time. As a result, Dale Jarrett drives for Wood Brothers in 1990.
 * What if Ernie Irvan never had his crashes? - Irvan drove the #88 for Robert Yates Racing until retiring at the end of the 2008 season. Dale Jarrett drove the #18 Interstate Batteries car for Joe Gibbs Racing until his 2008 retirement. Kyle Busch stayed in the #5 Kellogg's car for another year, and Casey Mears continued the #25 National Guard car.

What Doesn't Change

 * NASCAR still starts racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

1996

 * What if Casey Elliott was still alive? - In 1994, Elliott planned to move up to the Busch Series. However, he would succumb to bone cancer in 1996 at only 22. In this scenario, Elliott never had his cancer, and was able to move up to the Busch Series and eventually the Cup Series in 1996 in the #94. Because of this, his uncle Bill Elliott used the #9 in honor of Melling Racing, the team he drove for from 1981 to 1991, as he used the #94 in honor of his nephew, with Melling using the #92 instead. For the 1997 Brickyard 400, Ron Barfield ran the #93. Elliott still races in NASCAR.

1997

 * What if John Nemechek was still alive?
 * What if Tim Steele never had his crash? - In 1998, Steele started driving the #15 Nike/Sony Ford owned by his father Harold and Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Since 2001, the car's number was changed to #16, and Steele retired after the 2016 season. Parker Kligerman became his replacement. Greg Biffle instead drove the #60 for Jack Roush.
 * What if NASCAR never left North Wilkesboro? - Instead of sending both of North Wilkesboro's races to Texas and New Hampshire, respectively, the historic track retained the Tyson Holly Farms 400, moved to a former off-weekend.

What Doesn't Change

 * Texas Motor Speedway and California Speedway still join the schedule. The former comes under heated circumstances, as Texas World Speedway had heavily lobbied to be put back on the schedule after completing the necessary work to get the track back to NASCAR standards. After a drawn-out legal fight over the course of 1996, a compromise is reached: Texas Motor Speedway will hold races on odd-numbered years, and Texas World Speedway on even-numbered years; conversely, the track that doesn't hold any NASCAR races that year will instead host IndyCar, and vice-versa.

1998

 * What if the #64 Arby's FansTeam car actually raced? - In 1997, Bahari Racing co-owner Dick Bahre planned to start a team funded by fans that would debut in the 1998 season. The car number was going to be the #64, and would've been sponsored by Arby's. However, the team didn't get the required 2,500 signatures in time, and Arby's dropped out, with Bahre moving to Mansion Motorsports. In this scenario, the team races a Chevrolet in the 1998 season (as one t-shirt and the TNN website showed a Chevy), with a rookie from a different series driving. For more, see this link.
 * What if Lincoln returned to NASCAR? - See this link. In 1998, Lincoln became the sixth manufacturer in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (fielding the Mark VIII), alongside Chevrolet (with the Monte Carlo), Dodge (with the Avenger), Ford (with the new Taurus), Mercury (with the Cougar), and Pontiac (with the Grand Prix). On NR2003, it will go on a Pontiac body, using this template.
 * What if the Florida wildfires never happened? - The Pepsi 400 was held in July and broadcast on CBS as planned. Jeff Green and Geoff Bodine ran the paint schemes that wound up unused in OTL (Green's Tampa Bay Dodgers scheme and Bodine's patriotic scheme).

What Doesn't Change

 * Las Vegas Motor Speedway still joins the schedule.

1999

 * What if Darrell Waltrip drove for DEI instead of Travis Carter? - Before Waltrip drove for Travis Carter, there were rumors that, if Waltrip can't find a ride, he would drive a second car for DEI. In this timeline, Waltrip drove the #01 MBNA Chevrolet for DEI in 1999 and 2000; he still retired after the 2000 season and became a color commentator for Fox.

What Doesn't Change

 * Homestead-Miami Speedway is still added to the schedule, but in this case, as part of the year-to-year midweek rotation.

2000

 * What if Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Tony Roper were still alive? - In 2001, Petty and Roper began running in the Winston Cup Series full-time, with Petty in the #45 Sprint Intrepid and Tony Roper in the #60 TracFone Monte Carlo. Irwin stayed in the #42 Cingular Intrepid. Kyle Petty stayed in the #44 car until his 2003 retirement.
 * What if Cale Yarborough was still a team owner?
 * What if Nickelodeon sponsored a NASCAR stock car?

2001

 * What if Dale Earnhardt was still alive? - Earnhardt's crash never happened, and he continued driving the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet until retiring at the end of 2005 following a joint farewell tour with Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd, at which point Jeff Burton inherited the car; Burton retired at the end of the 2014 season, and Austin Dillon has driven the car ever since. Earnhardt's survival also has numerous knock-on effects for the future of NASCAR as a whole.
 * What if Jeff Gordon never discovered Jimmie Johnson?
 * What if Turner put NASCAR races on TBS instead of TNT under the 2001-2006 television contract? - In our timeline, Turner originally intended to put races on TBS, but when TNT introduced their new slogan "We Know Drama", they moved NASCAR to that network. In this timeline, NASCAR remains on TBS, broadcasting the same races TNT did between 2001 and 2014, using the classic NASCAR on TBS theme.

What Doesn't Change

 * Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway are still added to the schedule. However, like with the Texas tracks, Chicagoland is run on odd-numbered years, while Chicago Motor Speedway is run in even-numbered years, and the track that didn't host a NASCAR race that year hosts IndyCar.
 * Kentucky Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway are still added to the Busch Series schedule, with Kentucky eventually getting a coveted weekend race in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011 (bumping The Milwaukee Mile's remaining date to a midweek slot), and Nashville Superspeedway becomes one of the many, many midweek races in rotation starting in 2004.
 * 9/11 still happens, and the New Hampshire 300 is still delayed.

2002

 * What if Ricky Hendrick never had his injuries? -

2003

 * What if Jerry Nadeau never had his career-ending crash? -

2004

 * What if the Chase never happened? - With the replacement of Winston with Nextel as the title sponsor for the Cup Series, Brian France wanted to incorporate a postseason playoffs for the last ten races called the "Chase for the Cup". Dale Earnhardt, however, balked at the idea, and France, wary of alienating one of the sport's biggest drivers, backed down and kept the old Winston Cup format in place.

2005

 * What if NASCAR never left Rockingham? - The Ferko lawsuit was declared a mistrial (through a set of complex circumstances), and as a result, not only did Texas and California not get their second dates, but Darlington and Rockingham still retain both of their dates, including the Southern 500 being on Labor Day weekend.

What Doesn't Change

 * Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd still retire at the end of the season, after going on a joint retirement tour with Dale Earnhardt.
 * Mark Martin still announces he's retiring at the end of 2005, but Brett Favre's it until 2013.

2006

 * What if Shane Hmiel never did drugs?

2007

 * What if the Car of Tomorrow was never made? - Because Dale Earnhardt never died, NASCAR wasn't spurred to make safety enhancements. For one, they had already mandated the HANS Device after Greg Moore was killed in a CART crash at California Speedway in 1999, and numerous safety enhancements had already been implemented with the new body in 1997, colloquially called the SAFER CAR. The controversial CoT, as a result, never existed, and the Gen-4 car stuck around until 2011, when it was replaced by what we know in our timeline as the Nationwide CoT, but in this timeline, it was merely a new bodystyle meant to better resemble the cars on showroom floors, which has been tweaked in subsequent years for better aero efficiency (the Gen-6 car); despite this, they still used the same chassis as the Gen-4 car, meaning the distinct high-pitch scream was never lost.

2008

 * What if Dale Earnhardt Jr. never left DEI? - Because his father never died, Junior didn't become disillusioned with the team under his stepmother Teresa's control (as a side note, Dale Sr. would eventually divorce Teresa in 2008 in a very messy, very public divorce), and he remained in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet until his 2017 retirement. In 2018, his nephew Jeffrey took over, and flourished.

2009

 * What if Jeremy Mayfield was clean? - Because Mayfield was clean, he was more successful in NASCAR. He spent his final years in the #88 for Robert Yates from 2009 (replacing Ernie Irvan) to his 2015 retirement.
 * What if Dale Earnhardt Inc. never merged with Chip Ganassi Racing? - Instead of merging with CGR, DEI instead merged with Richard Childress Racing to stave off the effects of the Great Recession, forming Earnhardt-Childress Racing, a five-car operation (in this timeline, the four-car limit was never established in 2010). Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued driving the #8 Budweiser car, Martin Truex, Jr. kept the #1 Bass Pro Shops car, Kevin Harvick stayed in the #30 Shell-Pennzoil car, Jeff Burton retained the #3 Reese's car, and Clint Bowyer continued in the #31 Cheerios car; teams that didn't work pre-merger were eliminated, these being the #15 of Paul Menard, the #07 of Casey Mears, and the #01 of Regan Smith (inherited from MB2 Motorsports). Because of this, CGR never switched to Chevy from Dodge, and remained a three-car operation with the #40 of David Stremme, the #41 of Reed Sorenson, and the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya. From 2010-2018, Jamie McMurray returned to Ganassi to replace Stremme in the #40, like in real life. From 2019 onward, Kurt Busch replaced him. Bryan Clauson took the #41 since 2010, and like in real life, Kyle Larson replaced Montoya in the #42 for 2014 onward. The #41 for Stewart-Haas Racing is instead the #00.
 * What if Petty Enterprises never merged with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports? - In this timeline, Petty Enterprises was more successful in the 2000s, as Adam Petty brought renewed confidence to the team. Because of this, owner Richard Petty saw no need to merge with any team. Petty Enterprises is currently a four-car operation with the #7 7-Eleven Dodge of Sam Hornish, Jr., the #43 STP Dodge of Bubba Wallace, the #44 Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge of Chad McCumbee, and the #45 Twisted Tea Dodge of Adam Petty. Gillett-Evernham currently fields the #19 and #91 entries for Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger, respectively. The #19 car that Joe Gibbs fields is instead the #81.

2010

 * What if Brian Vickers' health issues never happened?

2011

 * What if the Sprint Cup Series raced at Iowa Speedway? - Along with the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, the Sprint Cup Series began racing at Iowa in 2011.

2013

 * What if Jason Leffler was still alive? - Because Kenny Irwin, Jr. survived, Leffler didn't move to the Cup Series until 2002, when he started driving the third car for Joe Gibbs Racing. With more Cup experience, Leffler knew what to do to prevent his tragic accident from happening.
 * What if Tony Stewart never broke his leg? - Because he never did so, his performance never started slipping, combined with a more liberal rules package that perfectly suited his driving style and the Kevin Ward Jr. affair never happening. As of 2020, Stewart is still active in the Cup Series, still driving the #14 Pontiac (more on that below).
 * What if Spingate never happened? - Because the Chase never existed, Spingate was rendered pointless. Michael Waltrip Racing is still competitive, and NAPA never left the team. Aaron's sponsors Chase Elliott instead, and its spot in the #55 is taken by AAA Insurance.
 * What if Dodge never left NASCAR? - In this timeline, Dodge maintained a loyal base, including Team Penske, Moroso-Rudd Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Petty Enterprises, Gilette-Evernham Motorsports, Chip Ganassi Racing, and of course, Pacific Coast Racing. The merger with Fiat also never happened.
 * What if Danica Patrick wasn't a bust? - This mean seem blunt, but let's face it, she was a bust (Black Flags Matter says so). In this timeline, emboldened by the successes of Chloe Johnson, Belle Armstrong, and Jenny Smith (again, no relation to their Johnsonverse counterparts), Patrick found more success in NASCAR.

2015

 * What if Pontiac never went under? - In this timeline, while Pontiac still left NASCAR at the end of 2003, they never went bust during the Great Recession. GM, wanting to counter the growing threat from Dodge and Toyota, elected to bring Pontiac back to NASCAR in 2015 with the G8. The model would change over the years, but it's still Pontiac. Their flagship team is Stewart-Haas Racing.
 * What if Honda entered NASCAR? - 2015 also sees Honda throw its hat into the NASCAR ring with the Accord. With the Next Gen car, this what-if may become outdated.

2016

 * What if Bryan Clauson was still alive? - After doing five races in 2009, Clauson ran for Rookie of the Year in 2010 in the #41 Juicy Fruit Dodge.
 * What if the Charter System never existed? - Brian France was considering this, but again, Dale Earnhardt convinced him it was a bad idea. The field remains an even 42 (due to NR2003 being incapable of using 43 computer opponents), as a result, rather than 40 or less.

2017

 * What if NASCAR never introduced stage racing? - Because the Chase was scrapped, there was no need for stage racing to create artificial drama.

2020

 * What if the pandemic never happened? - This assumes that COVID-19 either never leaves China, is so minor that it becomes just another form of the common cold, or straight-up doesn't exist period. Not only does the season not stop, but the implementation of the Next Gen car isn't pushed back to 2022.