2015 Regan Smith

Happy birthday to Xfinity Series driver Regan Smith. Smith has one one victory so far in  2015 and currently sits fourth in series points.

Lionel Racing produced this car in 2015.

1963 Fred Lorenzen

Sept. 22, 1963 – Fred Lorenzen led the final 420 laps of the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway to take the victory driving for the famed Holman Moody race team. It was Lorenzen's sixth victory of the season. Complete results can be found here.

RCCA produced this car in 1992.

1997 Mark Martin

Sept. 21, 1997 – Mark Martin passed Kyle Petty with only 20 laps remaining to take the victory in the MBNA 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt finished second and Petty finished a strong third in a race that saw only one caution period and a 301 green-flag lap run to the finish. Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1997.

1980 Richard Childress

Happy birthday to six-time champion car owner Richard Childress. Before owning cars for Dale Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick among others, Childress was a driver himself.

SpinMaster produced this car in 2014.

1981 Neil Bonnett

Sept. 20, 1981 – Neil Bonnett led the final 63 laps to capture his second win in three races in the CRC Chemicals 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway driving for the famed Wood Brothers. Complete results can be found here.

Action produced this car in 1995.

1998 Lance Norick

Happy birthday to former Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Grand National driver Lance Norick. Norick started 154 truck races between 1996 and 2002, scoring three top-5s and 15 top-10s.

Racing Champions produced this truck in 1998.

2013 Matt Kenseth

Sept. 15, 2013 – Matt Kenseth led the final 23 laps to take the victory in the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. It was his sixth victory of the season. Complete results can be found here.

Lionel Racing produced this car in 2013.

1969 Richard Brickhouse

The 1969 Talladega 500, the first race at the massive 2.66 mile Alabama superspeedway, is a long and interesting story. For the sake of space and time, here is a condensed recap from Greg Fielden's terrific Forty Years of Stock Car Racing - Volume Three:

"TALLADEGA, AL (Sept. 14) -- Richard Brickhouse of Rocky Mount, NC withdrew from the Professional Drivers Association, signed up with Ray Nichels, and drove a new Dodge Daytona to an electrifying triumph in the inaugural Talladega 500 at the Alabama International Motor Speedway. It was the first Grand National win for the 29-year-old Brickhouse.

Brickhouse was one of only eight pre-registered Grand National drivers to enter the race. The newly-formed PDA, headed by Richard Petty, walked out of the new facility late Saturday due to what they said were unsafe track conditions. "This track is simply not ready to run on," declared PDA president Richard Petty. "Most of us felt the tires we have are not safe to race on at speeds of around 200 mph. It's just that simple."

Brickhouse, a sophomore driver who signed up with the PDA two weeks earlier, notified Petty and the rest of the PDA of his resignation via Public Address at the speedway. "I joined the PDA at Darlington," said Brickhouse, "but I didn't expect anything like this. I want to race, but I also don't want to make anybody mad. It was a mighty hard decision to make."

Brickhouse was told that the #99 Dodge Daytona was available if he wanted it. Regular driver Charlie Glotzbach had joined the boycott. "I felt a driver in my position, with the chance to drive a factory car, needed to race," confessed Brickhouse. "I think anybody in my position would have done the same thing."

Brickhouse started ninth in the field of 36, which was filled with 23 Grand Touring cars that had competed in a 400-miler the day before. NASCAR and track president Bill France had said all along, "We will have a 500-mile race, and we will pay the posted prize money."

With some 37 drivers walking out, France decided to give the ticket holders a free race. "The ticket stubs for this Talladega 500 can be turned in for any future race at Daytona or Talladega," France said.

A crowd of 62,000 watched the 500-miler. Primary contenders were Bobby Isaac, the only 'name' driver who was shunned by the PDA, Tiny Lund driving a Bill France-owned Ford, Jim Vandiver, a GT driver who accepted the driving seat in the Ray Fox Dodge, and Brickhouse.

Brickhouse motored past Vandiver with 11 laps remaining and padded his advantage to 7.0 seconds when the checkered flag fell on racing history. Vandiver gained second-place honors in only his second Grand National start. Ramo Stott, who was summonsed to fill the vacancy in the Bill Ellis Dodge when Brickhouse shifted to the Nichels Engineering Dodge, finished third. Isaac, who started on the pole with a lap of 196.386 mph, finished fourth after suffering tire problems. Rookie Dick Brooks was fifth.

The caution flag came out every 25 laps so crews could change tires. In the five days of practice leading up to the event, tires had blistered and chunked as early as four laps . "I kept a lid on my speed most of the race," said Brickhouse. "But when I was behind in the late going, I pushed my speed up to about 198 mph to catch Vandiver. My pit crew was really worried about tires. Mack Howard (crew chief) came all the way out on the grass to tell me to slow down. I ran hard enough to win then I backed off."

Also of note, this race was Richard Childress' first Grand National start. He was driving a Grand Touring Camaro. Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1998. While it bears Glotzbach's name on the roof, it is the same car Brickhouse drove to victory.

1992 Rusty Wallace

Sept. 12, 1992 – Rusty Wallace won his only race of the season at the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Wallace led 231 of the race's 400 laps and took the checkered flag my a margin of over 3.5 seconds. Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1992.

1999 Ricky Rudd

Happy birthday to NASCAR's reigning "Ironman" Ricky Rudd. Rudd started 788 consecutive races between 1981 and 2005, winning 23 races in that time. He also won at least one race each year from 1983 to 1998. Rudd's former teammate Jeff Gordon is scheduled to break Rudd's streak of consecutive races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 27.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1999.

2001 Bobby Hamilton

Many teams ran special patriotic schemes after the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedies in New York and Pennsylvania. Though seemingly insignificant in light of the tragic events, professional sports, including NASCAR, helped many Americans return to a certain normalcy in their lives.

Racing Champions produced this car in 2001.

1977 Neil Bonnett

Sept. 11, 1977 – Neil Bonnett led 250 of 400 laps, including the final 100, to capture his first-career victory in the Capital City 400 at the Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. It was also the first win for owner J.D. Stacy, who had purchased the old #71 K&K Insurance team. Complete results can be found here.

Johnny Lightning produced this car in 1998.

1994 Terry Labonte

Sept. 10, 1994 – Terry Labonte captured the victory in the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway after passing Rusty Wallace for the lead with 28 laps remaining. It was Labonte's second win of the year. Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1994.

1984 Darrell Waltrip

Sept. 9, 1984 – Darrell Waltrip dominated the Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway by leading 321 of the 400 laps. It was Waltrip's fifth win of the season. Complete results can be found here.

RCCA produced this car in 1994.

1963 Ned Jarrett

Sept. 8, 1963 – Ned Jarrett won the Capital City 300 at the Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds in  Richmond, Va. by more than two laps. Despite falling two laps down early in the race because of a flat tire, Jarrett passed Rex White for the lead on a late restart and led the final 37 laps. Complete results can be found here.

RCCA produced this car in 1991.

1970 Buddy Baker

Sept. 7, 1970 – Buddy Baker led the final 65 laps en route to capturing the victory in the famed Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It was Baker's only victory driving for Hall of Fame owner Cotton Owens.Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1992.

1991 Donnie Allison

Happy birthday to Alabama Gang founding member Donnie Allison. Donnie won a total of 10 NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup races in his career. The car depicted here was Donnie's ride in the 1991 Winston Legends race, run on the specially-built quarter mile track in the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway. This track is still in use today, with a weekly series for Legends Cars running at the track each summer.

Pit Row produced this car in 1991.

2011 Jeff Gordon

Sept. 6, 2011 – Jeff Gordon won the AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway after leading the final 38 laps. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4, but was delayed until the following Tuesday because of Tropical Storm Lee. Gordon's win, the 85th of his career, moved him ahead of Darrell Waltrip as the winningest driver of the modern era. Complete results can be found here.

Lionel Racing produced this car in 2011.

1983 Bobby Allison

Sept. 5, 1983 – Bobby Allison won the Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway after leading the final 26 laps. It was Allison's fourth win of his championship season. Complete results can be found here.

Action produced this car in 1995.

(Bobby Allison's 1983 car with Brad Keselowski's 2015 throwback tribute.)

1993 Mark Martin

Sept. 5, 1993 – Mark Martin dominated the Southern 500, leading 185 of the 351 laps in the darkness-shortened race. It was his fourth win in a row, tying the still-standing modern-era record. Complete results can be found here.

Racing Champions produced this car in 1993.