American off-road and stock car racing driver
Mark Stahl (born August 12, 1951) is an American former professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the ARCA Re/MAX Series , and is a four-time winner of the Baja 1000 off-road race, twice winning the event overall.
Career
Born in San Diego , California , Stahl began his professional racing career in off-road racing ; he scored overall wins in the Baja 1000 in his Chenowth VW in 1978 and 1980, and the car won just Class 1 (but not overall) in 1981.[ 1] [ 2] Stahl battled Frank "Scoop" Vessels for the win of the 1978 Baja 1000 and Vessels crossed the finish line 3 minutes ahead of Stahl - but had started 9 minutes earlier - giving the victory to Stahl by 6 minutes.[ 3]
He moved to stock cars 1981, competing in the NASCAR Winston West Series ; he competed in the series full-time in 1982,[ 4] finishing 12th in points. Stahl also made his debut in the Winston Cup Series in 1981, driving in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway , finishing 23rd.[ 5]
Stahl competed in 30 races in the Winston Cup Series between 1981 and 1993;[ 5] his best finish was 16th in 1986 at Darlington Raceway .[ 6] He also failed to qualify for 34 additional events.[ 7] In 1987 Stahl posted the fastest time in second-round qualifying for the 1987 Winston 500 , becoming part of the fastest field in NASCAR history.[ 8] He moved to South Carolina in 1991 to further his racing career.[ 1] In 1990 Stahl acquired sponsorship from Hooters ; his failing to qualify for the 1991 Motorcraft 500 at Atlanta International Raceway led to 1992 Winston Cup Series Champion Alan Kulwicki picking up the sponsorship for the event,[ 9] and later receiving the sponsorship full-time.[ 10] Stahl left NASCAR with more DNQs (34) than races run (30).
In 1988 Stahl made his debut in the Automobile Racing Club of America 's Permatex SuperCar Series ; he competed in 48 ARCA events between 1988 and 2001, posting a best finish of fourth at Talladega Superspeedway in 1997.[ 11]
Following the 2001 racing season, Stahl retired from competition; in 2007, he came out of retirement to compete in the Baja 1000 once more,[ 1] co-driving with Jim Christensen and winning the Touring Car class of the race.[ 6] His 1977 Chenowth was restored by another driver for the 2011 NORRA Mexican 1000 vintage race and Stahl co-drove in the May event.[ 12]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key ) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )
Winston Cup Series
ARCA Re/Max Series
(key ) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. )
References
^ a b c "Bluffton's Stahl to tackle off-road race in Baja California" . The Island Packet . Bluffton, SC. November 11, 2007. Archived from the original on April 28, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ "For Sale". Off Road Action News. 1982.
^ Koch, Ron (January 31, 2011). When the Green Flag Drops: Memoirs of a Baja and Pro-Rally Racer . Xlibris Corporation. p. 269. ISBN 978-1456858643 . Retrieved December 26, 2014 .
^ "Mark Stahl - NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results" . Racing-Reference . USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ a b "Mark Stahl - NASCAR Sprint Cup Results" . Racing-Reference . USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ a b Wuensch, Christopher (November 25, 2007). "From Bluffton to Baja" (PDF) . Bluffton Today . Bluffton, SC. pp. 16A–17A. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ "Mark Stahl - NASCAR Winston Cup / Nextel Cup / Sprint Cup DNQs" . Racing-Reference . USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ "Stahl leads second-day runs" . The Tuscaloosa News . Tuscaloosa, AL. May 2, 1987. p. 19. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ Gillipsie, Tom (May 3, 1991). "Kulwicki in with fun sponsor" . The News and Courier . Charleston, SC. p. 4E. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ Green, David (May 1, 1991). "Kulwicki gets full sponsorship" . Spartanburg Herald-Journal . Spartanburg, SC. p. D4. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ "Mark Stahl - ARCA Racing Series Results" . Racing-Reference . USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2014-04-28 .
^ "April 12, 2011 Press Release" . NORRA . Retrieved December 26, 2014 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1989 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1994 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1995 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1996 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1997 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1998 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 1999 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 2000 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
^ "Mark Stahl – 2001 ARCA Re/Max Series Results" . Racing-Reference . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
External links