Imagine NASCAR drivers fighting to control their cars, voices trembling with the effort, all for a shot at ultimate speed. That's the story of the '90s NASCAR "lowriders," and it's wilder than you think.
When you hear "lowrider," you probably picture those stunning customized cars that practically kiss the pavement. But in the high-octane world of 1990s NASCAR, the term took on a different, daredevil meaning. We're talking about race cars engineered to have their rear ends significantly lower than the front during qualifying runs, specifically at the legendary Daytona and Talladega superspeedways. Think of it as a high-speed, high-stakes balancing act.
It all started because, well, there weren't rules against it! Three-time Cup champion crew chief Ray Evernham chimed in on Twitter (now X) recalling how the back-end rake on Jeff Gordon's 1999 Daytona 500 pole-winning car was a staggering seven inches lower than the front. Seven inches! That's almost unbelievable. He prepped the car, and since there were no regulations against extreme rakes, he pushed the boundaries of what was possible.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. also jumped into the conversation, adding, "We started building cars with the frame rails raked at a very extreme angle to lower the cars even more." Teams were essentially contorting the very skeleton of the car to achieve this radical stance.
Veteran crew chief and broadcaster Larry McReynolds, a true wizard of this dark art, perfected the lowrider effect by tweaking shock absorbers to create that aggressive rear rake. But here's where it gets controversial...
"We’re holding the cars down so hard that when drivers talk to us on the radio, their voices are quivering,” McReynolds vividly recalled in a NASCARman History YouTube video. “They can’t read the gauges on the dash because the car is bouncing so hard."
“You think that something that drove that harsh would not be fast, but it is. The harsher you can make it, the faster it goes.” It sounds counterintuitive, right? You'd think a smoother ride would be faster, but these teams found that the extreme downforce generated by this setup more than compensated for the brutal handling.
The lowrider concept even sparked some darkly humorous – yet brutally honest – stories.
“When I was with Jeff Burton last year, we had a set of shocks we called our ‘super-duper double down driver killers,’” revealed former crew chief and later NASCAR vice president Robin Pemberton. “And whenever we weren’t going fast enough at Daytona or Talladega, we’d throw them on the car.” Imagine knowing you're about to strap into a "driver killer." That takes guts.
NASCAR initially considered banning these extreme shocks. And this is the part most people miss... Policing them proved to be a logistical nightmare. Imagine having to dismantle every car, pry open each shock, and meticulously examine its inner workings. It was simply too impractical. So, the sanctioning body scrapped the rule, allowing the lowrider era to continue for a while longer.
Another key element of the lowrider magic was pairing these specialized shocks – especially the infamous "no rebound" shocks that resisted immediate extension – with incredibly soft rear springs. These springs compressed easily, amplifying the lowrider effect.
This combination created a dramatic visual, particularly when cars rolled onto pit road. The rear end would sag so low it appeared the car was dragging its tailpipes or carrying an extra couple hundred pounds in the trunk. Then, in a perfectly timed burst, the springs and shocks would suddenly spring back into position as the car prepared to rejoin the race. It was a spectacle!
“You’d say, ‘Watch, watch, watch, watch,’ and a car would sit there and all of a sudden it goes and it’d pop up.’ Oh, it was perfect!” Pemberton reminisced with a laugh. It was a show within a show.
Unfortunately for the crew chiefs, drivers, and teams who thrived on this innovative approach, the no-holds-barred shock era screeched to a halt after the 2000 Daytona 500. NASCAR stepped in, taking control of shock selection and providing each team with a standardized set of four shocks to promote a more level playing field.
But in a classic Catch-22 situation, not everyone celebrated this new regulation. Dale Earnhardt, never one to mince words, famously blasted the change. And this is where it gets even more controversial.
“That’s the worst racing I’ve seen at Daytona in a long, long time,” Earnhardt declared. “They took NASCAR Winston Cup racing and made it some of the sorriest racing, took racing out of the drivers and the crew’s hands. We can’t adjust, we can’t make our cars drive like we want. They’ve just killed the race at Daytona. That’s all I’ve got to say. Mr. Bill France Sr. (who founded NASCAR) probably would’ve rolled over in his grave if he’d seen that deal.”
Earnhardt wasn't alone in his criticism. The 2000 Daytona 500 saw a paltry nine lead changes, leading many fans to brand it one of the most mind-numbingly boring races in the event's history. Fewer lead changes are usually considered less exciting, but does that mean the new shock rules were to blame?
Despite the initial uproar, the standardized superspeedway shock system remained in place for a surprisingly long 17 years. Finally, in 2018, NASCAR loosened the rules concerning rear shocks, although the extreme rake of the '90s lowrider era never fully returned.
So, what do you think? Was NASCAR right to step in and standardize the shocks, even if it potentially sacrificed some excitement? Or was Dale Earnhardt right – did it take the racing out of the drivers' and crews' hands? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
About the author
Jerry Bonkowski
Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter with an impressive career spanning numerous top media outlets, including USA Today, ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports, and NBCSports.com. He's covered a wide range of sports, from the Chicago Bulls' dynasty years with Michael Jordan to multiple World Series and Super Bowl championships. However, his true passion lies in motorsports, particularly NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing, and Formula One. Jerry's been attending races since his childhood, a passion ignited at the U.S. 30 Dragstrip in Hobart, Indiana. He's the author of "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates" and is currently planning his next book. Outside of sports, Jerry is a former part-time police officer, enjoys reading, music (especially 80s/90s hair bands), playing keyboard, and spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, and three dogs. He's still thrilled to see his byline and looks forward to continuing his writing career with TheSportsRush.com.
