If you weren’t at the 1992 running of The Winston — the race now known as the Monster Energy All-Star Race — it’s almost impossible to explain just how big a deal it really was.
That race, which occurred exactly 25 years ago tonight, was the first time NASCAR ever raced under the lights at a 1.5-mile speedway.
Sure, there had been hundreds, maybe even thousands of Saturday night races at small, dimly lit short tracks scattered throughout the South, but this was a revolution, a humongous undertaking and a huge, costly gamble.
Fittingly, it took place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a track founded by Bruton Smith and a facility that has always been known for big ideas, big events and big money.