By 1990 Mark Martin was in the hunt for a Winston Cup Championship title. With three races left to go in the season Martin was out in front of Dale Earnhardt by 49 points. A 10th place finish by Earnhardt and an 11th place for Martin the following week in Rockingham got Martin’s lead to 44 points. Earnhardt dominated in Phoenix, leading the last 272 laps of the race. Martin finished in 10th and fell six points behind Earnhardt. The last race of the season was all or nothing for Martin but despite borrowing a car from Robert Yates the team could only finish in 6th and Earnhardt, who finished in third place, won the championship by 24 points.