Winners (American TV series)
Winners is a half-hour motorsports television show hosted by NASCAR driver Neil Bonnett that aired for four seasons from April 7, 1991, to July 17, 1994.[1] The show aired on TNN and each episode profiled a different championship racer.[2] Following Bonnett's death on February 11, 1994, the show was renamed Neil Bonnett's Winners and continued for one additional season with guest hosts.[3]
| Winners | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sports highlights |
| Starring | Neil Bonnett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | TNN (1991-1994) |
| Original release | April 7, 1991 – July 17, 1994 |
| Related | |
| Inside NASCAR | |
Episodes
Season 1 (1991)
| No. in Series | No. in Season | Driver Featured | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Dale Earnhardt (pt. 1) | April 7, 1991 |
| 2 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt (pt. 2) | April 14, 1991 |
| 3 | 3 | John Force | April 21, 1991 |
| 4 | 4 | Davey Allison | April 28, 1991 |
| 5 | 5 | Kenny Bernstein | May 5, 1991 |
| 6 | 6 | Mark Martin | May 12, 1991 |
| 7 | 7 | Rusty Wallace | May 19, 1991 |
| 8 | 8 | Rick Mears | May 26, 1991 |
| 9 | 9 | Steve Kinser | June 2, 1991 |
| 10 | 10 | Joe Amato | June 9, 1991 |
| 11 | 11 | Ernie Irvan | June 16, 1991 |
| 12 | 12 | Scott Parker | June 23, 1991 |
| 13 | 13 | Junior Johnson | June 30, 1991 |
| 14 | 14 | Al Unser Jr. | July 7, 1991 |
| 15 | 15 | Doug Wolfgang | July 14, 1991 |
| 16 | 16 | Bob Senneker | July 21, 1991 |
| 17 | 17 | Mario Andretti | July 28, 1991 |
Season 2 (1992)
| No. in Series | No. in Season | Driver Featured | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 1 | Darrell Waltrip (pt. 1) | April 5, 1992 |
| 19 | 2 | Darrell Waltrip (pt. 2) | April 12, 1992 |
| 20 | 3 | Jeff Gordon | April 19, 1992 |
| 21 | 4 | Roger Mears | April 26, 1992 |
| 22 | 5 | Ed McCulloch | May 3, 1992 |
| 23 | 6 | Bobby Allison | May 10, 1992 |
| 24 | 7 | Pat Austin | May 17, 1992 |
| 25 | 8 | Bobby Rahal | May 24, 1992 |
| 26 | 9 | Dale Jarrett | May 31, 1992 |
| 27 | 10 | Willy T. Ribbs | June 7, 1992 |
| 28 | 11 | Ken Schrader | June 14, 1992 |
| 29 | 12 | Eddie Hill | June 21, 1992 |
| 30 | 13 | Ricky Rudd | June 28, 1992 |
| 31 | 14 | Bobby Labonte | July 5, 1992 |
| 32 | 15 | Michael Andretti | July 12, 1992 |
| 33 | 16 | Hershel McGriff | July 19, 1992 |
| 34 | 17 | Kyle Petty | July 26, 1992 |
Season 3 (1993)
| No. in Series | No. in Season | Driver Featured | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1 | Neil Bonnett (pt. 1 - Guest Host: Darrell Waltrip) | April 4, 1993 |
| 36 | 2 | Neil Bonnett (pt. 2 - Guest Hosts: Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Allison) | April 11, 1993 |
| 37 | 3 | Cory McClenathan | April 18, 1993 |
| 38 | 4 | Bill Elliott | April 25, 1993 |
| 39 | 5 | Cruz Pedregon | May 2, 1993 |
| 40 | 6 | Alan Kulwicki | May 9, 1993 |
| 41 | 7 | Sammy Swindell | May 16, 1993 |
| 42 | 8 | Dave Schultz | May 23, 1993 |
| 43 | 9 | Danny Sullivan | May 30, 1993 |
| 44 | 10 | Joe Nemechek | June 6, 1993 |
| 45 | 11 | Geoff Brabham | June 13, 1993 |
| 46 | 12 | Sleepy Tripp | June 20, 1993 |
| 47 | 13 | Terry Labonte | June 27, 1993 |
| 48 | 14 | Lyn St. James | July 4, 1993 |
| 49 | 15 | Emerson Fittipaldi | July 11, 1993 |
| 50 | 16 | Larry Morgan | July 18, 1993 |
| 51 | 17 | Don Prudhomme | July 25, 1993 |
Season 4 (1994)
For the fourth season, the show was named Neil Bonnett's Winners. A variety of guest hosts were used including Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, John Force, Kenny Bernstein, and Lyn St. James. Bonnett was still featured in the show conducting interviews with drivers filmed before his death. The Steve Grissom episode is noteworthy as it was filmed at the Indigo Lake Golf and Tennis Club in Daytona Beach, Florida the day before Bonnett died.[4]
| No. in Series | No. in Season | Driver Featured (Guest Host) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 1 | Neil Bonnett Tribute (Mike Joy) | February 13, 1994 |
| 53 | 2 | Steve Grissom (Darrell Waltrip) | April 3, 1994 |
| 54 | 3 | Darrell Gwynn (Kenny Bernstein) | April 10, 1994 |
| 55 | 4 | Joe Gibbs (Darrell Waltrip) | April 17, 1994 |
| 56 | 5 | Warren Johnson (Kenny Bernstein) | April 24, 1994 |
| 57 | 6 | Harry Gant (Rusty Wallace) | May 1, 1994 |
| 58 | 7 | Connie Kalitta (John Force) | May 8, 1994 |
| 59 | 8 | Morgan Shepherd (Rusty Wallace) | May 15, 1994 |
| 60 | 9 | Kenny Bernstein (John Force) | May 22, 1994 |
| 61 | 10 | Geoff Bodine (Darrell Waltrip) | May 29, 1994 |
| 62 | 11 | Chuck Etchells (Kenny Bernstein) | June 5, 1994 |
| 63 | 12 | Ned Jarrett (Darrell Waltrip) | June 12, 1994 |
| 64 | 13 | John Force (Kenny Bernstein) | June 19, 1994 |
| 65 | 14 | Sterling Marlin (Rusty Wallace) | June 26, 1994 |
| 66 | 15 | Dave Blaney (Lyn St. James) | July 3, 1994 |
| 67 | 16 | Richard Petty (Rusty Wallace) | July 10, 1994 |
| 68 | 17 | Robby Gordon (Lyn St. James) | July 17, 1994 |
References
- "Neil Bonnett Profile". www.decadesofracing.net. Retrieved 2015-10-31.
- "Bonnett Tries to Forget He Can't Remember".
- "Motorsports Series Will Memorialize Bonnett".
- "Grissom Recalls Last Chat With Bonnett".