Ponchy Wipeout

Ponchy Wipeout is an American former stuntman and stock car racer that raced in the Piston Cup part-time in 1999 and full-time from 2000 to 2016. He was considered one of the best drivers when it came to consistency and won four titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2013.

## Career

### Backup in 1999

After starring in *HighJinx*, Bumper Save signed Wipeout to be their backup driver to veteran James Robson. After Robson was forced to retire after a horrible crash in the Piston Cup Dash 600, Wipeout raced for the last 11 races, scoring a win late in the Mood Springs 350. Seeing the potential, he was announced as their full-time driver in 2000.

### Beginnings (2000-2001)

2000 started off with a bang, getting six top 5s in the first six races and being second in points, but he stalled after that, scoring only five top tens over the next seven races, before winning the Rev N Go 350. He would run up front consistently and ended the season with one win, nine top 5s, sixteen top 10s, a pole, and an 11th place points finish, only on two other occasions would he finish outside the top 10 in points and he didn't even win Rookie Of The Year. 2001 had slight improvement, he nearly won the Nightdona 500 but was shuffled back to seventh on the last lap. He did get a win not too long after and was sitting solidly sixth in points. He did regress a little bit, scoring one more win but only twelve top 10s and finished 10th in points.

### Prime Years (2002-2008)

2002 would be Ponchy's breakout year, getting ten top 10s in the first ten races, which included a win and was sitting atop the points. He later regressed a little, getting three DNFs in six races but he won he first crown jewel at the Brickyard. As his competition was getting better, he wasn't winning at all but then won two consecutive races and was in contention to win the title but came eleven points short to Chuck Armstrong. 2003 would be Ponchy's best year, scoring five wins, and this was when the famous known consistency of Wipeout came into fruition, scoring 28 top 10s, and won his first championship by 35 points over Armstrong. 2004 would be a far cry compared to 2003, when it came to dominant wins, only getting one win in the Tach O Mint 500, his third straight win at that race and having 30 top 10s and a worst finish of 19th all season, coming in the RPM 350.

2005 would be the outlier in his prime, although he got another win, he got five DNFs and only 18 top 10s and 6 top 5s. He got his first pole since 2001 and was the second of three occasions where he would finish outside the top ten in points, finishing 12th. 2006 saw Ponchy back to his old self, winning two straight races in the first quarter of the season and challenging for the points lead with Lightning McQueen. He was involved in a nasty wreck in the Mood Springs 350 which nearly ended his title hopes but was able to hang on and win the final race of the season to clinch the title by nine over McQueen. Ponchy had a great season in 2007, being in the top five in points in all but one race the whole season. He took the points lead at the right time with just two races left after winning his sponsors race and in the finale, Lightning McQueen crashed and due to being on strategy, Ponchy finished 13th, two spots short of winning the title, as second-year drive Cal Weathers stole the championship. 2008 would be a season of significant regression, going 20 races without a win, and being stuck driving mid-pack often. Not as much obviously, as he was still consistent enough to contend for wins week in and week out but was clearly out of the title fight after the Spare Mint 400. He did win his sponsors race for the second year in a row though and finished 7th in points.

### Slight Twilight (2009-2011)

2009 as a whole saw many changes, mainly due to the strong emergence of the next generation, but Ponchy still was able to put on respectable numbers as he won a few races and for the first time since 2007, he touched the points lead, albeit it was just for one race. He consistently challenged the new rookies and finished sixth in points, the highest and only one in the top ten of the last generation, with the next one being defending champion, Floyd Mulvihill. 2010 would go on to be a disappointing season, being outside of the top ten in points for most of the year, but toward the end, he nabbed a win and was barely able to squeak into the top ten. Ninth was the worst points finish since 2005. Speaking of worst, 2011 saw Ponchy go the whole season without a win until race 34, and finished 10th in points. Part failures were the main norm and It was the first time since his rookie yea in 2000 where he failed to get over 15 top 10s.

### Sudden resurgence and fourth title (2012-2014)

2012 saw a huge resurgence in performance, getting a win early in the year finally and was top five in points for the whole season and got 27 top 10s in the first 35 races and was the points leader heading into the biggest championship battle of Piston Cup history. Early in the Los Angeles 500, he cut a tire but was able to salvage a ninth-place finish but it wasn't enough to win the title as he finished third behind now two-time champion Bobby Swift and Carl Clutchen. 2013 would be a dream year, winning four races and getting thirty more top 10s and winning his fourth championship, his first in six seasons. The 2014 season saw Ponchy get early wins and be a top five contender all year. He got his fourth win in his sponsors race but finished third in points.

### Final years (2015-2016)

2015 saw significant regression, only scoring one win early on and barely hanging on to a top ten points position. Late in the season, he won the Octane Gain 400 and was able to finish tenth in points. 2016 would be Ponchy's worst season in history, for the first time, he scored zero wins and due to all the next-gens coming in, he chose to retire after the season. He got three top 5s and seven top 10s, career lows and a career-worst 19th place points finish. At the end of his career, he was the last driver whose career started in the 1990s.

## List Of Wins

1. 1999 Mood Springs 350
2. 2000 Rev N Go 350
3. 2001 BnL 500
4. 2001 Spare Mint 400
5. 2002 Tach O Mint 500
6. 2002 Brickyard 400
7. 2002 Sidewall Shine 400
8. 2002 Spare Mint 400
9. 2003 Rust-eze 500
10. 2003 Tach O Mint 500
11. 2003 New York 300
12. 2003 Leak Less 400
13. 2003 Dinoco 400
14. 2004 Tach O Mint 500
15. 2005 Rev N Go 350
16. 2006 Rust-eze 500
17. 2006 BnL 500
18. 2006 Transberry Juice 400
19. 2006 Dinoco 400
20. 2007 Vitoline 350
21. 2007 Palm Mile 300
22. 2007 Faux Wheel Drive 400
23. 2007 Bumper Save: Gears And Glory 450
24. 2008 Nashville 400
25. 2008 Bumper Save: Gears And Glory 450
26. 2009 Ben's Hot Sauce 400
27. 2009 Homestead 350
28. 2010 Easy Idle 450
29. 2011 Mood Springs 350
30. 2012 Palm Mile 300
31. 2012 Rev N Go 350
32. 2012 SynerG 400
33. 2012 Bumper Save: Gears And Glory 450
34. 2013 Rust-eze 500
35. 2013 BnL 500
36. 2013 Clutch Aid/Coszen 400
37. 2013 Leak Less 400
38. 2014 Texas 350
39. 2014 Clutch Aid/Coszen 400
40. 2014 Bumper Save: Gears And Glory 450
41. 2015 Palm Mile 300
42. 2015 Octane Gain 400