Irving Payne

Irving Payne is an American Piston Cup Racer who had a lot of success who raced full-time from 1978 to 1994. Being the first car for team AXELE, he won 42 races along with five championships in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1988, the most in the series. He retired following the 1994 season and was replaced by rookie Joe Rodrun Jr for 1995 who would later go on to win a championship in 1998 before his fatal crash in 2002 and died. He is a five-time Florida 500 champion, winning in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1990.

## Career (1978-1994)

### Beginnings (1978-1981)

#### 1978 (Rookie Year)

Payne was a nobody in the sport when he joined in 1978, he got a win but it was overshadowed by only two other top tens and a TBA points finish.

#### 1979

1979 saw improvement, winning once and getting eighteen top tens and a TBA points finish.

#### 1980

1980 saw regression, no wins and only ten top tens and a big wreck at the season finale caused AXELE to put him on a pain medicator for the rest of his career.

#### 1981

1981 saw massive improvement compared to 1980, two wins which were back-to-back wins, twenty-six top tens, and a fourth place points finish, In 2009, Payne said that other than his championship seasons, 1981 and 1994 were his favorite seasons.

### The big years (1982-1988)

#### 1982

1982 saw Payne dominate, winning six races (career-high) and thirty top tens (that's over 90% of the races in 1982!) and winning his first championship. Payne described this moment as a "could've been better" season, which saw him become the "unsatisfied" racer in the field, which he found funny and "retarded".

#### 1983

1983 saw Payne get a new makeover, new crew chief, pitties, and paint scheme, for AXELE's likeness. Payne wasted no time, five wins and twenty-nine top tens, but was just short to Ernie Gearson for the title.

#### 1984-1986

1984 to 1986 were Payne's prime seasons, in 1984 alone, he got five wins, a career-high thirty-one top tens, and his second championship. 1985 saw five wins again, twenty-seven top tens, three DNFs and a third championship. 1986 saw four wins, thirty top tens and a fourth championship. After his 1986 championship, he said he was satisfied.

#### 1987

1987 saw Payne only win two races and get only nineteen top tens and a TBA points finish.

#### 1988

1988 saw Payne get four wins and twenty-five top tens and win his fifth and final title by just one point over The King (defending champion) which is the slimmest margin tied with 2012.

### The Twilight Years (1989-1993)

#### 1989

1989 saw massive regression, only one win, and twenty top tens and four DNFs did him in, as he finished TBA in the standings.

#### 1990

1990 was Payne's final possible title season, three wins, twenty-two top tens, over 1000 laps led, but lost out after having two DNFs in the final two races, resulting in a third place points finish.

#### 1991-1992

1991 and 1992 were Payne's most noticed twilight seasons, after being winless in 1991 for the first time since 1980 and finishing TBA in points, his worst since 1978, he considered retirement but did not think of it too much. 1992 saw Payne get seventeen top tens, the last time he got more than fifteen, and finished TBA in the standings.

#### 1993

1993 was Payne's final good year, he got two wins, fourteen top tens, no DNFs, all but one race he finished in the top twenty and he finished TBA in points.

### Farewell Tour (1994)

#### 1994

1994 was the shocking year, following the Nightdona 500, Payne announced retirement at the end of the season. He got his 42nd and final win in the No Stall 350 and got eleven top tens. He finished TBA in points. He would be replaced by Joe Rodrun Jr for 1995, who would later win the 1998 title.

## After Retirement (1995-present)

After retiring, Payne has been racing in some dirt races and still is active in the Piston Cup, announcing every race on RSN. He is famous for correctly guessing that Brian Spark would win the 2016 title despite the next-gens being a problem.

## List Of Wins

1. 1978 Palm Mile 300
2. 1979 BnL 500
3. 1981 Copper Canyon 400
4. 1981 Rev N Go 350
5. 1982 Nightdona 500
6. 1982 New York 300
7. 1982 Brickyard 400
8. 1982 Gasprin 400
9. 1982 Piston Cup Dash 600
10. 1982 RPM 350
11. 1983 Vitoline 350
12. 1983 Palm Mile 300
13. 1983 Nashville 400
14. 1983 RPM 350
15. 1983 Trunk Fresh 650
16. 1984 Nightdona 500
17. 1984 Pizza Planet 400 at Las Vegas
18. 1984 N20 Cola 400
19. 1984 Clutch Aid/Coszen 400
20. 1984 RPM 350
21. 1985 Nightdona 500
22. 1985 Tank Coat 400
23. 1985 Retread 500
24. 1985 Spare Mint 400
25. 1985 Leak Less 400
26. 1986 Texas 350
27. 1986 Palm Mile 300
28. 1986 RPM 350
29. 1986 Dinoco 400
30. 1987 Nightdona 500
31. 1987 Vitoline 350
32. 1988 Tach O Mint 500
33. 1988 Copper Canyon 400
34. 1988 Gasprin 400
35. 1988 Octane Gain 400
36. 1989 Piston Cup Dash 600
37. 1990 Nightdona 500
38. 1990 Brickyard 400
39. 1990 Mood Springs 350
40. 1993 RPM 350
41. 1993 Trunk Fresh 650
42. 1994 No Stall 350