Collapse - 1987 Neil Bonnett

Neil Bonnett was the most respected driver in garage during his time but never got his shot of hoisting the championship trophy at seasons end but 1987 his career and life would take massive tailspin that would tragically cut his life short very early just several years following that season.

Neil Bonnett was sitting 2nd in points after second Pocono race but was massive 409 points behind championship leader Dale Earnhardt who was crushing competition but Neil Bonnett had decent season as he managed to score 3 top 5's and 10 top 10's as consistency was on his side which gave him shot at running Dale Earnhardt down for championship lead but the opposite would happen. Neil Bonnett would find trouble at Talladega and Walkins Glen which was resulted in getting involved in crash at Talladega that forced him behind the wall would drop him multiple laps down and finished 32nd then Walkins Glen became another bump in the road as Neil Bonnett's engine would give up in early stages of the race which placed him 37th at finish line and dropped him to 5th in points.

Neil Bonnett would have slight turnaround with 2 top 10 finishes at Michigan and Bristol which kepted him 5th in points but now 695 points behind Championship Leader Dale Earnhardt which meant Neil's shot of winning the championship was all but over. Darlington would drop Neil Bonnett to 7th in points after 32nd place finish due to getting involved in accident in early stages of the race which made his 75 team go to work on fixing the car while turning this 2nd half of season into complete nightmare.

Neil Bonnett was looking to have massive hot streak to end 1987 season as Neil was racking up 3 top 10 finishes in next 4 races with best finish of 3rd at Dover while having worst finish of 11th at North Wilkesboro that jumped him to 5th in points but all momentum was halted after suffering season ending leg injury at Charlotte which placed him 13th in final point standings. Sadly Neil Bonnett was unable to rekindle that late season magic in 1987 as Neil would capture his final 2 career wins at Richmond and Rockingham in 1988 before getting released from Rahmoc Motorsports at seasons end before moving to Wood Brothers Racing to drive the 21 car but 1990 his life would get altered in scary crash at Spring Darlington race which sent him into early retirement before making in 1993 but his life was cut short after crashing during practice for 1994 Daytona 500.

The collapse was looking to be potential turnaround that could've placed him as championship contender heading into 1988 but the leg injury derailed his competitive fire that forced him to play things safely but in the end all those injuries would comeback to claim this great drivers life for to early.