"The Rock" has made or broken many a NASCAR Winston Cup champion over the years.

Since the 1.017-mile track located in the North Carolina Sandhills opened in 1965 there have been many memorable races, both on the track and in the points battle. It has been where drivers have laid claim to a championship trophy, extended their points lead or watched it slip away for good.

Dale Earnhardt's victory in Sunday's Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway cut into Bobby Labonte's NASCAR Winston Cup Series point lead. Although there is no chance for Labonte to clinch the championship in Sunday's Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400, he could improve his 210-point lead -- or see it trimmed.

The track referred to as "The Rock" has had its share of historical contributions at its fall event.

Benny Parsons claimed his lone championship in 1973 driving a car owned by then-track owner L.G. Dewitt.

Cale Yarborough sewed up the 1977 and 1978 titles at the asphalt oval for his second and record-third consecutive championships. Earnhardt held up the championship trophy in 1987 and 1994 after the fall race for his fifth and record-tying seventh championships, respectively. Jeff Gordon won the race and his third championship in 1998, making him the youngest driver to win three titles in NASCAR's modern era.

It also hasn't been unusual over the years for one driver to pull into Rockingham as the points leader -- and another to leave town with the top spot.

Richard Petty was trailing Darrell Waltrip by 17 points prior to the 1979 fall event. Petty won the race and took the lead by eight points after Waltrip finished sixth. They would swap the points lead one more time before "The King" captured championship trophy No. 7.

In 1996 Gordon was leading teammate Terry Labonte in the championship hunt prior to the race. Labonte finished third and took over the points lead when Gordon finished 12th. Labonte never lost the lead and went on to claim his second NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship. Gordon finished second, 37 points behind.

"This track has played a key role in a lot of championship battles," said Chris Browning, vice president and general manager of North Carolina Speedway. "Both in the beginning of the year and at the end of it. Bobby Labonte won the spring race here and kind of got the momentum going for his run this year."