1992 Winston 500 Explained

Type:NASWINSTON
Course Km:4.28
Caption:The 1992 Winston 500 program cover, featuring Harry Gant.
Pole Time:49.660
First Team:Robert Yates Racing
First Driver:Davey Allison
Attendance:142,500
Announcers:Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Network:ESPN
Most Team:Robert Yates Racing
Car:28
Most Laps:110
Most Driver:Davey Allison
Pole Driver:Ernie Irvan
Avg:167.609mph
Location:Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Pole Team:Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Scheduled Km:804.8
Distance Km:804.8
Distance Laps:188
Scheduled Laps:188
Scheduled Mi:500.08
Season No:29
Race No:9
Race Name:Winston 500
Course Mi:2.66
Date:May 3
Year:1992
Distance Mi:500.08
Official Name:23rd Annual Winston 500

The 1992 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 2, 1992, before an audience of 142,500 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a 2.66-longNaN-long tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-longNaN-long tri-oval.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Dick TrickleStavola Brothers RacingFordSnickers
9Dave Mader IIIMelling RacingFordMelling Racing
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsChevroletRaybestos
15Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFordKeystone
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
21Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMaxwell House
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingFordQuaker State
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
31Bobby Hillin Jr.Team IrelandChevroletTeam Ireland
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
41Greg SacksLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
47Buddy BakerClose RacingChevroletKanawha Insurance
49Stanley SmithBS&S MotorsportsChevroletAmeritron Batteries
50Clay YoungClay Young RacingPontiacAflac
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacJimmy Means Racing
53John McFaddenJimmy Means RacingPontiacVoyles Auto Salvage
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsOldsmobileJasper Engines & Transmissions
66Jimmy Hensley (R)Cale Yarborough MotorsportsFordPhillips 66 TropArtic
68Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletMcGetrick Electric
90Charlie GlotzbachDonlavey RacingFordSplitFire
94Terry LabonteHagan RacingFordSunoco
95Bob Schacht (R)Sadler Brothers RacingOldsmobileShoney's
98Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevroletMoly Black Gold

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 30, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, May 1, at 4:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[3] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.

Ernie Irvan, driving for Morgan–McClure Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.660 and an average speed of 192.831mph in the first round.[4]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
14Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet49.660192.831
228Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord49.705192.657
322Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord49.868192.027
45Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet49.983191.585
511Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord50.155190.928
621Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord50.308190.347
794Terry LabonteHagan RacingFord50.349190.192
826Brett BodineKing RacingFord50.357190.162
942Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac50.385190.057
103Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet50.451189.808
1116Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFord50.455189.793
1212Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsChevrolet50.498189.631
1355Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsChevrolet50.523189.537
141Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile50.563189.387
1518Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet50.565189.380
1666Jimmy Hensley (R)Cale Yarborough MotorsportsFord50.579189.328
1743Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac50.582189.316
182Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac50.666189.002
1990Charlie GlotzbachDonlavey RacingFord50.738188.734
207Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord50.759188.656
Failed to lock in Round 1
216Mark MartinRoush RacingFord50.003191.509
2249Stanley SmithBS&S MotorsportsChevrolet50.341190.223
239Dave Mader IIIMelling RacingFord50.384190.060
2433Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile50.764188.638
2530Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac50.810188.467
2698Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet50.811188.463
2731Bobby Hillin Jr.Team IrelandChevrolet50.832188.385
288Dick TrickleStavola Brothers RacingFord50.866188.259
2910Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet50.870188.245
3041Greg SacksLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet50.874188.230
3195Bob Schacht (R)Sadler Brothers RacingOldsmobile50.927188.034
3215Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFord50.928188.030
3317Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet51.024187.676
3468Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile51.240186.885
3525Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51.401186.300
3647Buddy BakerClose RacingChevrolet51.613185.535
3771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet51.640185.438
3852Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac51.831184.754
3950Clay YoungClay Young RacingPontiac53.902177.656
4053John McFaddenJimmy Means RacingPontiac--
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1228Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord188110running185$189,325
2511Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord1884running175$56,225
3103Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet18810running170$46,970
4322Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord18857running165$45,470
514Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet1885running160$35,840
6207Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord1880running150$25,315
71518Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet1880running146$19,215
8216Mark MartinRoush RacingFord1882running147$22,765
9621Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord1880running138$19,065
10942Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac1880running134$17,665
11182Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac1880running130$18,530
122910Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet1880running127$15,050
133215Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFord1880running124$15,420
141116Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFord1880running121$9,240
151743Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac1880running118$14,660
16826Brett BodineKing RacingFord1880running115$14,070
17141Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile1880running112$13,055
18239Dave Mader IIIMelling RacingFord1880running109$13,365
19288Dick TrickleStavola Brothers RacingFord1880running106$12,325
203468Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile1870running103$13,765
211355Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsChevrolet1870running100$11,650
221212Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsChevrolet1870running97$11,430
233525Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1870running94$15,670
242433Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile1860running91$16,565
251666Jimmy Hensley (R)Cale Yarborough MotorsportsFord1860running88$8,340
2645Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1860running85$16,005
273771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet1840running82$7,925
282731Bobby Hillin Jr.Team IrelandChevrolet1820running79$6,295
293317Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet1800running76$15,640
303195Bob Schacht (R)Sadler Brothers RacingOldsmobile1800running73$6,185
313647Buddy BakerClose RacingChevrolet1760wheel bearing70$6,055
322698Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet1750suspension67$10,550
332249Stanley SmithBS&S MotorsportsChevrolet1160crash64$5,970
343852Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac1010engine61$7,465
353041Greg SacksLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet920engine58$5,910
36794Terry LabonteHagan RacingFord770engine55$10,380
371990Charlie GlotzbachDonlavey RacingFord750crash52$5,800
382530Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac630cylinder49$8,745
393950Clay YoungClay Young RacingPontiac400engine46$5,690
404053John McFaddenJimmy Means RacingPontiac50handling43$5,660
Official race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Davey Allison1,399
22Bill Elliott1,332 (-67)
13Harry Gant1,289 (-110)
14Alan Kulwicki1,281 (–118)
15Morgan Shepherd1,257 (–142)
16Dale Earnhardt1,240 (–159)
47Terry Labonte1,228 (–171)
8Geoff Bodine1,176 (–223)
19Mark Martin1,148 (–251)
110Dick Trickle1,111 (–288)
Official driver's standings

Notes and References

  1. News: Newberry . Paul . May 4, 1992 . Allison roars to Winston title . 13 . . January 27, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Long . Gary . May 4, 1992 . Allison roars to an impressive victory in Winston 500 . 30 . . January 27, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: April 30, 1992 . Winston 500 . 12 . . January 27, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Coble . Don . May 1, 1992 . Swervin' Irvan wins pole . 8 . Florida Today . January 27, 2023 . Newspapers.com.