1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1992 Southern 500 program cover, feautring Davey Allison and Richard Petty. | |||
| Date | September 6, 1992 | ||
| Official name | 43rd Annual Mountain Dew Southern 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.221 km) | ||
| Distance | 298 laps, 407.068 mi (655.112 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Average speed | 129.114 miles per hour (207.789 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 70,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Time | 30.309 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | |
| Laps | 91 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 43rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 6, 1992, before an audience of 70,000 in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race was shortened from its scheduled 367 laps to 293 due to rain. In the final laps of the race, owner-driver Darrell Waltrip and his team decided to pit for fuel only on the final pit stop, contrary to most, who had pitted for tires and fuel. With a shorter pit stop, he was able to lead the final six laps before the red flag was put out to stop the race, with NASCAR officials deciding to end the race early, handing Waltrip the victory. The victory was Waltrip's 84th and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott would finish second and third, respectively.
Background[edit]
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Entry list[edit]
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying[edit]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 4, at 3:00 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, September 5, at 11:30 AM 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 provisionals 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.
Sterling Marlin, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.309 and an average speed of 162.249 miles per hour (261.114 km/h) in the first round.[4]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results[edit]
Race results[edit]
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 298 | 6 | running | 180 | $66,030 |
| 2 | 25 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 298 | 26 | running | 175 | $41,355 |
| 3 | 4 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 298 | 4 | running | 170 | $32,620 |
| 4 | 8 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 298 | 0 | running | 160 | $23,260 |
| 5 | 6 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 298 | 72 | running | 160 | $38,845 |
| 6 | 17 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 298 | 21 | running | 155 | $19,055 |
| 7 | 30 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 298 | 0 | running | 146 | $16,310 |
| 8 | 9 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 298 | 0 | running | 142 | $17,890 |
| 9 | 21 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 298 | 7 | running | 143 | $17,060 |
| 10 | 18 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 297 | 3 | running | 139 | $18,470 |
| 11 | 23 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 297 | 0 | running | 130 | $13,985 |
| 12 | 19 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | running | 127 | $10,690 |
| 13 | 3 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | running | 124 | $16,600 |
| 14 | 15 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 297 | 0 | running | 121 | $13,210 |
| 15 | 7 | 66 | Jimmy Hensley (R) | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 297 | 0 | running | 118 | $11,320 |
| 16 | 11 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 297 | 91 | running | 125 | $18,600 |
| 17 | 16 | 31 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Team Ireland | Chevrolet | 297 | 0 | running | 112 | $6,880 |
| 18 | 28 | 41 | Dave Marcis | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 296 | 0 | running | 109 | $9,205 |
| 19 | 10 | 15 | Geoff Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 295 | 0 | running | 106 | $11,725 |
| 20 | 31 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 295 | 0 | running | 103 | $12,055 |
| 21 | 24 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 293 | 0 | running | 100 | $11,920 |
| 22 | 34 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 284 | 0 | running | 97 | $5,900 |
| 23 | 20 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 280 | 0 | running | 94 | $10,630 |
| 24 | 12 | 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 276 | 0 | running | 91 | $7,355 |
| 25 | 2 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 10 | transmission | 93 | $15,395 |
| 26 | 33 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Ford | 253 | 0 | running | 85 | $5,335 |
| 27 | 14 | 8 | Dick Trickle | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 242 | 0 | running | 82 | $6,875 |
| 28 | 1 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 241 | 57 | running | 84 | $13,265 |
| 29 | 13 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 241 | 0 | running | 76 | $16,555 |
| 30 | 29 | 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 225 | 1 | crank | 78 | $9,520 |
| 31 | 26 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 224 | 0 | crash | 70 | $9,310 |
| 32 | 35 | 59 | Andy Belmont (R) | Pat Rissi Racing | Ford | 212 | 0 | ignition | 67 | $4,670 |
| 33 | 36 | 77 | Mike Potter | Balough Racing | Buick | 164 | 0 | engine | 64 | $4,605 |
| 34 | 27 | 9 | Chad Little | Melling Racing | Ford | 135 | 0 | crash | 61 | $4,570 |
| 35 | 22 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 102 | 0 | engine | 58 | $8,985 |
| 36 | 32 | 71 | Jim Sauter | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 47 | 0 | engine | 55 | $5,900 |
| 37 | 38 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Motorsports | Pontiac | 13 | 0 | engine | 52 | $4,330 |
| 38 | 37 | 53 | John McFadden | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 3 | 0 | vibration | 49 | $4,290 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ Harris, Mike (September 7, 1992). "Race called, Waltrip wins rain-shortened event". The Beaufort Gazette. p. 14. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
- ^ McKee, Sandra (September 7, 1992). "Waltrip completes Big Four bonanza". The Baltimore Sun. p. 41. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 4, 1992. p. 13. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Mike (September 5, 1992). "Marlin takes fifth pole of year in Southern 500". The Times and Democrat. p. 15. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
