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1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500

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1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500
Race details
Race 21 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1992 Southern 500 program cover, featuring Davey Allison and Richard Petty.
The 1992 Southern 500 program cover, featuring 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

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The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

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

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Hooters
8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Snickers
9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet Raybestos
15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford Keystone
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet Team Ireland
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
41 Dick Trickle Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac McElroy's Flower Shop
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac CAS, Inc.
53 John McFadden Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Oldsmobile Jasper Engines & Transmissions
59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford FDP Brakes
66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
71 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Marcis Auto Racing
77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Buick Lance Inc.
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford Purex
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco

Qualifying

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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

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.309 162.249
2 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 30.357 161.992
3 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.370 161.923
4 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.411 161.705
5 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 30.419 161.662
6 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.436 161.572
7 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 30.482 161.328
8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 30.523 161.111
9 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 30.547 160.985
10 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.566 160.885
11 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.580 160.811
12 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 30.592 160.748
13 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.644 160.475
14 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 30.644 160.475
15 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 30.648 160.454
16 31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 30.649 160.449
17 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 30.658 160.402
18 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.675 160.313
19 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 30.693 160.219
20 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 30.713 160.115
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 30.764 159.849
22 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 30.816 159.579
23 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 30.819 159.564
24 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford 30.831 159.502
25 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.966 158.806
26 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.034 158.458
27 9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford 31.055 158.351
28 41 Dave Marcis Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.162 157.808
29 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 31.202 157.606
30 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 31.203 157.600
31 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.351 156.856
32 71 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.676 155.247
33 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford 31.888 154.215
34 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 32.135 153.029
35 59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford 33.175 148.232
36 77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Buick - -
37 53 John McFadden Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac - -
38 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac - -
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Mike (September 7, 1992). "Race called, Waltrip wins rain-shortened event". The Beaufort Gazette. p. 14. Retrieved February 5, 2023. Open access icon
  2. ^ McKee, Sandra (September 7, 1992). "Waltrip completes Big Four bonanza". The Baltimore Sun. p. 41. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 4, 1992. p. 13. Retrieved February 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Harris, Mike (September 5, 1992). "Marlin takes fifth pole of year in Southern 500". The Times and Democrat. p. 15. Retrieved February 5, 2023. Open access icon
Previous race:
1992 Bud 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1992 season
Next race:
1992 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Richmond)