1989 AC Delco 500
The 1989 AC Delco 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 15th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 22, 1989, before an audience of 52,500 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to dominate the late stages of the race, leading the final 77 laps to take his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1989 AC Delco 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | October 22, 1989 | ||
| Official name | 15th Annual AC Delco 500 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 114.079 miles per hour (183.592 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 52,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | AK Racing | ||
| Time | 24.634 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Laps | 194 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, October 19, at 2:30 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 Friday, October 20, at 2:00 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,[5] 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.
Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.634 and an average speed of 148.624 miles per hour (239.187 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 492 | 101 | running | 185 | $52,800 |
| 2 | 21 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 492 | 194 | running | 180 | $33,675 |
| 3 | 2 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 492 | 24 | running | 170 | $32,225 |
| 4 | 9 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 491 | 0 | running | 160 | $16,725 |
| 5 | 16 | 84 | Dick Trickle (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 491 | 0 | running | 155 | $15,250 |
| 6 | 19 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 491 | 0 | running | 150 | $10,550 |
| 7 | 11 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 490 | 0 | running | 146 | $12,275 |
| 8 | 28 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 490 | 0 | running | 142 | $9,575 |
| 9 | 1 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 490 | 6 | running | 143 | $13,225 |
| 10 | 36 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 489 | 0 | running | 134 | $10,107 |
| 11 | 6 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Pontiac | 489 | 0 | running | 130 | $6,625 |
| 12 | 3 | 16 | Larry Pearson (R) | Pearson Racing | Buick | 488 | 0 | running | 127 | $6,575 |
| 13 | 27 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 488 | 0 | running | 124 | $7,950 |
| 14 | 15 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 488 | 0 | running | 121 | $13,725 |
| 15 | 4 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 488 | 0 | running | 118 | $17,500 |
| 16 | 20 | 2 | Ernie Irvan | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 487 | 0 | running | 115 | $5,075 |
| 17 | 26 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 486 | 0 | running | 112 | $6,775 |
| 18 | 30 | 48 | Greg Sacks | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 485 | 0 | running | 109 | $3,475 |
| 19 | 24 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 485 | 0 | running | 106 | $9,875 |
| 20 | 5 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 484 | 86 | running | 108 | $13,775 |
| 21 | 14 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 484 | 1 | running | 105 | $6,375 |
| 22 | 18 | 57 | Hut Stricklin (R) | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 474 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,700 |
| 23 | 10 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 471 | 0 | running | 94 | $5,500 |
| 24 | 29 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 470 | 0 | running | 91 | $5,375 |
| 25 | 40 | 54 | Bob Schacht | Schacht Racing | Buick | 463 | 0 | running | 88 | $2,700 |
| 26 | 13 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 460 | 2 | running | 90 | $10,950 |
| 27 | 35 | 62 | Joe Ruttman | Douglas Smith Racing | Oldsmobile | 459 | 0 | running | 82 | $2,500 |
| 28 | 8 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 456 | 66 | running | 84 | $10,700 |
| 29 | 12 | 33 | Harry Gant | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 446 | 4 | running | 81 | $10,025 |
| 30 | 33 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 443 | 0 | running | 73 | $5,500 |
| 31 | 37 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 341 | 0 | engine | 70 | $2,200 |
| 32 | 17 | 47 | Jack Pennington | Close Racing | Chevrolet | 277 | 0 | handling | 0 | $2,150 |
| 33 | 22 | 44 | Jim Sauter | Group 44 | Pontiac | 249 | 8 | brakes | 69 | $2,080 |
| 34 | 34 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 247 | 0 | handling | 61 | $4,280 |
| 35 | 31 | 88 | Jimmy Spencer (R) | Baker–Schiff Racing | Pontiac | 225 | 0 | crash | 58 | $4,605 |
| 36 | 23 | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 206 | 0 | crash | 55 | $9,925 |
| 37 | 39 | 34 | Jim Bown | AAG Racing | Buick | 195 | 0 | handling | 52 | $1,900 |
| 38 | 25 | 53 | Jerry O'Neil | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | 112 | 0 | axle | 49 | $1,875 |
| 39 | 32 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | clutch | 46 | $4,450 |
| 40 | 38 | 93 | Charlie Baker | Salmon Racing | Buick | 37 | 0 | oil pump | 43 | $1,825 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (October 23, 1989). "Martin Ends Victory Drought (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 19. Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 23, 1989). "Martin Ends Victory Drought (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Mulhurn, Mike (October 23, 1989). "Martin Finally Gets Break... and 1st Win (Part 1)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 17. Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Mulhurn, Mike (October 23, 1989). "Martin Finally Gets Break... and 1st Win (Part 2)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 24. Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. October 19, 1989. p. 56. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 20, 1989). "Kulwicki Captures Top Spot (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 37. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 20, 1989). "Kulwicki Captures Top Spot (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 42. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.