1992 Budweiser 500
The 1992 Budweiser 500 was the 11th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 31, 1992, before an audience of 77,000 in Dover, Delaware at Dover Downs International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Running on fumes, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to save enough fuel to coast to the finish to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1992 Budweiser 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott, Junior Johnson. and Tim Brewer. | |||
| Date | May 31, 1992 | ||
| Official name | 24th Annual Budweiser 500 | ||
| Location | Dover, Delaware, Dover Downs International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Average speed | 109.456 miles per hour (176.152 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 77,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | King Racing | ||
| Time | 24.422 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | |
| Laps | 104 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Dover Downs International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, May 29, at 3:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, May 30.[3] However, due to rain, the second round was cancelled. As a result, the rest of the starting lineup was set using the results from the first round.[4]
Brett Bodine, driving for King Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.422 and an average speed of 147.408 miles per hour (237.230 km/h).[5]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 500 | 41 | running | 180 | $65,145 |
| 2 | 24 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 52 | running | 175 | $43,720 |
| 3 | 14 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 499 | 0 | running | 165 | $25,795 |
| 4 | 9 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 46 | running | 165 | $29,445 |
| 5 | 4 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 104 | running | 165 | $25,140 |
| 6 | 13 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 498 | 58 | running | 155 | $21,215 |
| 7 | 23 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Chevrolet | 498 | 58 | running | 151 | $26,490 |
| 8 | 12 | 66 | Jimmy Hensley (R) | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 498 | 0 | running | 142 | $13,140 |
| 9 | 20 | 8 | Dick Trickle | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 498 | 0 | running | 138 | $14,340 |
| 10 | 7 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 498 | 52 | running | 139 | $18,040 |
| 11 | 21 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 497 | 0 | running | 130 | $17,090 |
| 12 | 37 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 497 | 3 | running | 132 | $14,590 |
| 13 | 8 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 496 | 0 | running | 124 | $14,290 |
| 14 | 10 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 496 | 0 | running | 121 | $11,890 |
| 15 | 3 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 495 | 0 | running | 118 | $11,690 |
| 16 | 26 | 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 495 | 0 | running | 115 | $11,390 |
| 17 | 5 | 15 | Geoff Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 494 | 0 | running | 112 | $10,940 |
| 18 | 29 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 494 | 0 | running | 109 | $11,525 |
| 19 | 27 | 41 | Greg Sacks | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 491 | 0 | running | 106 | $7,240 |
| 20 | 17 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 489 | 0 | running | 103 | $10,790 |
| 21 | 18 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 474 | 4 | engine | 105 | $9,990 |
| 22 | 31 | 32 | Jimmy Horton | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet | 474 | 0 | running | 97 | $5,090 |
| 23 | 6 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 470 | 0 | running | 94 | $14,040 |
| 24 | 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 470 | 64 | running | 96 | $13,890 |
| 25 | 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 435 | 0 | crash | 88 | $6,690 |
| 26 | 25 | 9 | Chad Little | Melling Racing | Ford | 412 | 0 | transmission | 85 | $7,890 |
| 27 | 28 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 308 | 0 | engine | 82 | $6,490 |
| 28 | 33 | 77 | Mike Potter | Balough Racing | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | valve | 79 | $4,790 |
| 29 | 16 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 252 | 0 | crash | 76 | $9,340 |
| 30 | 1 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 247 | 18 | engine | 78 | $12,765 |
| 31 | 32 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 201 | 0 | engine | 70 | $4,640 |
| 32 | 22 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 190 | 0 | crash | 67 | $9,140 |
| 33 | 11 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | crash | 64 | $6,065 |
| 34 | 30 | 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 143 | 0 | crash | 61 | $5,990 |
| 35 | 39 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Motorsports | Pontiac | 118 | 0 | handling | 58 | $4,290 |
| 36 | 34 | 65 | Jerry O'Neil | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | 59 | 0 | brakes | 55 | $4,265 |
| 37 | 35 | 59 | Andy Belmont (R) | Pat Rissi Racing | Ford | 59 | 0 | oil leak | 52 | $4,490 |
| 38 | 36 | 56 | Jerry Hill | Hill Motorsports | Pontiac | 39 | 0 | ignition | 49 | $4,190 |
| 39 | 40 | 85 | D. K. Ulrich | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | 21 | 0 | vibration | 46 | $4,165 |
| 40 | 38 | 53 | Graham Taylor | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 14 | 0 | vibration | 43 | $4,140 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (June 1, 1992). "Gant literally coasts to Bud 500 title". The Rock Island Argus. p. 22. Retrieved January 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Owen, Mike (June 1, 1992). "Ageless Gant coasts to Budweiser win". Alabama Journal. p. 16. Retrieved January 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. May 29, 1992. p. 42. Retrieved January 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (May 31, 1992). "Rain postpones Grand National, threatens today's Winston Cup race". The Charlotte Observer. p. 37. Retrieved January 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harris, Mike (May 30, 1992). "Brett Bodine stays out of troubles, zips to top spot at Dover". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 11. Retrieved January 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.