1992 Coca-Cola 600

The 1992 Coca-Cola 600, the 33rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 24, 1992, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

1992 Coca-Cola 600
Race details[1]
Race 10 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date May 24, 1992 (1992-May-24)
Official name Coca-Cola 600
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather Extremely hot with temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 132.98 mph (214.01 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Petty SABCO Racing
Laps 141
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network NASCAR on TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett

For the first time in NASCAR history, the Stonewall Jackson Award was offered to the United States Army veteran who demonstrated patriotism and sacrifice above the typical expectations of a soldier or commissioned officer.[2] This award was named after Confederate general Stonewall Jackson for his meritorious devotion to service during the American Civil War.

People who are not die-hard fans of NASCAR could not have imagined sitting outside in North Carolina in late May with the extremely hot temperatures and barely any wind to provide a breeze. Sitting in the sun and heat watching this thing would have been absolutely brutal both heat wise and humidity wise.

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, as well as the Bank of America 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Race report

There were 42 drivers on the starting grid; almost half of them failed to finish the race. It took four and a half hours to resolve 400 laps. Dale Earnhardt defeated Ernie Irvan by nearly half a second. There were several crashes, some engine problems, and Stanley Smith's vehicle managed to lose all of its tires by lap 248. Jimmy Means legitimately blew his engine 8 laps in; the smoke was pouring out of his engine. He was one of the best of the very low budget owner/drivers at babying a car with poor equipment to a finish ahead of the attrition. Had Means' engine not blown early in the race, he would have probably finished anywhere between 15th to 20th, like Dave Marcis did in this race.[3]

There were 12 caution flags handed out by NASCAR officials throughout 62 laps of the race. Kyle Petty managed to develop a lengthy lead late in the race but could not prevent Dale Earnhardt from winning it. While Dale Earnhardt made his 400th start in this event, it would be his only win of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[3] This would the final race for Travis Carter Enterprises until the 1994 Daytona 500.[3]

Bill Elliott qualified for the pole position with speeds reaching up to 175.479 miles per hour (282.406 km/h) in the solo qualifying session. Actual racing speeds would be 132.98 miles per hour (214.01 km/h); more than 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) slower than qualifying. Rusty Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, and Randy Porter would accomplish individually solid finishes despite not being able to finish the race.[3] The total prize purse for this racing event was $859,485 ($1,565,905 when adjusted for inflation). While the winner of the race received $125,100 of this total figure ($227,921 when adjusted for inflation), the last place finisher only received a meager $5,100 ($9,292 when adjusted for inflation).[4]

Gary Balough would make his final start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[5] Dave Mader III would make his 10th and final Cup Series start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series; starting in 21st place but finishing in 39th place.[6]

This race finally broke Ford's winning streak going back to the Fall 1991 race at Charlotte. Ford took the circuit by storm in the 1992 season, winning every race until the Coca-Cola 600.[7]

Notable crew chiefs for this race included Kirk Shelmerdine, Tim Brewer, Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds, Andy Petree, Robin Pemberton, and Junie Donlavey.[8]

Qualifying
Grid[3] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 11Bill ElliottFord
2 42Kyle PettyPontiac
3 5Ricky RuddChevrolet
4 26Brett BodineFord
5 6Mark MartinFord
6 25Ken SchraderChevrolet
7 2Rusty WallacePontiac
8 7Alan KulwickiFord
9 22Sterling MarlinFord
10 8Dick TrickleFord
11 41Ernie IrvanChevrolet
12 43Richard PettyPontiac
13 3Dale EarnhardtChevrolet
14 94Terry LabonteOldsmobile
15 30Michael WaltripPontiac
16 55Ted MusgraveFord
17 28Davey AllisonFord
18 17Darrell WaltripChevrolet
19 15Geoffrey BodineFord
20 66Jimmy HensleyFord

Failed to qualify: Eddie Bierschwale (#23), James Hylton (#48), Delma Cowart (#0), Mike Potter (#77), Phil Barkdoll (#73), Mike Skinner (#85)[9]

Top 20 finishers
Pos[3] No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Time/Status
1 3Dale EarnhardtChevrolet400544:30:43
2 4Ernie IrvanChevrolet4002+0.41 seconds
3 42Kyle PettyPontiac400141Lead lap under green flag
4 28Davey AllisonFord40033Lead lap under green flag
5 33Harry GantOldsmobile4000Lead lap under green flag
6 94Terry LabonteOldsmobile4000Lead lap under green flag
7 7Alan KulwickiFord40043Lead lap under green flag
8 55Ted MusgraveFord3990+1 lap
9 5Ricky RuddChevrolet39833+2 laps
10 8Dick TrickleFord3980+2 laps
11 66Jimmy HensleyFord39811+2 laps
12 18Dale JarrettChevrolet3971+3 laps
13 31Bobby Hillin, Jr.Chevrolet3970+3 laps
14 11Bill ElliottFord3960+4 laps
15 71Dave MarcisChevrolet3940+6 laps
16 41Greg SacksChevrolet3906+10 laps
17 10Derrike CopeChevrolet3880+12 laps
18 2Rusty WallacePontiac38638Engine failure
19 83Lake SpeedFord3850+15 laps
20 26Brett BodineFord3780+23 laps

Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 Davey Allison 1564 0
2 Bill Elliott 1453 -111
3 Harry Gant 1444 -120
4 Alan Kulwicki 1432 -132
5 Dale Earnhardt 1420 -144
6 Terry Labonte 1378 -186
7 Morgan Shepherd 1333 -231
8 Geoffrey Bodine 1248 -316
9 Dick Trickle 1245 -319
10 Mark Martin 1217 -347
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References
  1. "Weather information for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  2. "Coca-Cola 600 weekend focused on military tributes". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  3. "Racing information for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  4. "Prize winnings for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  5. "Retirements after the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
  6. "Dave Mader III 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  7. "1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  8. "1992 Coca-Cola 600 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  9. "Qualifying information for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
Preceded by
1992 Winston 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1992		 Succeeded by
1992 Budweiser 500
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