1992 Hooters 500

The 1992 Hooters 500 was the final race of the 1992 NASCAR season. The race is considered one of the greatest NASCAR races of all-time.cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/shows/dyn/greatest_nascar/series_featured_copy.jhtml |title=Greatest NASCAR rivalries |publisher=CMT.com |accessdate=2007-08-09] It was held November 15 1992 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race marked the final NASCAR start for 7-time champion Richard Petty and the first Winston Cup start for future champion Jeff Gordon.

Prerace

Coming into the race, six drivers had a mathematical chance to win the title, and the points standings were led by Davey Allison. Allison needed to finish sixth or better to clinch the championship.cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-94334787.html?Q=alan%20kulwicki |title=10 years after: the points race isn't as tight as it was in 1992, but--like in '92--a new generation of drivers is taking over at the top. |accessdate=2007-09-19 |publisher=The Sporting News |author=McCarter, Mark |date=2002-11-11] Allison led second-place Alan Kulwicki by 30 points, Bill Elliott by 40, Harry Gant by 97 and Kyle Petty by 98. Mark Martin also had an outside chance.

Kulwicki received approval from NASCAR and Ford to change the "Thunderbird" lettering on his bumper by putting two Mighty Mouse patches on the "TH" in "THUNDERBIRD" because he felt like the underdog for winning the championship, and Kulwicki admired the character, which symbolised he and his team (many of whom later became champions themselves long after his death).

Rick Mast won his first career pole position in the #1 car. His qualifying speed of 180.183 mph was the first-ever NASCAR qualifying speed over 180 mph at an intermediate length circuit. Previously that speed had only been achieved at Daytona and Talladega.

Richard Petty entered the race, his final career start, at the conclusion of his year-long "Fan Appreciation Tour." Facing the intense pressure, Petty barely managed to qualify, posting the 39th fastest speed out of 41 cars. He would not have been eligible for the provisional starting position, and had to qualify on speed.

Race

A record 160,000 fans arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway to witness Petty's final ride, and to watch the exciting championship battle. The race was televised live on ESPN. At the start, after winning the pole position, Rick Mast crashed on the second lap, and failed to lead a single lap.

Kyle Petty had engine problems that took him out of contention. Allison was in sixth place until Ernie Irvan's tire blew with around 100 laps left in the event. Allison T-boned Irvan's spinning car on lap 204. The car had a broken right front tie rod. He lost 40 laps repairing the tie rod, ending his championship hopes.cite web |url=http://www.underbird.com/news/inmemory.htm |title=In Memory of Alan--Ten Years Gone (Revisited) |publisher=SpeedwayMedia.com |accessdate=2007-09-20]

Kulwicki and Elliott were left to duel for the title. During his first pit stop, Kulwicki lost first gear.cite web |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070418210740/http://insiderracingnews.com/pk033003.html |title=Alan Kulwicki: Always a Champion |accessdate=2007-07-04 |publisher=Insider Racing News |date=March 30 2003 |author=Patty Kay ] Kulwicki was known for being an intelligent driver who thought outside the box, and worked with crew chief Paul Andrews to plot the a major move late in the race. With final pit stops taking place, Kulwicki lead enough laps to ensure the second five-point bonus for leading the most laps would be secured before making his final pit stop on Lap 309. Kulwicki's pit crew did a "gas and go" stop. Not changing tires during the stop allowed the Paul Andrews-led group to help push the car, preventing it from stalling with only one remaining gear. Elliott won the race, and Kulwicki finished second. By leading one more lap than Elliott, Kulwicki claimed the 5 bonus points for leading the most laps. Kulwicki became the 1992 Winston Cup Champion by 10 points over Elliott. The championship would have ended in a tie if Elliott had led more laps than Kulwicki, and Elliott held the tie-breaker (most victories during the season). It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the implementation of the Chase for the Cup format 12 years later. [cite web |url=http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/history/drivers/02/02/akulwicki/index.html |title=Alan Kulwicki |accessdate=2007-07-04 |date=April 4 2003 |publisher=NASCAR.com ] Kulwicki celebrated with his second-ever Polish Victory Lap.Sneddon, Rob: "Glimpses", "Stock Car Racing" (ISSN 0734-7340), Vol. 28, No. 7 (July 1993), p. 29.]

Richard Petty was caught up in Ken Schrader's wreck on lap 97, and the front end of the car was destroyed. A fire broke out, but Petty escaped uninjured. The crew worked diligently all afternoon to get the car running again, and with two laps to go in the race, Petty brought out his car with no sheet metal on the front end. He finished 35th, and was credited as running at the finish in his final race. [http://racing-reference.info/race?id=1992-29&series=W Racing summary] at Racing-Reference.info, Retrieved September 19 2007]

Jeff Gordon's car was loose, and he hit the wall on lap 164. He was unable to continue.

Results

# 11-Bill Elliott, led 102 laps (of 328)
# 7-Alan Kulwicki, led 103 laps
# 15-Geoff Bodine, led 1 lap
# 12-Jimmy Spencer
# 94-Terry Labonte, led 1 lap
# 2-Rusty Wallace
# 22-Sterling Marlin
# 66-Jimmy Hensley
# 55-Ted Musgrave
# 18-Dale Jarrett
# 21-Morgan Shepherd
# 68-Bobby Hamilton
# 33-Harry Gant
# 30-Michael Waltrip
# 10-Derrike Cope
# 42-Kyle Petty
# 9-Chad Little
# 83-Lake Speed
# 23-Eddie Bierschwale
# 88-Mike Wallace
# 52-Jimmy Means
# 71-Dave Marcis
# 17-Darrell Waltrip
# 32-Jimmy Horton
# 5-Ricky Rudd
# 3-Dale Earnhardt, led 26 laps
# 28-Davey Allison, led 5 laps
# 1-Rick Mast
# 4-Ernie Irvan, led 24 laps
# 90-Bobby Hillin
# 24-Jeff Gordon
# 6-Mark Martin, led 47 laps
# 57-Bob Schacht
# 45-Rich Bickle
# 43-Richard Petty
# 25-Ken Schrader
# 8-Dick Trickle
# 16-Wally Dallenbach, Jr.
# 49-Stanley Smith
# 26-Brett Bodine, led 1 lap
# 41-Hut Stricklin

Fifteenth Anniversary

To commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the race, Jeff Gordon served as Grand Marshall and Richard Petty the honorary starter for the 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 that took place on October 28, 2007.

Additional reading

* [http://members.aol.com/nclubnews/Page19.html Wheels of fortune: Kulwicki reigned supreme on a day when NASCAR's history took a right turn] ; Dan Kallmann; November 15 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Accessed October 2 2007
* [http://nascar.scout.com/2/718361.html Six Races That Changed NASCAR: Part 3 - 1992 Hooters 500]

References