|| *Comments on the 1989 Atlanta Journal 500:* View the most recent comment <#45> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Anonymous posted: 08.29.2004 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Grant Adcox was involved in a one-car accident in which he was killed. It is believed that he had a heart attack in the car. 2. Darrell posted: 10.02.2005 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I was afraid no one had posted that about Grant. I was wondering how he had died. It's a shame especially since he was on the last independents of the sport. RIP Grant Adcox. 1950-1989 3. Darrell posted: 11.11.2005 - 12:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, I have a question. Did he have a heart attack and then crash? Or did the result of the accident caused his heart problem? 4. Matt posted: 11.22.2005 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) I would assume the crash got him first. He hit awfully hard. 5. Darrell posted: 11.27.2005 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I believe that's correct. I remember reading somewhere that that's what killed him right after I posted the question. RIP Grant. 6. Darrell posted: 01.01.2006 - 12:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's something that sort of explains what happened, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Adcox 7. nascarman posted: 05.13.2006 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Adcox's car caught fire for a second after he hit. 8. CanucksAndNASCAR Fan posted: 05.16.2006 - 7:58 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm sure the death of Grant Adcox cast a pall over Rusty Wallace winning the Winston Cup title that day. 9. Darrell posted: 05.28.2006 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Surprisingly, his death wasn't mentioned in the Winston Cup yearbook in 1989. 10. nascarman posted: 05.29.2006 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin's car caught fire after blowing his motor. 11. Rusty posted: 08.08.2006 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty wins the title. :) Too bad it happened with tradegy that day 12. most posted: 12.02.2006 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=grant+adcox For anyone who hasn't ever seen the crash... 13. Darrell posted: 12.26.2006 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow thanks for the clip most. Amazing how such a seemingly small crash could be so deadly. I'm a huge fan of underdog drivers, but this is an example of how on more than one occasion, inferior equipment may have cost them their life. 14. Matthew Sullivan posted: 01.13.2007 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Third year in a row of the winner of this race winning next season's championship (Elliott won this race in '87, won the championship in '88; Wallace won this race in '88, won the championship in '89; Eearnhardt won this race in '89, won the championship in '90.) 15. Destiny posted: 04.10.2007 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) I saw it on Youtube. That's because Grant got killed by a 198th accident. He won 8 ARCA wins including the best was 5 wins at Talladega. Thanks, Grant. 16. biffle16 posted: 05.25.2007 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RIP Grant. Dick Trickle becomes the oldest ever Rookie of the Year, at age 48. 17. James W. McLaughlin posted: 11.30.2007 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race that Valvoline sponsored a NASCAR race team until 1992. 18. most posted: 12.09.2007 - 4:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Grant was a big big man..... 19. RaceFanX posted: 12.30.2007 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for Hollywood director Hal Needham's race team, the a blown motor on lap 213 put the #66 Chevy of Rick Mast, and the team, into retirement early. 20. Scott posted: 09.03.2008 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A couple of thoughts on this race. Coming in, I didn't think Martin had the stuff yet to win the Cup. He had won his first race 2 weeks before Atlanta. Earnhardt, before October, I had no doubt in my mind he would win the Cup. But after, ironically, 3 bad finishes in his home state of N.Car, he was second. Wallace didn't start off strong, and went 3 laps down. He led all but 89 laps of this race. Mark went on fire, and then the Adcox crash. I didn't think the crash was fatal whatsoever, like Earnhardt's crash. Do the math: If Earnhardt had led 3 more laps, or Wallace lost a lap, Earnhardt would've narrowly escaped the '89 season victorious. He would've lost the '90 Cup too had Martin played fair. 21. 18fan posted: 11.12.2008 - 1:48 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) How would Dale have won the title if he led 3 more laps or if Rusty lost a lap 22. Scott posted: 11.16.2008 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Let me explain: Every lap led in the NASCAR Winston(now Sprint) Cup equals 5 points, leading 3 laps would've given Earnhardt 15 more points. He finished the day 12 points behind Rusty. -12+15=3 Dale would've won by 3 points. I apologize. Losing a lap would've still allowed Rusty to win. he needed to finish 18th or better, he would've finished 15th or 16th. 23. 29PennzoilChevy09 posted: 11.20.2008 - 9:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) We lost Grant Adcox in this race when his car hit the outside wall in turn 1. His car caught fire for a moment but quickly put itself out. I've seen worse accidents. In fact there wasn't too much damage considering the angle or speed. But it was enough to take Grant from us that day. He will be missed by many. R.I.P 24. Ryan posted: 01.02.2009 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Scott, are you drunk? Or are you a rookie that doesn't know how Nascar point are distributed? In 1989, the points system was like this... 1st- 175 points 2nd- 170 points 3rd- 165 points 4th- 160 points 5th- 155 points 6th- 150 points 7th- 146 points 8th- 142 points 9th- 138 points 10th- 134 points 11th- 130 points 12th- 127 points 13th-43rd- 124, 121, 118, and so on and so on... You get 5 points for leading one lap, and you get 5 points for leading the most laps... The maximum points you can get for leadings laps in a race is 10 25. jp posted: 04.11.2009 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm like Darrell, I too am a huge fan of underdog drivers. After McDuffie, Delma Cowart was the next to last. Then G.Bodine tried it. Others has been more successful. 26. Sébastien posted: 07.07.2009 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Grant Adcox #22 has same sponsor as owner, "Herb Adcox" written on the side and trunk for sure. 27. Steve posted: 12.31.2009 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Twenty years later, the active drivers in this race are (in alphabetical order): 1. Derrike Cope 2. Bill Elliott 3. Terry Labonte 4. Sterling Marlin 5. Mark Martin 6. Michael Waltrip And possibly... Geoffrey Bodine 28. Spen posted: 01.30.2010 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Might as well add Kenny Schrader to the list, since he's running the shootout. You could also make an argument that Brett Bodine is still active, seeing as how he's on the track every week. (And going about the same speed he ran when he was racing. :) 29. myself posted: 06.04.2010 - 11:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Funny, & true comment about Brett Bodine there, Spen! 30. matthew posted: 11.28.2010 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RIP Grant 31. Mattswad posted: 06.29.2011 - 6:22 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) No, Grant didn't die as a result of the fire or the wall. The bolt(s?) holding his seat to the frame or bottom of the car were ripped out when he hit the wall and his seat came completely loose and slammed him into either the steering wheel or the dash. That impact crushed his chest cavity in and as a result he had a "heart attack. Another sad case of NA$CAR sweeping a death under the rug. Also, ironicly, Valvoline sponsored Rick Mast in Herb Adcox's #22 Valvoline/Napa Pontiac in 1990. Mast's #66 of 1989 wasn't owned by Hal Needham. That team was bought by Mach 1 Racing that year. This is the same Mach 1 that Chris Edwards owned in 2004 and ran the #34 in Cup except in 1989 & 1990 the team was owned by his father, Bill Edwards. This came from an email from Chris Edwards himself. 32. RaceFanX posted: 07.02.2011 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty wins the title in his final race driving for Kodiak tobacco before his deal with Miller that lasted the rest of his career began. Geoff Bodine runs his final race for Hendricks Motorsports, Geoff got the team its first win in 1984 and its first Daytona 500 win in 1986. Bodine was headed to Junior Johnson's team for 1990 to replaced the departing Terry Labonte. It would be one of many changes in the garage for the 1990 season. 33. Ed posted: 03.27.2013 - 11:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @31: They didn't totally sweep it under the rug, as regulations were set in place the following season to mount the seats more safely to prevent a similar incident. 34. Schroeder51 posted: 09.19.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution flags: 1. #89 Rodney Combs accident, turns 3/4 (Laps 13-15) 2. #43 Richard Petty, #48 Greg Sacks, #88 Jimmy Spencer accident, turn 2 (Laps 59-64) 3. Debris, backstretch (Laps 84-87) 4. #20 Rob Moroso accident, turn 2 (Laps 172-176) 5. #22 Grant Adcox accident, turns 1/2 (Laps 204-214) (As we all know, Adcox was fatally injured in this crash.) 6. #6 Mark Martin, oil on track (Laps 227-232) 35. b4il3y posted: 12.17.2013 - 3:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) RIP Grant.. you were a great racer. Rusty, you were lucky. I'm not a Dale fan, but you were lucky this race. 36. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 10.01.2014 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Tracy Leslie sponsor was Donlavey Racing. Owner was Junie Donlavey and car was a Ford J.D. McDuffie sponsor was Rumple Furniture (Same for all DNQ in 1989) Jerry O'Neil sponsor was O'Neil Racing. Owner was Alan Aroneck and car was a Oldsmobile Bill Meacham sponsor was Meacham Racing. Owner was Charles Meacham and car was Oldsmobile Eddie Bierschwale drove a #23 not #62. Sponsor was Bierschwale Racing. Owner was Don Bierschwale and car was Oldsmobile 37. RaceFanX posted: 07.08.2017 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first Cup race after the fall of the Berlin Wall. 38. kup posted: 11.15.2017 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1989 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1048 _ Dale Earnhardt 10795 / 10.3 +1Upt 1047 _ Rusty Wallace 10781 / 10.3 -1Upt 1001 _ Mark Martin 10716 / 10.7 923 _ Darrell Waltrip 10984 / 11.9 833 _ Bill Elliott 10834 / 13.0 817 _ Ken Schrader 10780 / 13.2 769 _ Ricky Rudd 11075 / 14.4 702 _ Geoffrey Bodine 10533 / 15.0 695 _ Harry Gant 10293 / 14.8 657 _ Sterling Marlin 10578 / 16.1 647 _ Terry Labonte 9771 / 15.1 624 _ Davey Allison 10111 / 16.2 600 _ Morgan Shepherd 9908 / 16.5 & TOTAL: UPS! 41 years 1949-1989: Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Dale Earnhardt 4 in: '80, '86, '87, '89. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Bobby Allison 3 in: '81, '82, '83. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. Terry Labonte 1 in: '84. Darrell Waltrip 1 in: '85. Bill Elliott 1 in: '88. 39. @Statscrash posted: 09.21.2018 - 1:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And to follow up on #27 somehow 9 years later Derrike Cope is the only one to start a Cup race this year. Bill did run the Xfinity race at Road America though. 40. Seb posted: 08.27.2019 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There were no Monte Carlo in that race. 41. Menardfan15 posted: 04.07.2020 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last Top 10 for Neil Bonnett 42. BOBO83329521 posted: 05.28.2020 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The most boring and dominant race of the entire 1989 season. Dale Earnhardt led almost every lap with the exception of two runs which were led by other drivers on contrary pit strategies, Dick Trickle and Ken Schrader. Wallace came back in the final run from a few points down to take the title from Earnhardt by 18 points. RIP Grant Adcox. 43. Sector posted: 05.28.2020 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richard Petty status is "a frame?" 44. Ryan posted: 05.28.2020 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @43 Actually Rusty won by 12 points. Although the race was boring, Rusty made the championship real interesting with the troubles and issues he had during the race. Three races in North Carolina late in the season cost Earnhardt the title. The broken camshaft that resulted in the Intimidator having a last place finish at Charlotte was demoralizing losing 110 points to Rusty, battling with Rusty and wrecking at Rockingham was costly losing 72 points to Rusty, and of course getting wrecked on the last lap at N. Wilkesboro while leading. '89 is truly the one that got away for Earnhardt and his fans when it came to the championship. Then to lose the 1990 Daytona 500 right after 1989 the way he did was heartbreaking, but what do champions do after that? 45. Mike posted: 05.28.2020 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @43: Yes, as in "a problem with the A frame". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: