|| *Comments on the 1992 Hooters 500:* View the most recent comment <#195> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Woodbridge posted: 11.20.2003 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (30) (0) Best. Race. Ever. 2. Tom Steen posted: 12.04.2003 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Why can't every year have a points race like this? Right down to the end, Kulwicki leads one more lap than Elliott to win the Winston Cup. Amazing... 3. Christian posted: 12.06.2003 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (7) (0) Little did Jeff Gordon know, as he was rambling along the track crashing, that he would be the best driver of the '90s and 2000's. Jeff Gordon's first race, Richard Petty's last. It was like Petty was passing the torch (or baton) to Gordon. Points race was exciting. Best season ever. 4. Sebastien posted: 06.30.2004 - 3:42 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Amazing race. Thrilling conclusion of a great year. NOTE that this is the lone race where the 3 big champs raced against each others : "The King" Richard Petty in his 1184th and last start, "Iron Head" Dale Earnhardt in mid-career and "Wonder Boy" Jeff Gordon in his first start. 5. James Reisdorf posted: 01.29.2005 - 6:16 am Rate this comment: (8) (0) The best race ever thanks to the best points race ever. 6 drivers were mathematically in it for the championship coming in, and they didn't even need the Chase to get it that way. 6. Justin Cate posted: 05.19.2005 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) does anyone have a tape of this race, preferably not from espn classic? 7. Justin Cate posted: 05.19.2005 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) IF ANYONE DOES...PLEASE EMAIL ME! 8. Joe Laracuente posted: 05.26.2005 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) nascar can try to dupicate this race with the chase, but it cannot! 9. Brian posted: 06.23.2005 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) ONE LAP ended up deciding the championship. NASCAR says that the old system was no good.... 10. CBCMikeyfan posted: 06.30.2005 - 4:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) And a few times, Elliott and Kulwicki were side by side at the line for some laps. If Elliott was a couple inches more ahead on one of those laps, he would have been the champ. This race is an absolute classic. 11. Christopher Cßdiz posted: 07.03.2005 - 8:51 am Rate this comment: (6) (0) Bob Jenkins: "... but we are focused in on Alan Kulwicki - who, is going to win the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup and the One Million dollar bonus that goes with it. Bill Elliott comes off the fourth corner... he wins the Hooters 500! ...and Alan Kulwicki... is coming to the flag, knowing that he's winning the championship! There is the checkered flag for Alan! He is the champion for '92!!!" 12. Joe C posted: 08.14.2005 - 6:45 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Best race ever. I agree completely. 13. larry spencer posted: 10.09.2005 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awsome race AK champ awsome bill wins and JS 4th 14. Jeff posted: 02.06.2006 - 12:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Best race ever,up there with Daytona '79. Fark the stupid chase.Don't need its fake results. 15. Mike D posted: 02.14.2006 - 4:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wish I could've seen this race, (I was only 4). It sounds like the best race of all time. 16. Darrell posted: 02.26.2006 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Couldn't get better than this. An underdog wins the title, a legacy ends where another one starts, and an unknown Rick Mast wins the pole. 17. Ziggy posted: 03.15.2006 - 2:26 am Rate this comment: (4) (2) I must disagree with the one fellow who said Jeff Gordon was the best of the 1990's, because I think you'd have to give that title to Dale Earnhardt. As far as Gordon being the best of from 2000-2009, only time will tell. I am a Jeff Gordon fan for the record. 3-14-06 18. CHRIS posted: 03.20.2006 - 8:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) I WATCHED THIS RACE HOPING TO SEE MY HERO DAVEY ALLISON WIN THE RACE AND HIS FIRST WINSTON CUP,BUT BOTH THOSE FELL TO COME TO PASS,BUT I FOUND MYSELF A YOUNG GUN THAT I REALY THOUGHT WOULD BE A CHALLENGE TO DAVEY IN A FEW YEARS AND THAT YOUNG GUNS NAME WAS JEFF GORDON. I WAS SAD TO SEE THE KING GO OUT IN A BLAZE OF GLORY THE WAY HE DID. IT WAS GREATEST RACE IN NASCAR HISTORY HANDS DOWN! 19. Frank posted: 03.22.2006 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry Ziggy, but if you use the driver rankings on this site from 1990 to 2000, you will see that Gordon has 52 wins to Earnhardt's 37. Earnhardt had 4 championships to Gordon's 3. I have to say they should be listed as co-drivers of the 90's. The were both equal. 20. Eric posted: 04.22.2006 - 4:11 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I can't say anything about this race that hasn't already been said. However, for those that saw it live, you gotta love the line next to Richard Petty. Status - Running How awesome was it for his crew to bust their butts to fix that car, and for him to come back out onto the track in that "modified" for the final few laps. He was already in his trailer winding down when he gets told that the car is fixed...he throws on the helmet and takes one last ride for the ages. Even though I was only 10, I had a tear in my eye knowing the career of my childhood hero was over. 21. CanucksAndNASCAR Fan posted: 05.19.2006 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The chase wouldn't have mattered with this race. If there was a chase, Kyle Petty (that's right, folks) would have won the title if he had completed enough laps regardless of what Alan Kulwicki did on the track that day, which he did. The chase would have made the Pettys have three generations of champions; Lee, Richard, and Kyle. The Chase wasn't needed in 1992 because the old system had an exciting finish in the making with Kulwicki winning the title by leading only one more lap than Bill Elliott. 22. Steve posted: 07.22.2006 - 5:19 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Career milestones in this race: Eddie Bierschwale: final start (117 total) Jeff Gordon: 1st Winston Cup start (For the record) Dale Earnhardt: 419th start Rick Mast: his aforementioned first career pole Kyle Petty: 350th career start, and the first time he enters the season finale eligible for the Winston Cup Richard Petty: record 1184th and final start Ricky Rudd: 352nd consecutive start (ended at 788 on 11/20/2005) 23. Steve posted: 11.22.2006 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I have this race in tape orgininal ESPN verson however i have no plans on gettin rid of it lol sry 24. Paul MacInnis posted: 12.14.2006 - 9:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) What a race.Jeff Gordon's first is Richard Petty's last,it literally comes down to ONE lap to see who wins the championship, and within nine months two of the drivers involved will be killed in unrelated aviation accidents.Hollywood can't make this stuff up.Yet it happened. 25. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.16.2006 - 12:46 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Something not pointed out, but had Terry Labonte stopped a laps sooner than he did as the race concluded, Bill Elliott would have ended up clinching the championship. Davey Allison handled his defeat like a true champion. I don't think anybody would have blamed him for going on a tyrade on Ernie Irvan for his mistake, but he didn't. Classy. 26. most posted: 12.17.2006 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A lot more classy than our superstars are now. Now there is no respect from a lot of the guys towards each other. Just whining about everything, please ESPN please take the coverage a better direction! 27. Canadian Fan posted: 01.03.2007 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWMDCxDiGmQ 28. Senninha posted: 01.07.2007 - 6:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did the math... if there was a Chase in 1992, Kyle Petty would have been the champion. I love Kyle, but that's messed up.... 29. Senninha posted: 01.07.2007 - 6:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have the original recording of this race. I've also put it on DVD. If you're interested, email to Senninha70 (at) yahoo dot com 30. chad posted: 01.12.2007 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) richard petty last race 31. Brock posted: 01.16.2007 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I got a DVD of this race commercial-free from a guy who taped the satellite feed back in '92, showing a constant stream of the Hooters 500's coverage. I got it on eBay from this old link: http://cgi.ebay.com/1992-Hooters-500-Bill-Elliott-Alan-Kulwicki-D-V-D_W0QQitemZ120044685799QQihZ002QQcategoryZ25483QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem 32. Steve posted: 02.04.2007 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Before the race, if there was a CHA$E (2004-2006 version), the points would look like this: 1. 42 Kyle Petty 6424 2. 6 Mark Martin -90 3. 7 Alan Kulwicki -144 Kyle would have needed to finish 22nd or better. And it would end like this: 1. 42 Kyle Petty 6539 2. 7 Alan Kulwicki -93 3. 6 Mark Martin -133 With the new configuration of the CHA$E, to be first used this season, The point standings would look this way before this race: 1. 42 Kyle Petty 6409 2. 6 Mark Martin -95 3. 7 Alan Kulwicki -144 Kyle would need a 24th place finish. Final standings: 1. 42 Kyle Petty 6524 2. 7 Alan Kulwicki -93 3. 6 Mark Martin -138 Obviously the CHA$E would have ruined a historic race. I say the driver who scores the most points during the course of the season should be the Champion without debate. 33. myself posted: 02.13.2007 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) Atta boy Ernie! Screw up another big race! Ernie's crash cost Davey Allison the title that he so justly deserved in 92'! To add insult to injury, Ernie was put in Davey's ride following Davey's untimely & tragic death in the summer of 93'! 34. Mike posted: 02.16.2007 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Atta boy Ernie! Screw up another big race!" It's not like it was Ernie's fault that his tire went flat... 35. Anonymous posted: 03.12.2007 - 7:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Me and my dad were supposed to attend this race (We attended a lot of races in 1992) but we got snowed in and couldn't go. 36. James W. McLaughlin posted: 03.30.2007 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race sounds like a movie. 37. myself posted: 05.17.2007 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (12) "The Great" Dale Earnhardt sure did burn up the circuit in 92'! One win & 12th in points! Atta boy! 38. Douche Bagolow posted: 07.23.2007 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1990 Daytona 500 winning car owner Bob Whitcomb's last start as a car owner. 39. FHgrad99 posted: 08.19.2007 - 5:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't remember a race that had more drama than this one. This race had so much happening at one time. This points chase and the entire season was one to remember. 40. MegaRacer posted: 08.19.2007 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One word describes this race: WOW! I recall the whole family in the family room watching this race. So many stories. The King's last race, the points chase and a local kid whom I'd seen many a Thursday winning at IRP making the big time finally. 41. Theodore posted: 10.21.2007 - 8:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was also the last Cup race for Oldsmobile. Harry Gant finished 13th, the best Olds in the field that day. 42. Anonymous posted: 10.24.2007 - 2:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wrong. A few Oldsmobiles made races in '93. 43. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2007 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The front row for this race crashed in turn 1 on lap 2. 44. Chris posted: 11.15.2007 - 3:55 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) This was the race that Alan took the TH off the front of the car and made it into the Underbird. He also took a moment to comb his hair before getting out of the car. Dr. Punch asked him one question after he got out of the car and Alan took about 5 minutes to answer that one question. Great stuff. Echoing everybody else's sentiment, this was the great race ever. It will never be topped. 45. Mark O. posted: 11.16.2007 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) "Myself", you're an idiot. Surely your driver has had a bad year. If you can't put together more comprehensive thoughts, perhaps you should refrain from posting in the future. 46. Lance posted: 12.03.2007 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 1992 Hooters 500 was one of the most exciting NASCAR races in the Nascar history. Alan Kulwicki winning 1992 Winston Cup Champiomship, Richard Petty's final race and Jeff Gordon first race in nascar racing. 47. James W. McLaughlin posted: 01.24.2008 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TRIVIA QUESTION!: Of the 41 drivers in this race, how many are still active as of 2007? 48. Anonymous posted: 02.01.2008 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think 12. 49. Clayton posted: 03.11.2008 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I got 11 drivers still active! Bill Elliott- 20 races in 2007 Terry Labonte- 3 races in 2007 Sterling Marlin- missed races Dale Jarrett-missed races Michael Waltrip- missed races Kyle Petty- in both for 5 races Mike Wallace - 2 races in 2007 Ricky Rudd (missed 5 races due to inj) Jeff Gordon Mark Martin- part time schedule Ken Schrader- missed races Jeff Gordon was the only one to race the 2007 season full time! However, I think if you make at least one start you are considered active! 50. Clayton posted: 03.11.2008 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race brings back so many memories! I remember watching this event on tv. Bill Elliott is my favorite driver and it killed me not to see him win the championship! I liked Alan a lot though. and had respect for him and what he was doing! I liked Davey as well! So losing the championship to Alan wasn't the worse thing in the world! And when he got killed in 93 I felt awful! It was a sad day to lose the defending champ, and Davey as well later on in the year. I remember watching petty's car go around the track and Alabama sang a song called "You the Fans" on Petty's final lap as he was waving good by to the fans! It was the best race in NASCAR history and being the first race I remember watching (I was 3 years old at the time) This race and the 93 500 made me fall in love with NASCAR forever! The greatest race in NASCAR history, without a doubt! 51. samfan22 posted: 05.18.2008 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race I remember watching, at the age of 5. It was this race that made me a Davey Allison fan after hearing his name after he was wrecked. Possibly the best race ever. 52. Rad83- defender of the ricemobiles posted: 06.18.2008 - 2:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) I love the fact that hooters sponsored this race:). Great race even without ricemobiles, or very sexy Japanese girls;). 53. Kit posted: 08.11.2008 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think the sad part about this race that nobody's mentioned is that it marked the end of Bill Elliott's dominance in NASCAR. He would only win five more times after this, once in '94 and not again until 2001. 54. adamal82 posted: 08.20.2008 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the only race(as of 8/20/08) that Jeff Gordon ran in that Bobby Labonte was not in on the Cup Side. Bobby did run 2 races in 1991 so hence why Bobby Labonte has one more career start. 55. JCS posted: 08.27.2008 - 8:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was at this race. My father surprised us all with tickets to Richard Petty's final race, and what a classic it turned out to be. You could feel the emotional tension in the air at Atlanta that day. I had met Richard Petty at the North Carolina State Fair a few weeks earlier and he was simply larger than life with a smile and warmth that lit up the entire room. He will always be the King. This was one of the all-time greatest races. 56. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.15.2008 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (5) (1) Ironic. The only race ever with Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon; and all three crashed. If only David Pearson could have entered and wrecked. j/k I wish I could have appreciated this race more at the time, but I was only 8 years old. And it was the end of a long, frustrating year for Earnhardt fans. I wish I could have grasped just what Richard Petty meant to NASCAR, not just for his success but for the way he treated the fans. I wish I could have understood what his last start meant. I wish I would have stood up and cheered in the stands at North Wilkesboro when he was introduced for his last ever race there, but I only cheered for one guy. Luckily I was older, and didn't make the same mistake when Rusty ran his last race at Martinsville. I was interested in the points race towards the end though. I was pulling for Alan because Bill and Davey finished ahead of Dale a lot, so in my 8 year old mind I didn't like them, not understanding that they were two of the best drivers ever and two of the classiest guys ever. I saw this on ESPN Classic the other day, and watching Davey crash out and end his championship hopes, I felt like I was watching a really cute puppy get run over by a truck. 57. Steve posted: 11.02.2008 - 2:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Four weeks earlier Bobby Rahal won the CART PPG IndyCar World Series Championship at Laguna Seca driving for his newly-formed team, Rahal-Hogan (now Rahal-Letterman) Racing. His chief rival Michael Andretti won the race, just as Alan Kulwicki's main rival Bill Elliott won this race. Both major American racing titles were won by classy owner-drivers in 1992! 58. Ryan posted: 11.11.2008 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Everyone, go look at the people that posted about this race and title chase saying it was pathetic (2007 Homestead Race comments). They are not intelligent people. However, I preached to them, lol. 59. Matthew Sullivan posted: 01.17.2009 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I need to correct my earlier statement. If Terry Labonte didn't lead the 1 lap he did at lap 315 (he must have passed Elliott for the lead,) Kulwicki and Elliott would have tied giving both drivers 5 extra bonus points. Instead of a 10 point margin, Kulwicki would have won it by only 5 points. 60. Jim GUnn posted: 03.07.2009 - 8:41 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Eddie Bierscwale had his first start at Atlanta in '83 and ended his cup career there in 92. He still lives here in San Antonio and likes to talk about old times. 61. Ryan posted: 03.15.2009 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (6) (1) Dale Sr Fan, I feel about the same way. I was 10 at the time, and for some reason I did realize the significance of this race. I knew Kulwicki could win this, but no one else gave him a shot in hell. What makes it even more awesome is that this was the only time he led the points standings all year. What a guy, what a champion! This was Swervin Irvan at his best taking out Davey. This had to suck for Davey fans. They finally had a year where they had got the best of Earnhardt and they were only the third best Ford out there. The Fords were given everything in '92. Myself, get over it... Dale had a bad year, but he won 2 before and won 2 after this year. Dale is the only driver EVER to win six titles in a period of nine years (And two of those years he got 2nd and 3rd). That's what you call burning up the track and that's what you call a BIG ATTA BOY! 62. hyperacti posted: 04.02.2009 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hooters sponsored the race and the Hooters car won the championship. 63. myself posted: 08.26.2009 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most drama-filled race....EVER! 64. Russ Shurtliff posted: 09.17.2009 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) THE COMPLETE 1992 HOOTERS 500. SIT BACK WITH A BEER AND ENJOY. PART 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubh1QYyDR0g&feature=related PART 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyqZNo3xgxE&feature=related PART 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrFeM3OKm1k&feature=related PART 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tng5k0C589w&feature=related PART 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Memp6BQnc3I&feature=related PART 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-qiuQgw4Ks&feature=related PART 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rik0wEtqCjk&feature=related PART 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsykVE0jCDI&feature=related PART 9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us9_BpNDIAY&feature=related PART 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aOipnnozqM&feature=related PART 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCCfA762SoE&feature=related PART 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76kvERVtwbA&feature=related PART 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Y1DYF5rW4&feature=related PART 14 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5AjD-eqnN0&feature=related PART 15 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjiYJ2MfXVY&feature=related PART 16 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFGX8DmcCM&feature=related PART 17 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTcqi-1WwvY&feature=related PART 18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhpqeY8Wi6E&feature=related PART 19 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryhPolEO5fg&feature=related PART 20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG8iOkz30_0&feature=related PART 21 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiVZITZmOs4&feature=related PART 22 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKnTiypci4k&feature=channel_page 65. SoxFan24 posted: 10.24.2009 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hands down one of the greatest races in the history of NASCAR. I was 6 years old watching this race but even at that young of an age I realized the magnitude of this race. Richard Petty's last race and Jeff Gordon's first Winston Cup race. There were other milestones that came to an hold on this race that I'd like to point out Last race for Sunoco as a primary sponsor in the Cup Series. They would go on to sponsor Jeff Fuller and Robert Pressley in the Busch Series from 1995-1997 Last race for Sterling Marlin driving for Junior Johnson. Marlin had a lot of good runs in this car but for whatever reason couldn't put the car in victory lane Last race for Jimmy Hensley in the TropArtic car for Cale Yarborough. He was released from this ride after this race due to the team not having the guarrantee of a sponsor for 1993. Jimmy won Rookie of the Year in this car. Last race for the Whitcomb racing team period. The team won the 1990 Daytona 500 and the spring race in Dover that same year. I know someone else already posted on that but I felt obligated to say it again in this comment 66. Anonymous posted: 12.18.2009 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying Results 1 Rick Mast 180.183 mph 26 Brett Bodine 179.900 mph 3 Dale Earnhardt 179.664 mph 6 Mark Martin 179.622 mph 4 Ernie Irvan 179.481 mph 94 Terry Labonte 179.387 mph 8 Dick Trickle 179.346 mph 15 Geoff Bodine 179.270 mph 21 Morgan Shepherd 179.258 mph 10 Derrike Cope 179.053 mph 11 Bill Elliott 178.977 mph 22 Sterling Marlin 178.883 mph 83 Lake Speed 178.802 mph 7 Alan Kulwicki 178.743 mph 2 Rusty Wallace 178.586 mph 5 Ricky Rudd 178.423 mph 28 Davey Allison 178.400 mph 12 Jimmy Spencer 177.937 mph 41 Hut Stricklin 177.786 mph 42 Kyle Petty 177.735 mph Second Round 24 Jeff Gordon 177.735 mph 55 Ted Musgrave 177.677 mph 25 Ken Schrader 177.665 mph 17 Darrell Waltrip 177.602 mph 30 Michael Waltrip 177.596 mph 45 Rich Bickle 177.343 mph 68 Bobby Hamilton 177.154 mph 57 Bob Schacht 176.823 mph 33 Harry Gant 176.657 mph 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. 176.646 mph 90 Bobby Hillin Jr. 176.339 mph 18 Dale Jarrett 176.327 mph 49 Stanley Smith 176.220 mph 66 Jimmy Hensley 176.140 mph 9 Chad Little 175.751 mph 32 Jimmy Horton 175.734 mph 52 Jimmy Means 175.565 mph 88 Mike Wallace 175.424 mph 43 Richard Petty 175.318 mph 23 Eddie Bierschwale 175.284 mph 71 Dave Marcis Provisional DNQ ?? Jeff Fuller 65 Jerry O'Neil 02?? T.W. Taylor 62?? Clay Young 82 Mark Stahl 80 Dave Blaney 77 Mike Potter 67. 18fan posted: 01.24.2010 - 3:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) An oddity to the totally useless fact that Kyle Petty would've won the championship in 1992 with the Chase(which is ridiculous). In 1990, 1991, and 1992 Kyle won a race at Rockingham. The winner of the races in those three years not won by Petty, 1990: Alan Kulwicki, 1991:Davey Allison, 1992:Bill Elliott. Just an interesting observation about the three drivers involved in this finish. Also, Davey, Alan, and Bill combined to win five races after this race, 1 for Davey and 4 for Bill. 5 is of course how many races Alan won in his career and Davey and Bill won 5 races in 1992. 68. jeff k posted: 01.28.2010 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) and eddie bierscwale defeats jeff gordon... to go on to be one of very few to have a lifetime winning record aganst him... in fact of drivers who faced jeff gordon more than twice only 3 men have a winning record against him in points races... kulwicki was 4-2 davey allison was 11-6 and jimmie johnson...kulwicki and allison are deceased and jeff gordon owns jimmie johnsons car.... dont tell oliver stone 69. Manny posted: 07.27.2010 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unbelievable. Jeff Gordon's debut and Richard Petty's swan song all occurred in this one race? Wow, never knew that. 70. Ryan posted: 11.21.2010 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Even more astonishing and I didn't realize it that Earnhardt's crash about 2/3 in cost Elliott some more laps to lead. The caution came out while Elliott had a comfortable lead over AK and he could have led more. The caution came out and Kulwicki took to the lead off the restart and led 101 straight laps. 71. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.27.2011 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unforgettable race. Just one for the books. I was only 3 years old at the time of this event, so I never saw it live. I first saw a rerun of it on ESPN Classic when I was 11 though, and so many things happened this day. It was Richard Petty's final Cup start and Jeff Gordon's first. And the championship battle was one that is going to be hard to duplicate; Alan Kulwicki made up a 200+ point deficit late in the season to come out on top at season's end, leading 103 laps to Bill Elliott's 102 due to stretching his fuel, which allowed him to beat Bill in the point standings. I doubt we'll ever see this much drama for a championship again; not even 2004 can compare to this. What happened to Davey in this race was just bad luck. He was in the wrong spot at the wrong time after coming into this race leading the standings. That's definitely one of my top heartbreaks of NASCAR history. 72. Billy posted: 03.03.2011 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We Having Debate The 1992 Hooters 500 And 1979 Daytona 500 On Wednesday, February 2nd And Friday, February 4th And Monday And Tonight. 73. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.14.2011 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Dale is the only driver EVER to win six titles in a period of nine years " I have a feeling that will change soon. Somebody might win 6 titles in a period of SIX years by the end of this season. @ 68, that is incredible. 74. I Love Japan posted: 03.27.2011 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This race took place 4 days before I was born. I missed quite a classic LOL. 75. Steve posted: 04.12.2011 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All the drivers in the field combined had 509 wins (before the green flag) and 18 Winston Cups. About 40% of those wins and Cups represented were King Richards! 76. Aaron posted: 05.02.2011 - 10:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Davey wouldn't have been crashed out at Pocono and went on to win, he would have earned 185 points. Add that to the season point total he would have been the champion. 77. CAkin24 posted: 05.24.2011 - 9:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was only four when this race took place, but I remember being maybe nine or ten and seeing it on ESPN. What an amazing race. It's a shame we'll never see anything this intense again. This was back when NASCAR was at it's best, in my mind anyway. You had a bunch of personalities represented by the drivers, cars that looked like their street versions, Pontiac and Oldsmobile (RIP), the last championship for a Ford Thunderbird, six drivers entering the race with a chance to win the title, some kid named Jeff Gordon, the last race for Richard Petty and lastly, a true hero in my book winning the championship by leading one more lap than Bill Elliott. Wow! Sadly Davey and Alan both died a year later. Alan would have won some more races and Davey surely would have won at least one title and who knows how many races. 78. Walleyewhacker posted: 05.26.2011 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ryan posted: The Fords were given everything in '92. Actually what happened is that NASCAR cracked down on the all the welded/modified cylinder heads that teams were running in 1991 by mandating new rules starting in 1992. Ford teams had to run the new Yates heads and the GM teams had to switch over to their new 18 degree heads or run 1991 style heads that were not welded. Fords were already beating the GM teams on a regular basis by the end of the 1991 season, so the continuation of the hot Ford streak of early 1992 was only a shock in that it was aided by the GM teams having multiple engine failures/problems with their new heads. By mid 1992 the GM teams had it pretty much solved and were winning half the races the balance of the year and dominated the following year. 79. jwdog posted: 06.25.2011 - 12:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race... this whole season was epic. It was truly the golden age of NASCAR. 80. martin-n-rusty posted: 07.14.2011 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) hyperacti @post 62 Imagine if that happened today. People would be howling "CONSPIRACY!!!". 81. Ryan posted: 07.31.2011 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) post 62 "Imagine if that happened today. People would be howling "CONSPIRACY!!!". Yeah, just think if he won the race, too. 82. Matthew Sullivan posted: 08.18.2011 - 9:38 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Final race for the Shelmerdine/Earnhardt crew chief/driver combination. For my money, Shelmerdine is the most underrated crew chief in the history of the sport and I would put him right there with the likes of Knaus, Evernham and Inman. From 1984 through 1992 (the years the duo was paired) Shelmerdine and Earnhardt combined to win 4 Winston Cups, 44 wins (not counting 2 All-Star wins, 4 Daytona 125 qualifer wins and 3 Busch Clash wins,) 27 second place finishes, 124 top 5s, 182 top 10s and 15,734 laps led. Seriously, take a look at the driver rankings between 1984 and 1992 and see how Earnhardt's numbers compare to everyone else. A lot of people will attribute it to the driver, Shelmerdine would probably do the same but I guarantee that if Earnhardt were around today, he would be the first one to tell you that he wouldn't have accomplished all those milestones were it not for Shelmerdine on his pit box. 83. 18fan posted: 09.07.2011 - 1:56 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) How many people who watched this race either on TV or at the track would have guessed that Jeff Gordon would win more races than anybody but Richard Petty and David Pearson. 84. Schroeder51 posted: 09.13.2011 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) How messed up is this: if they used the 1973 points system (where they counted you on laps completed), TED MUSGRAVE would have been the champion. Now isn't that weird? 85. Brent posted: 11.06.2011 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott Wins The Race And Alan Kulwicki Wins the Title and Richard Petty's Final Event and Jeff Gordon's First Start. What a Race! Top-5 Finishers 1.Bill Elliott 2.Alan Kulwicki 3.Geoff Bodine 4.Jimmy Spencer 5.Terry Labonte 86. Brent posted: 11.06.2011 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) This is Start Of Season at Daytona on January 2, 2011 and Finale at Atlanta on November 6, 2011. Davey Allison won the Daytona 500 in January and Alan Kulwicki is a Winston Cup Champion. as a Sunset approaching. 87. Brent posted: 11.06.2011 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Alabama Sing "Richard Petty Fans." A Last-lap Of Richard Petty After Hooters 500 At a Public address System. 88. Brent posted: 11.06.2011 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Final Point Standings 1.Alan Kulwicki 2.Bill Elliott 3.Davey Allison 4.Harry Gant 5.Kyle Petty 89. Brent posted: 11.06.2011 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alabama Sings the National Anthem. 90. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.12.2011 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "For my money, Shelmerdine is the most underrated crew chief in the history of the sport and I would put him right there with the likes of Knaus, Evernham and Inman." I agree (although I have Inman in a league of his own due to his success AND stunning longevity). He doesn't get nearly enough credit. I think he deserves more credit for their speed over that time than Richard Childress himself. Three things have hurt him historically. First of all, Andy Petree replaced him in '93 and immediately won 2 straight Winston Cups followed by a runner up in '95 to the first year of the Gordon-Evernham dynasty (with a better average finish to boot) with 15 wins in those 3 years, their only three years together. What people have to realize is that Andy was a legendary crew chief himself. He pretty much resurrected the on-life-support-at-the-time #33 Skoal Bandit ride that was a mid pack ride (the Jackson Brothers never had success with anyone else) with a manufacturer at the bottom of the food chain at the time (Oldsmobile), but did have the ageless Harry Gant. He was also an underrated owner and the only part of the ESPN broadcast over the past 5 years that doesn't suck. Talk about an underrated guy! He's so respected we look over his incredibly pathetic attempt at driving Trucks and Modifieds. Where was I? Oh yeah, Kirk. The second thing that has hurt him historically is the simple fact he had Dale Earnhardt as his driver. He is the best ever, but those cars didn't build themselves. And what he did during the Shelmerdine Years, especially the 5 year stretch from '86 thru '90 (I'd argue that, due to that being NASCAR's competitive peak, that was a more impressive 5 year stretch than Gordon from '95-'99 or JJ from '06-'10), can't be done alone. Kirk deserves a ton of pub for that. And third, he was such a quiet guy, never wanting ANY recognition for his work, very willing to fade into the background while Dale and Richard got all the publicity. He realized what most of us (including me) are just now realizing: Richard craves attention. We have seen that through his bizarre antics lately and his 11 year pattern of encouragaing bizarre antics out of his drivers. With Dale, he could get the attention simply by being Dale's owner. His on track performance and determination dominated the headlines. Now he needs other things to happen cause his drivers can't do what Dale did on track. Dale Inman far and away deserves to be the first crew chief in the NASCAR HOF. Leonard Wood deserves to be second, and Kirk should be third. And I truly mean that. 91. Evan posted: 11.12.2011 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Racers active now in 2011 who competed in the Hooters 500(all series) Winner-11-Bill Elliott-part-time 21-Morgan Shepherd-runs part time Nationwide/Cup 94-Terry Labonte-part time 30-Michael Waltrip-Part-time/owner MWR 10-Derrike Cope-Nationwide(Busch) Mike Wallace-Races in Cup/Truck/Nationwide on occasion 24-Jeff Gordon-4 time Cup champ Geoff Bodine-competed in at least one NASCAR event in 2011 (DNQ)*Dave Blaney-Drives for Tommy Baldwin racing (DNQ)*Mike Skinner-Camping World Truck Series Teams still Active that ran in the Hooters 500(in some fashion) 3-RCR still active now as a 3 car team 29, 27, 33 18-Joe Gibbs still active as a 3 car team with 18, 20, and 11. 2-Penske Racing South(at the time) now a 3 car team 2, 12, 22 21-Wood Brothers Racing-Still around, won 2011 DAYTONA 500 with Trevor Bayne 42-Felix Sabates=purchased by Chip Ganassi, became Target Chip Ganassi Racing, then Chip Ganassi merges with Earnhardt Inc. and team becomes Chevrolet and kept 42 number, driven by Juan Montoya. 28-Yates Racing-merged with front row motorsports and runs 38 and 34. 8-Stavola Bros.-ran a start and park effort in 2010. 16 and 6-Roush Racing-still going strong won 2 titles with Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch, now a four car team 6, 16, 17, and 99. 43-Petty Enterprises-Merged and became Richard Petty Motorsports, AJ Allmendinger drives the 43 car and 9-Marcos Ambrose on a 2 car team. 22-Junior Johnson-After being purchased by Bill Davis, all of its assets were bought by Michael Waltrip Racing holdings, LLC and the number was acquired by Penske Racing. 7-Alan Kulwicki-number 7 belongs to Robby Gordon Racing which like Kulwicki was a single car effort, but the team was bought by Geoff Bodine in 1994, purchased by Jim Mattei in 1998 and then Jim Smith turned into Ultra Motorsports in 2002 and where it went after that I am not inclined to speculate on... Crew Chiefs still active in NASCAR in some capacity. Kirk Shelmerdine-driver/owner Steve Hmiel-was team director at Earnhardt Inc. in 2005. *Tim Brewer-ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage Jimmy Makar-JGR Team Director Ray Evernham-Previous owner of Evernham Motorsports which became Richard Petty Motorsports/is special advisor in Hendrick Motorsports(also, add that he was with Alan Kulwicki for the first 6 weeks of 1992.) Mike Beam-is active Ken Howes-in Hendrick Motorsports as an engine expert. Jimmy Fennig-still active-cc for Matt Kenseth Donnie Wingo-still active-CC for Jamie McMurray Robbie Loomis-At at Petty Motorsports Andy Petree-was car owner/appears on ESPN. I apologize if any of this incorrect, if so I stand corrected. 92. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.13.2011 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For my money, Shelmerdine is the most underrated crew chief in the history of the sport and I would put him right there with the likes of Knaus, Evernham and Inman." It seems to me that he is better known as "just another guy who couldn't make a good driving career" by most people whom completely overlook what he did with Dale and RCR, which is completely a shame. As crew chief, he deserves a lot of the credit for what they were able to do during his time there. Especially considering that some of Dale's most dominant years came during his tenure. 93. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.13.2011 - 9:46 am Rate this comment: (6) (1) I feel obligated to back up my pronouncement that Dale's '86-'90 was the best 5 year stretch in NASCAR history. At the time I casually typed that, I stopped and thought to myself "you don't seriously think that do you?" immediately thinking of JJ's most recent 5 years before this one, and Gordon's "Holy Shit!" stretch from '95 thru '99. However, due to the state of NASCAR at the time, I think it was more impressive. Then I did some research, and compared it to other notable 5 year stretches, and it confirmed what I believed. And here are the reasons: First off, we have to look at the competition he was up against. 145 races were run in that period (only '85 thru '89 had less races in a 5 year stretch with 144) yet they had 23 different winners. Fellow legends Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, and Mark Martin all had part of their primes during those seasons. Also hitting their primes in that period were big winners Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, and Tim Richmond. Davey Allison also popped up in '87 and won 8 races over the next 4 years. Alan Kulwicki and Ken Schrader also appeared and won races, Bobby Allison showed what he still had in the tank before a career ending wreck, as did Neil Bonnett. Of those 23 winners, only 5 won just once over that time. Dega winners Phil Parsons and Bobby Hillen Jr, Lake Speed in his Hoosier aided Darlington win, Brett Bodine in his (cough cough) Wilkesboro win, and Ernie Irvan grabbed his first of 15 wins in '90, also finishing 2nd to Dale twice that year. So that was the most loaded stretch in the modern era. Keeping that in mind, his raw numbers are mind numbing. He won 3 championships, had a hearbreaking runner up, and a 3rd in his "down" year of '88. His average points finish was 1.6. He won 33 races, which was 22.76% of those races with loaded fields. Perhaps most impressively, he led 12,435 laps (25.88%) including leading the circuit in laps led all 5 years, the only time that has ever happened in the modern era. You also have to realize that, due to the fact they ran less races then, there were less laps to lead. In none of those 5 years did the circuit even run 10,000 laps in a season. Add it all up and he dominated a very impressive list of challengers, most of which were at their best or close to it. The number of competitive rides was at its highest since a lot of the big money teams that entered in the early 80s were really hitting their stride (Hendrick, Blue Max, Harry Melling, Ranier, RahMac, Bernstein) and the old guard of owners were still winning regularly (Junior, Bud, the Woods). The multi car teams hadn't snuffed out everyone else yet. Again, looking at Dale's numbers over that span, and comparing them to other notable 5 year peaks in the modern era, his 1.6 average championship finish is second only to JJ's '06-'10 where he averaged a 1.0 (I didn't need a calculator to figure that one). He led 25.88% of the laps over those 5 years. Only Cale Yarborough led a higher percentage from '76-'80. Only Jeff Gordon ('95-'99), Darrell Waltrip ('81-'85), Cale ('76-'80), and Richard Petty ('72-'76) won a higher percentage of their races, but their fields weren't nearly as stacked as I will discuss right now. 94. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.13.2011 - 10:17 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I'll start off by comparing the most recent 5 year stretches that jump off the page: Jimmie Johnson ('06-'10): Obviously the fact he won the championship all 5 years makes it impressive. And I don't care what the format was, everyone knew how the champ would be crowned, he won 5 in a row and that was that. However, a few things hold it back in my opinion. In his stretch there were 24 different winners, but they ran 180 races over that span. They had 4 one timers: Casey, Truex, Keselowski, and (cough cough) Logano. He won 35 times, but those only accounted for 19.44% of the races. Most importantly, he only led 14.38% (7,656) of the laps run over that stretch, leading the circuit 3 times. Of course with this era of all the welfare rules (lucky dogs, wave arounds, let's-bunch-the-field-up-cautions) it is much harder to lead 85% of a race or more like it was in the past. With everyone staying on the lead lap it allowed more teams to take chances on pit stops for track position taking away laps led. But we also can't rule out the "head case" factor over this time period. His stiffest challengers were Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin. With the exception of Gordon and Kenseth, that is some very mentally feeble competition. Plus the multi car teams have officially taken over. Also, due to the wrecked NWide Series, talented up and comers have very little chance in getting top Cup rides and providing new and unexpected challenges (a la Brad this year). The 4 points finishers behind him in '06 were Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick, and Dale Jr. The 4 behind him in '10 were Hamlin, Harvick, Edwards ('05 and '08 runner up), and Kenseth. It's the same people over and over. Compared to Dale, the 4 behind him in '86 were DW, Tim Richmond (who would be dead in 3 years), Bill Elliott, and Ricky Rudd. In 1990, behind him were Mark Martin (wasn't even full time until '88), Geoff Bodine, Bill Elliott, and Morgan Shepherd. Except for Bill, quite a different cast, huh? And in neither of them are Rusty Wallace who was the runner up in '88 and the '89 champ. Jeff Gordon ('95-'99): Probably the most eye popping 5 year stretch. He won FORTY SEVEN times over this span for an incredible 29.19% (holy Shit!). Had 3 championships, a heart breaking runner up, but stumbled to a 6th in '99 for a 2.2 average points finish. What strikes me, however, is that he led only 19.45% of the laps (9,607). He led the circuit 3 times in laps led, but oddly enough the two seasons he didn't were his two best seasons, '97 and '98. People want to talk about Harvick being "The Closer". Ha! But still, not quite enough ass kicking from Jeff for my tastes. Plus, of the 161 races run, they had 19 winners. This includes 5 one timers, the final victories for Kyle Petty and Geoff Bodine as well as the first for Ward Burton, Joe Nemechek, and Jeremy Methfield. None of which would enjoy very much success. Looking over the winners list over those years, you pretty much see 3 names over and over again: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Dale Jarrett. Jeff Burton also lit it up towards the end of it. He had pretty good luck in who he fought for the title. The first year he beat Dale straight up in the last year of his reign as NASCAR's alpha dog. He got injured the next season, RCR fell behind, and he disappeared for the next 3 years. He fought another wiley vet in '96, Terry Labonte who wound up beating him. From there his competition was Dale "Too Conservative" Jarrett, Mark "Way Too Conservative" Martin, and Jeff "I Make Terry Labonte Look Like Dale Earnhardt" Burton. Combined Winston Cup total: 1. That was when big money was officially taking over leading to a shortage of good rides. Junior got out for good, Bud couldn't compete any more, and the Woods fell behind financially and in the driver's seat (Mikey?). Even RCR fell behind, and beginning a running theme, their attempt to modernize themselves by adding another car in '97 was clumsy and brought everyone down (this mistake would be repeated in '02 and '09 with nearly identical results). MMM went from 3rd in points in '95 to forever out to lunch. And Penske really fell off as they added a 2nd team. Again, his only mahor championship competition was from Roush (with conservative drivers Mark and Jeff as well as an assortment of drivers that never found a groove in Cup like Musgrave, Little, Lepage, and Benson), Yates (DJ in the #88 providing a good challenge, but the #28 had post injury Ernie then Kenny Irwin neither of which was ever a factor in points), and his in house Hendrick teammates (Terry who beat him in '96 then began his career backslide and whoever was driving the pathetic #25 Budweiser car). Those were the only organizations that could challenge the Rainbow Warriors. In a watered down era, he needed to do a little more to be ahead of Dale in this list. 95. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.13.2011 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Now for the Junior Johnson boys: Darrell Waltrip ('81-'85): Another eye popper. 3 championships, a runner up, and a 5th in points (2.0 average finish) to go along with 40 wins over just 149 races for a Gordon-esque 26.85%. He also led the circuit in laps led 4 times in a row (all but '85) for a total of 10,906. But that was a much weaker era than Dale's. They had 19 winners in 149 races, but six of them were one timers (Shepherd, Jody Ridley, Bouchard, Dave Marcis' gift wrapped Richmond win, Greg Sacks' controversial Firecracker win, and Buddy Baker's last win). It was a transitional time. His competition for those first three years was pretty much only Bobby Allison who finished 2nd to him twice then beat him in '83 despite switching rides over that span. Richard Petty, Buddy Baker, and Benny Parsons would all see their careers winding down as they won their last races over that span, and David Pearson had already won his last race. Neil Bonnett would play ride roulette (winning in all of them), and Cale Yarborough only raced part time. Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, Tim Richmond, Harry Gant, Geoff Bodine, and Bill Elliott were just getting warmed up, as were their teams (although Terry, Harry, and Bill were the Top 3 in the '84 championship which ranks with '91, '02, and this year as "um, do any of these guys REALLY deserve to be champion?" seasons). Most importantly, 1980 Winston Cup champ Dale Earnhardt was shuffled around like a hot potato in 1981, spent two seasons in Bud Moore's Fords with engines that were less reliable that a Hugo motor, then had to spend two years while RCR got up to speed. They did in 1986 and Dale yanked the Top Dog title from Darrell that year, beginning with a bloody coup in Richmond in February. An out of this world run by Darrell, but the truth is Junior had no peer over this time until '85 when the Elliotts finally figured out the Ford Thunderbird and Ford engine. Cale Yarborough ('76-'80): The most overpowering 5 year stretch in the modern era. The thing is there wasn't a whole lot to overpower. Over 152 races, only 13 different people won (2 one timers: Lennie Pond and Terry Labonte's gift wrapped Souther 500 in 1980). David Pearson wasn't a threat for the championship since he only ran partial schedules, plus his time as a contender was winding down anyways. Richard Petty was his biggest threat, but his era of dominance was ending as he was getting older and Dodge was getting weaker and weaker. Bobby Allison re-emerged in 1978 with Bud Moore after two awful years driving his own Matadors, but like everyone else in Bud's cars in the modern era, was hurt by mechanical inconsistency. Buddy was in his prime, but he never was consistent at all. Benny Parsons won a lot, but didn't have the equipment week in and week out. Darrell hit the scene, but was held back by inconsistent engines. Dale Earnhardt showed up and promptly beat Cale head to head in his second season. Still, his numbers were the most dominant on this list. 3 championships, a runner up, and a 4th (1.8 average points finish, only Dale and JJ were better). He won 38 times for an even 25%. Most impressively, he led 14,712 laps which were 28.61%, the highest on this list, leading the circuit 4 times. So yeah, his competition week in and week out was kinda weak, but he still got the damn job done. But not as well as Dale. 96. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.13.2011 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) And finally, The King: Richard Petty ('72-'76): Kinda unfair to the King. If we could do '71 to '75 it would be better, but that wasn't the modern era so the stats are skewed. Everyone talks about how he "had no competition" when he was winning all the time in the 60's and early 70's when he got his first 120 or so wins. I say that is BS. Back then he was racing Pearson more regularly as well as legends Fireball Roberts, Ned Jarrett, Curtis Turner, Junior Johnson, Joe Weatherly, Bobby Isaac, a young and hungry Bobby Allison, and AJ Foyt quite often, all in their primes. This was also during the height of factory support across the board. That was a very impressive period for King Richard. Yes it allowed him to inflate his win total by racing so much, but these were races on crummy little short tracks and dirt tracks which were not easy to navigate. Hands down the most underrated era in NASCAR. But this one wasn't nearly as much. He had 3 championships, a runner up, and a 5th (a 2.0 average) as well as 40 wins (26.85%). However he got murdered in laps led, leading Cup just once even though he led 21.98% of them. His main competition was Pearson for half the races. Bobby Allison had one dysfunctional season with Junior Johnson before driving for himself and Penske, not contending for a championship again until the 80s. Cale and Junior needed a little time to gel, finally beating them in '76. And that was pretty much it. To me, this is proof that the modern era isn't always a better indicator of who was really good when compared to the time before Winston. 97. Spen posted: 11.14.2011 - 1:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "with a manufacturer at the bottom of the food chain at the time (Oldsmobile)" Much like Penske today, that was a case of turning a weakness into a strength. Sure, Olds wasn't great in general, but when you're the only team they're putting serious effort into, you'll be better off than a team that's playing fourth fiddle for a better manufactuer. After Olds pulled out, they were just another team to Chevy, and four years later, Leo was out of business. Roger Penske, consider yourself warned. "Benny Parsons won a lot, but didn't have the equipment week in and week out" He also had a case of Jeff Burton syndrome. Too nice for his own good sometimes. That bit him on occasion. "Hands down the most underrated era in NASCAR." 1960-64, yes. That was one heck of a period. But Petty's best years, 67-71, weren't quite so impressive. Yes, winning any of the bigger races was a major accomplishment. Even Atlanta or Rockingham usually had plenty of factory cars to put on a great show. But the small races? Let's look at an average race in 1967. You've got Petty, an over-the-hill Jim Paschal in the purple Plymouth, Bobby Allison in a non-factory Chevy, and more often than not, Dick Hutcherson in a Ford, which didn't have factory support for non-major events. Then you've got James Hylton, Elmo Langley, John Sears, and the rest of the independents. Yeah, the tracks themselves weren't the easiest, but as long as you could keep it pointing straight, you could probably win in the #43. And '71 was a complete joke. With Chrysler pulling factory support from every team except Petty's, that pretty much killed off Cotten Owens, Ray Nichols, the K & K Dodge, Ray Fox, all of them. Ford wasn't in much better shape, with only Holman-Moody really being seriously competitive, and even then only when Pearson wasn't doing what Pearson did when things weren't going great. Even the Woods' weren't very fast that year, A.J. just made them look good. Heck, Ford cut back so much on factory support that Junior Johnson switched to Chevy. And GM of course, hadn't given anyone factory support since '64. The race at New Ashville pretty much summed up what that season was: Petty vs. the riff-raff. Sure, he did have to deal with Bobby Allison in a factory Ford for half the races, but that was it. 68-70 were better, but you still just had Petty, Pearson and Isaac on a weekly basis. Not that that's a bad thing. One of my favorite races of all time was at Asheville-Weaverville in '67. Petty, Peason and Allison put on one hell of a show all day long, with no one really getting very far ahead. But still, you knew going in that one of those three would win. That was certainty. And that lowers the win's value historically. Still an awesome race, though. I agree with most of your overview though, particularly regarding the mid '90's. 98. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.15.2011 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paschal won 4 times in 67. 99. Spen posted: 11.15.2011 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Being the only non-Petty competitive Plymouth gets you a few chances to have races fall into your lap. Speaking as someone who was there that year, it was pretty obvious he wasn't in top form. 100. Anonymous posted: 11.17.2011 - 6:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the flip side, Paschal delivered the biggest tar-beatting in World 600 history in 67 by leading 335 of 400 laps. 101. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.17.2011 - 11:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Much like Penske today, that was a case of turning a weakness into a strength. Sure, Olds wasn't great in general, but when you're the only team they're putting serious effort into, you'll be better off than a team that's playing fourth fiddle for a better manufactuer. After Olds pulled out, they were just another team to Chevy, and four years later, Leo was out of business. Roger Penske, consider yourself warned." That's a good point. The only point I would add is that Olds was under the GM umbrella, a distant 4th in that group to Chevy, Pontiac, and Buick. Since all GM cars ran the same engines, they were still at a slight disadvantage. But you are 100% correct about the way Penske is turning the Dodge deal into a huge positive, and that leaving would be a huge mistake. I don't think they will as long as they feel Dodge is stable. 102. schraderfan posted: 11.18.2011 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regarding Ted Musgrave, the 1973 points system also gives poins (100-98-96 etc.) based on finishing position in addition to points per lap completed (which also were staggered based on track distance). I wrote a program and calculated the 1992 points according to the 1973 system and these are the final top 20: 1 Bill Elliott 9085,80 2 Kyle Petty 8960,90 3 Harry Gant 8948,70 4 Alan Kulwicki 8754,90 5 Davey Allison 8737,50 6 Morgan Shepherd 8685,20 7 Ted Musgrave 8606,60 8 Ricky Rudd 8564,05 9 Mark Martin 8552,35 10 Rusty Wallace 8531,75 11 Darrell Waltrip 8445,20 12 Dale Earnhardt 8373,35 13 Terry Labonte 8284,55 14 Dale Jarrett 8250,95 15 Sterling Marlin 8245,45 16 Geoffrey Bodine 8206,00 17 Bobby Hamilton 8161,95 18 Ernie Irvan 8129,05 19 Brett Bodine 8071,00 20 Ken Schrader 7880,70 Ted Musgrave would have finished 7th instead of 18th though. Bill Elliott would have claimed the title by finishing this race on the lead lap, or without major incidents. 103. schraderfan posted: 11.18.2011 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) nevermind, i made a mistake with the track lengths this is better 1 Harry Gant 7785,80 2 Bill Elliott 7762,90 3 Davey Allison 7667,10 4 Kyle Petty 7647,20 5 Alan Kulwicki 7639,35 6 Mark Martin 7447,55 7 Morgan Shepherd 7414,00 8 Terry Labonte 7382,70 9 Ted Musgrave 7354,40 10 Ricky Rudd 7190,10 11 Rusty Wallace 7173,00 12 Sterling Marlin 7140,55 13 Darrell Waltrip 7105,40 14 Dale Earnhardt 7078,10 15 Ernie Irvan 7064,55 16 Brett Bodine 6948,90 17 Dale Jarrett 6948,45 18 Bobby Hamilton 6903,40 19 Ken Schrader 6800,90 20 Geoffrey Bodine 6792,95 104. Andre posted: 01.05.2012 - 9:07 am Rate this comment: (6) (0) 1992 Hooters 500 > 2011 Ford 400... imo. 105. Andre posted: 01.24.2012 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing the ESPN broadcast seemed to have completely missed (not their fault the championship battle was so intense!), was the fact that Jeff Gordon did in fact spin and hit the wall. No caution came out, obviously, which is why they were led to believe he had run out of gas. 106. SYH posted: 01.30.2012 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Counting future titles, 27 Winston Cups are represented in this field. I wonder if that's the most that's ever been in a single race. 107. Spen posted: 03.03.2012 - 5:28 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) Close, but not quite. In three races (the 1985 fall Charlotte race, the 1986 Coke 600, and the summer Michigan race in '86) we had the following lineup: Richard Petty (7 titles) Dale Earnhardt (7 titles) David Pearson (3 titles) Darrell Waltrip (3 titles) Cale Yarborough (3 titles) Terry Labonte (2 titles) Bobby Allison (1 title) Rusty Wallace (1 title) Bill Elliott (1 title) Benny Parsons (1 title) Alan Kulwicki (1 title) That's thirty championships in one field. In addition, the field for the '86 Coke 600 had a combined win total of 974! (For comparison, the field in last weeks' 500 has 509 wins and 17 championships. Though the current field did have a slight edge in number of race winners, 33 to 31.) The three races were won by Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and (yay!) Bill Elliott, respectively. 108. Dave posted: 05.27.2012 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (11) Wow people are dumb. Bill Elliott lost the title by 10 points, if he led the most laps he'd have 10 bonus points instead of 5...a difference of 5 points so he still would have lost by 5 points. I can't believe I have to explain this 109. Everett posted: 07.07.2012 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (7) (0) Dave..Elliott gains the 5 points for leading the most laps, Alan LOSES the 5 points for leading the most laps. 10 point swing. Tied in points and Bill wins the title based on having more wins during the season. 110. Coffeeshop42 posted: 07.30.2012 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anybody know where i can get full(preferably HQ of course)races on dvd from all over history(i mean any race,old,new or in between).There is a site called ioffer.com where there are guys that have like every race since 1979 or something but it looks like a really convuluted(sorry for bad spelling)site and i'd like another way to get these things.Here's the top 5 races i want: 5.2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 4.1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 3.2002 Daytona 500 2.1992 Hooters 500(Atlanta) 1.2004 Daytona 500(I saw it live when i was a kid and i have died to have it ever since,but never got an opprotunity to record it.) Also,Does anybody have any Directv Nascar Hotpass telecasts on dvd(For instance some of 2011's races on Jr's Hotpass Channel). Thanks. 111. Chris posted: 10.26.2012 - 9:37 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) "The Great" Dale Earnhardt sure did burn up the circuit in 92'! One win & 12th in points! Atta boy!" Don't forget to mention the 7 Championships he still has!!! 112. Steve posted: 12.16.2012 - 1:33 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) One bad season does not tarnish the reputation of a legend. If you know NSACAR history, Chris, you'll find that Earnhardt rebounded to win the Winston Cup the next 2 years. 20 years on, only 6 drivers in this legendary race are still active: Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Ken Schrader, & Michael Waltrip are all part time drivers, and the 6th active driver is Jeff Gordon, the only starter who is still full-time. Additionally, attemptees Dave Blaney (full time) and Mike Skinner are still active Cup drivers. Childress, Gibbs, Hendrick, Penske, Roush, and the Wood Brothers are the only active teams/owners in this race, and among them only RCR and the Wood Brothers had been in Winston Cup for at least a decade. And over half the field in the 2012 season finale were awarded a higher amount of purse money than Bill Elliott & crew received for winning this race. 113. Anonymous posted: 04.21.2013 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mast's pole was the last for Oldsmobile in Nascar. 114. myself posted: 05.21.2013 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) This race still saddens me. Freakin' Ernie Irvan. 115. David posted: 06.28.2013 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Last race without Bobby Labonte until the 2013 Quaker State 400. 116. Ryan W posted: 07.31.2013 - 4:04 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) CoffeeShop42, Good races besides the 2002 Daytona 500. Why on earth would you want that one other than to laugh at Sterling Marlin? DSFF, You make some great points about Earnhardt. People don't realize that there are seven more races a year now than there were back when he raced during his prime. That would have been 2-3 more wins a year added to his total. The competition was a lot better during his time as a driver. Nascar's Golden Age. I love Shelmerdine. I thought it was awesome that he finished 20th at Daytona in 2006 with a small funded team. I can't really blame him for trying to reach his dream, but he wasn't a racer. Still yet I have a lot of respect for him for trying. Petree was great, too. He made the call for Dale to come down and get tires for the '95 500 and came up just a bit short. myself, My brother and I would have blood baths over Dale Earnhardt and Davey Allison. However, there is a driver that he hates more than anyone in this world to this day and that's Ernie Irvan for trying to overcorrect his tire problem during this race taking out Davey. He was just 75 laps away from the title! To add insult to injury, Yates got Ernie to drive his car the next year. My brother transferred to a Mark Martin right then and I couldn't blame him. Damn this race had so many story lines and each year it seems that there is even more interesting things we didn't know about that comes out. AK7 and Elliott going at it was epic. The thing is both were great guys and great ambassadors for the sport. They shook hands in victory lane and took pictures together after the duel. I don't know if Elliott really felt the significance after the race when they talked to him during the interview, he seemed like he was careless about the championship. I think inside he knew they blew it and blew it many times during the year. "The fear of failure is a great motivator." -AK7 at the awards banquet 117. Ryan W posted: 07.31.2013 - 4:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) btw, How Terry Labonte score 16 top-10's with the #94 team is beyond me. Simply amazing and very impressive. I guess where there was a lot of attrition in '92 that he benefitted from quite a bit. 118. Evan posted: 02.05.2014 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Under the new Chase points system this would be the Final Four Drivers and how they would have finished in championship points. Finishing position in parenthases. 1.Harry Gant 5031(13) 2.Kyle Petty 5028 (16) 3.Davey Allison 5018(27) 4.Mark Martin 5012(32) 119. Walleyewhacker posted: 03.01.2014 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Their were so many great things about this season that were memorable. However for me it went downhill very fast in 1993 with the loss of Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison. Davey probably would have won the 1993 and 1994 Cups. 120. Ian posted: 03.28.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Random Statistic: The 1992 season would be the last where longtime owner/driver Dave Marcis would qualify for every single race in a season (though he did race the #41 car for quite a few of these races). 121. Evan posted: 04.04.2014 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Does anybody know where i can get full(preferably HQ of course)races on dvd from all over history(i mean any race,old,new or in between).There is a site called ioffer.com where there are guys that have like every race since 1979 or something but it looks like a really convuluted(sorry for bad spelling)site and i'd like another way to get these things.Here's the top 5 races i want: 5.2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 4.1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 3.2002 Daytona 500 2.1992 Hooters 500(Atlanta) 1.2004 Daytona 500(I saw it live when i was a kid and i have died to have it ever since,but never got an opprotunity to record it.) Also,Does anybody have any Directv Nascar Hotpass telecasts on dvd(For instance some of 2011's races on Jr's Hotpass Channel). Thanks. There's a dude on diecastcrazy.com a forum website that is selling racing DVDS, just search RACING DVDS FOR SALE on his site. He has all of the races you seek. Youtube also has them, copy the url to keepvid and you can watch them anytime you want. 122. John Paulson posted: 01.30.2015 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Going into the 2015 season the only driver left from this race who still runs a full schedule is Jeff Gordon. Brought this up due to the announcement that 2015 will be the last season that he runs a full schedule. So after this season no one left from this race will be running a full schedule. 123. b4il3y posted: 03.29.2015 - 6:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 121. Evan posted: youtube. 124. myself posted: 04.13.2015 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's a shame, John Paulson. Gordon is hanging up the helmet a little too early. 125. Aaron posted: 09.25.2015 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm happy for Alan that he got his championship, but at the same time, it bothers me to see Davey wreck every time I watch this damn race. I really would've liked to see Davey get it. Alan deserved it though. 126. MAR posted: 09.25.2015 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TBH as big of a race fan i am i have never seen this race i feel its my most guilty nascar secret but i do plan to watch it on youtube in the near future. 127. Big Mac Fan posted: 11.22.2015 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Alan Kulwicki only leads the points standings in 1 race in 1992, but he led it in the race that mattered the most. Hands down, the greatest race of all time. 128. Ryan W posted: 11.22.2015 - 2:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Their were so many great things about this season that were memorable. However for me it went downhill very fast in 1993 with the loss of Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison. Davey probably would have won the 1993 and 1994 Cups." I think Dale would have taken Davey to school in both years like he did early in 1993 until Davey's untimely death. 129. Ryan W posted: 11.22.2015 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) All Bill Elliott had to do was to have an average finish of 17th or better over the last 6 races and he would have won the championship. It was not to be... 130. 88&4Fan posted: 11.22.2015 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The single greatest race of all-time, bar none. While the 2007 Daytona 500 is my all-time FAVORITE (mainly because it was the one that got me into NASCAR) it doesn't mean it was the best, because this race takes that in a heartbeat. It had everything. Five drivers (5!) with a realistic chance to win the title, the GOAT making his farewell tour, a young driver with all the potential in the world in his debut, perhaps the biggest underdog story ever, and two of the drivers fighting for the championship (including the champion) would unknowingly be racing in their last full season sadly. And the best part... it all played out naturally. What more can you ask for? 131. Matt J posted: 11.22.2015 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've always thought it was interesting that Jeff Gordon's first start came in Richard Petty's last start. Seeing that Gordon is going to retire after today's (11-22-15) race at Homestead, just some observations on who drove in this race (excluding the failed-to-qualify drivers) and where they are today: - Only four are still actively driving in a top NASCAR series this year: (Gordon, Mike Wallace, Michael Waltrip, and Derrike Cope) Only Cope failed to make a Cup start this year and only Gordon ran full time, so after today, there will be no full time drivers left who drove in Petty's last race. - Five are deceased (Kulwicki, Hamilton, Earnhardt, Allison, and Trickle) - After Kulwicki won the championship that day, only four drivers in the field would win the Cup Series Championship after this season: (Labonte, Jarrett, Earnhardt, and Gordon), and only Jarrett and Gordon would win a championship for the first time. Seems just like yesterday I was at home watching this race on TV. Petty was/is my favorite driver and it is odd to think of a time when he was still driving (albeit not very well) passing from memory into history. 132. HD11 posted: 01.04.2016 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (5) (1) It still amazes me how the most laps led situation has gotten so inaccurately reported. Kulwicki/Paul Andrews knew that if they stayed out until they led lap 310, they would at least tie Elliott for laps led at 103 apiece and both would get the five point bonus. They did the math and knew the maximum that Elliott could've led. Terry Labonte staying out to lead one lap had zero bearing on Elliott losing the title. He would've lost by five points instead of ten, that's all. I recall Tim Brewer catching hell about it but there was nothing different at that point he could've done. It was superior planning by the Kulwicki team. 133. HD11 posted: 01.04.2016 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) I just watched the race for probably the 20th time and between piecing together little tidbits on the coverage and reading new articles about it, I still catch something new each time. Also, this was the first time I'd watched the satellite feed and that itself unveiled a big what if. On what turned out to be the final caution of the race (Davey and Ernie's crash), Kulwicki's team decided they were going to top off with one to go and try to make the distance but they didn't get the one to go until it was too late. Had they pitted, they would not have led the most laps and it likely wouldn't have mattered if they won or not. Also, it turns out Jeff Gordon's first start was more influential on the title race than I'd ever been aware of. The damage to Davey Allison's left front that forced him to pit for repairs under the Earnhardt caution was caused by Allison hitting a roll of tape left on the 24 car after Gordon had crashed. On the satellite feed, it was mentioned that Allison had hit something and thought he had a left front going down. Ironically, ESPN never caught the Gordon crash on air and it didn't cause a yellow. That put Allison back in traffic and ultimately in the path of the crashing Irvan car. It's always neat to look back on and find such trinkets of info. 134. Gordon7timeWinstonCupchamp posted: 01.31.2016 - 7:09 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) This is DuPont's cup debut. 135. Michael Defeo posted: 03.27.2016 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) BEST NASCAR RACE OF ALL TIME BY FAR 136. RaceFanX posted: 06.08.2016 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ricky Rudd wasn't feeling well and almost needed a relief driver in this race. Since Mark Martin dropped out earlier in the race he offered to take the wheel of the #5 Tide Chevy in his place. Ricky ultimately toughed it out...and 17 years later Mark would finally get a chance to drive Hendrick's #5 Chevy. 137. Bullet posted: 08.11.2016 - 2:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) I figured Petty would crash in his last race I was almost a given at that time 138. Jessie Henry posted: 08.22.2016 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The End Of The Greatest NASCAR Season Ever 139. David posted: 08.22.2016 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) A strong case could be made for 1979: the Daytona 500 on live TV, Richard Petty's last title, Dale Earnhardt's rookie season, Darrell Waltrip's epic choke down the stretch... 140. Jim4Bill posted: 03.03.2017 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott had the gas to run one more lap before he pitted according to Junior Johnson - he blamed Tim Brewer for loosing the championship on that call (and was part of the fall out leading to Brewer leaving before 1993). Anytime it is that close it is impossible to know the outcome of every decision. But in retrospect - a small strategy change gives Bill the 92 Winston Cup. 141. RoninDragon posted: 07.12.2017 - 3:14 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) So I know I'm beating a dead horse, but I've had some thoughts that have simmered for the longest time that I shall now release. Not like my opinion matters anyway. But here we go. This race. I put it as one of the greatest races ever. To have this many drivers in contention to win the championship at the end of a long grind of a season is nothing short of spectacular. Better yet, the chase or playoffs wouldn't have mattered one bit. I remember when they announced the 2014 playoff system and tried to justify it by saying that it "rewards winning". Well, I'm sorry, but doesn't racing in general reward winning? I mean, you race to win the race, not run 23rd. I've always thought of the NASCAR season to be a long grind, a test of endurance to the finish. This race provided a true points battle, without this artificial stuff with a ten-race chase, or a three round elimination culminating in a sudden-death championship round. These days, it's like they've forgotten what got them here. I've felt the prestige of races like the Bristol Night Race, the World 600, and the Southern 500 shattered and smashed under this "win and you're in" garbage. And apparently, the Brian Frances of the world think that adding more gimmicks, like stages or whatever the heck they're supposed to be is what will save this sport. If only he would look in the mirror... Oh well, that's enough of my ranting. 142. kup posted: 11.16.2017 - 12:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1992 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1024 _ Alan Kulwicki 10853 / 10.6 1021 _ Bill Elliott 11125 / 10.9 993 _ Harry Gant 11221 / 11.3 977 _ Kyle Petty 10941 / 11.2 956 _ Davey Allison 10999 / 11.5 861 _ Mark Martin 10671 / 12.4 804 _ Terry Labonte 10613 / 13.2 772 _ Ricky Rudd 10270 / 13.3 758 _ Morgan Shepherd 10840 / 14.3 714 _ Sterling Marlin 10287 / 14.4 702 _ Darrell Waltrip 10249 / 14.6 688 _ Rusty Wallace 10451 / 15.2 684 _ Dale Earnhardt 10198 / 14.9 659 _ Ernie Irvan 10280 / 15.6 & TOTAL: UPS! 44 years 1949-1992: Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. Dale Earnhardt 5 in: '80, '86, '87, '89, '91. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. 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. Mark Martin 1 in: '90. Alan Kulwicki 1 in: '92. 143. RaceFanX posted: 11.27.2017 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Hillin, Jr. had something of a throwback paint scheme for this event. This was Hillin's first race in Junie Donlavey's #90 Ford as he and the team prepared for a full 1993 campaign together. They had a one-off sponsorship for this finale from Wrangler Jeans and painted the #90 in a variation of the famous yellow-and-blue paint scheme Dale Earnhardt drove to two championships in the mid-1980s. 144. Mile501 posted: 12.20.2017 - 8:38 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Recently, I've been watching this race on YouTube a little at a time, when I have some free time. I was 7 years old when this race took place, and I may or may not have seen it live, but I don't remember it if I did. A few observations I've made so far: - There seemed to be a lot more passing back then, whether it was the cars, the tires, the track, the TV coverage, or a combination of those factors. - The commentators talked a lot about money--how much the champion would earn, how much it paid to win the race, etc. It reminded me of how, in NASCAR's early days, winnings were crucial for many drivers even being able to make it to the next race. Nowadays, race winnings are just a small part of a team's total income. - Not giving free laps back made things more intriguing. Early on when a caution came out in the middle of green-flag pit stops, Dale Earnhardt got trapped 2 laps down. Where I'm at now in the race, he is battling hard with leader Mark Martin to get back on the lead lap. We don't get to see that kind of action anymore with the rules that are in place now. 145. Mile501 posted: 12.20.2017 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #105 "One thing the ESPN broadcast seemed to have completely missed (not their fault the championship battle was so intense!), was the fact that Jeff Gordon did in fact spin and hit the wall. No caution came out, obviously, which is why they were led to believe he had run out of gas." Thanks for posting that information. In watching the broadcast of the race, I wasn't sure what had happened to Gordon exactly. In today's NASCAR, that no doubt would have brought out a caution--but back then, they let them race a lot more often. 146. Canadianfan posted: 12.20.2017 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @146 Jeff and Ray ran very loose setups in the Busch Series at the time. They applied the same thinking to the Cup car and eventually Jeff got very loose and lost it and crashed. They mention it in The Day: 1992 Hooters 500. 147. Mile501 posted: 01.11.2018 - 9:01 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) Some brief observations I made after watching the full 1992 Hooters 500 on YouTube recently: - Even though the race lasted nearly 4 hours, it never felt boring. I'm not exactly sure why--whether the cars/tires made for better racing, or if the TV announcers did a better job of covering action through the field, or a combination of those factors. No doubt the technology on the cars was not as advanced back then, which was a good thing. Whatever the reason(s), the whole race was interesting to watch. - Not giving free laps back created several interesting scenarios with drivers having to race hard to earn laps back lost when a caution came out in the middle of green-flag pit stops. Having a high number of cars on the lead lap isn't necessarily a good thing for competition; it can actually produce the opposite effect. - It felt more genuine and very real. There were no gimmicks. Every lap mattered, because you never knew when a caution might come out or if there would be no more cautions. - There was a lot of talk about money--how much it paid to win the race and championship. Back then, teams depended on their winnings more. Nowadays, they have big-dollar sponsors that cover the vast majority of their large budgets instead. - Most teams were single-car operations, leading to a more diverse group of owners that came with their own storylines. The drivers themselves were more diverse and interesting as well. - I couldn't see what the exact, complete running order was at any given time, unlike how things are today. I had to pay closer attention to the broadcast to find out how different drivers were running. This made me wonder if too much technology (in the timing and scoring area) might actually be a bad thing in some ways, aiding the short attention span problem. Not having instant access to all the data made watching the race more intriguing. 148. Mile501 posted: 01.11.2018 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In the episode of "The Day" about this race, someone mistakenly said Terry Labonte stayed out and led 2 laps towards the end of the race, but Terry actually only led 1 lap. The lap Terry led made no difference. I see this posted above, but it's worth repeating. Had Bill Elliott led that lap, Kulwicki and Elliott would have tied with 103 laps led apiece and both would have earned the extra 5 bonus points. Kulwicki still would have won the championship, though by a margin of 5 points instead of 10. Additionally, as the race wound down, there was absolutely nothing strategy-wise that Elliott's team could have done differently. Kulwicki was in control, holding the lead until he pitted. 149. JeffGordon24FanForever posted: 01.11.2018 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @148 They still tie, because if Elliott leads the most laps, Elliott gains five pts, while Kuwicki loses five pts. 150. JSPorts posted: 01.11.2018 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If they both led the most laps, they both get 5 points. So Kulwicki's point total would be the same while Elliott would have 5 more. Kulwicki still wins. 151. JeffGordon24FanForever posted: 01.11.2018 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm thinking of Elliott leading 2 more laps instead of 1 152. Josh posted: 01.12.2018 - 7:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mile is correct. If there was a tie for most laps led, both drivers got the 5 bonus points for most laps led, hence 10 total bonus points. So if Bill Elliott leads that lap instead of Terry, yes, Bill and Alan both lead 103 laps, and both get 10 total bonus points. However, that would have only given Bill 5 extra points, leaving him 5 points short of tying Alan. 153. Mile501 posted: 01.12.2018 - 8:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott's crew chief Tim Brewer seemed to be beating himself up over the situation, but there was nothing he could have done differently. Elliott needed to lead more laps before Kulwicki passed him and pulled away (lap 210), or he needed to pass Kulwicki back on the track. Elliott simply wasn't able to do either of those, and so once Kulwicki's team figured out how many laps he had to lead before pitting, Tim Brewer and Elliott's team couldn't have done anything to change the outcome. Had Elliott been able to hold the lead for another lap or two around lap 210--or lead more laps earlier in the race--he would've been the champion. But at that point in the race, he just didn't have the car to be able to do that. Even though I'm sure it was heartbreaking to lose the title by 10 points, I hope Tim Brewer and the team realized this somewhere along the way so they're not beating themselves up over a strategy call that ultimately made no difference. 154. Steve posted: 01.14.2018 - 12:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Comment #147 is one of the most accurate observations of the differences between NASCAR then and now. 155. Troggle84 posted: 02.21.2018 - 7:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bought a copy of Rick Houston's book, NASCAR's Greatest Race: The 1992 Hooters 500 recently. As with most books of it's ilk, it has picture sections. One of those picture section reveals that Hut Stricklin's No. 41 was in fact, a Ford. A rare usage of Ford bodywork for Larry Hedrick Racing. 156. Anonymous posted: 03.12.2018 - 7:59 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Josh, if Bill had led one more lap and prevented Alan from leading the same lap, they wouldn't have been tied in number of laps led. It would have been one more for Bill and one less for Alan, 103 to 102 in Bills favor. They would have ties in points and Bill would have won the tiebreaker. 157. Mile501 posted: 03.12.2018 - 10:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #156 Anonymous - The issue in question was the single lap Terry Labonte led. If Bill had led that lap, he and Alan would have each led 103. We weren't talking about Bill leading a lap that Alan led. 158. Alex posted: 03.12.2018 - 11:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) There's a reason Labonte led that lap: by this point in 1992, Junior Johnson had firmly established himself as a bozo in the eyes of NASCAR and the competitors in the garage with his sudden firing of Labonte and other rash decisions in addition to an increasing temper as he was going through his divorce. Many who were there that day believe Labonte stayed out to lead the lap (in so doing risking his finishing position by running an extra lap on worn tires) so that Kulwicki would get the lap leader bonus. I've never heard Labonte confirm or deny this though, and I doubt he will. 159. Brandon posted: 04.01.2018 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) A total of 5 manufacturers raced in the 29 races in 1992, here is how many races each showed up to. Buick: 6 Chevrolet:29 Ford: 29 Oldsmobile: 29 Pontiac: 29 160. Ron posted: 04.04.2018 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone remember the name of the young lady, (hooters girl) that was standing next to Alan in victory lane? Still the best NASCAR race EVER! 161. Greg9ChaseFan posted: 05.31.2018 - 6:00 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I remember NASCAR pretty much let the Petty team put a new motor in the car just for him to be on the track when it ended. The King indeed. 162. Joshua posted: 08.26.2018 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Just watched the 4.5 hour satellite feed of this race posted on YouTube by SMIFF TV. 1. The fact that Jeff Gordon was in the race is obviously known as historically significant now, but on that day, there were far more interesting stories to cover. The media thronged The King before and after the race, and all the talk was about the 6 men mathematically eligible for the title, and primarily the 3 with the best shot - Davey, Alan, and Bill. 2. Dale Earnhardt deliberately caused that crash in Turn 1 on the first lap. No one can convince me otherwise. The ESPN commentators didn't even approach bringing up the possibility Earnhardt turned Brett, either. They kept trying to say Brett got loose because of Mast on the outside, but I'm sorry, a loose car does not whip around like Brett's did there. He had help from the 3. Hut Stricklin mashed in the left-rear of Davey Allison's car (not Ted Musgrave, as Rick Houston's book states), before impacting Brett Bodine's car harder. Both drivers were sent to hospital but both would be not seriously injured. This was horrible for Rick Mast who achieved his first pole and could have made things very interesting in the race. It's alright, though, poetic justice was served later in the race when Dale ate wall in Turn 2. 3. I counted seven (7) times Alan Kulwicki beat Bill Elliott to the line to lead a lap by a nose or less. Any one of those that goes the opposite way means Bill Elliott wins the title on a tiebreaker in points. Unreal. 4. Alan Kulwicki led for 101 consecutive laps after the restart around lap 200, and his crew told him he needed to pit on Lap 307 for fuel. Alan stayed out twice, bewildering every member of the ESPN booth crew. Finally, on Lap 310, Alan came in, and in his post race interview, said he knew what he needed to do and that if he could do it, Bill couldn't beat him. He calculated all of that from the car. What a savant. 5. They did mention Jeff Gordon having problems, but couldn't figure out what it was since his incident wasn't on film. If you look closely when he's in the pits after the fact, you can see his rear decklid buckled up and the team working on the left side of the car. That must mean he completely looped it around and did a 360 and made it to the pits. 6. There were a lot of part timers and one-time teams/paint schemes in this race. This was the first race with the Bobby Hillin-Junie Donlavey pairing and they ran a one-off deal with Wrangler Jeans, painting the car blue and yellow. Mike Wallace made the second race with Barry Owen's #88 FDP Brakes car (which I'm convinced was probably an Andy Belmont car from earlier in the year), and Chad Little ran Mayflower Transit on the #9 Melling car. There were others but those are a few that jumped out at me. 7. This was the last race run by Oldsmobiles with complete factory support from the GM brand. Back markers would enter some Olds in 1993 and 1994 but as far as factory support this was it for them. 8. During the broadcast they mentioned that the Bob Whitcomb team would be back in 1993 with Derrike Cope. I'm not sure what happened to that team in the offseason but they of course did shut down and Cope went over to the Cale Yarborough team in time for the 1993 Daytona 500. 9. The crash that took out Richard Petty started when Dick Trickle slid up out of Turn 4 into Ken Schrader. You can see it start to happen on the live shot right before the 8 and 25 go out of the picture. The two made contact and slid into the inside wall and down the track, causing a stack up among Rich Bickle, Darrell Waltrip, and Wally Dallenbach. The King was trailing, but couldn't keep from smashing the rear of Bickle's black and green #45 car, knocking the oil cooler off the car and starting the famous "BRING THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!" scene. 10. Jimmy Means debuted a Ford I believe for the first time that season. Jimmy had been preparing to switch to Ford during the 1992 season and he rolled out his first one here, a black Ford with Hurley Limo sponsorship. 11. Watching Davey crash gets me every time. It's bearable though, until Bob Jenkins utters "Well there will certainly be more opportunities, that's for sure." Ugh. 12. Bob Jenkins said that this was the second time since 1979 that the points leader heading into the final race didn't win the title. Of course that had to mean Davey didn't win it. Gar. 13. Miles' earlier post, #147, is spot on. I have nothing to add to that. I echo all of those thoughts. A Sunday afternoon well spent. 163. Posing Crawdad posted: 11.19.2018 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was one of the best races in nascar all time. A great points system. First race for a future legend and final race from a legend. Great racing too. This or the 1979 Daytona 500 would be the best race in Nascar History. 164. German500 posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Should the status of Richard Petty not be a "crash"? His car was also affected, even on fire. He drove into the infield of Turn 2 and parked his car there. 165. David posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You are correct, however the official race report lists Petty as running. Maybe a small gift to him from NASCAR in his final race, because he obviously was not running at the end of the race. IIRC, he was interviewed on TV during the event after he went out in flames. 166. RaceFanX posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @164 Nope, as post 20 mentioned the Petty crew pulled the near-impossible feat and got the #43 back out so King Richard could finish his final race on the track. Even ESPN cut from the championship battle to show it as that battered and burned blue #43 STP Pontiac, missing ALL of the front bodywork, rejoined the race right at the end. And there wasn't a dry eye in the house when he did and took a final victory lap with Alabama's song "Richard Petty Fans" blaring on the track's speakers... "Well, I wish this year could last forever, But the race must go on He'll hang up his helmet, But he never will be gone I know he'll drive forever, In the heart of every fan And he will be remembered, As the best that's ever been" 167. German500 posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ 163. I think the current scoring system is better because it's easier to understand. From position 43 to 2, you only ever have a jump of 1 point per rank. From second to first place the gap is 4 points, because of 3 extra points for winning the race. The old system started at 175 points for winner and finished 43th with 34 points. For the first 6 places the gap was 5 points, then for the next 5 ranks 4 points and then up to 43rd place 3 points each. Why should the last car/driver in the field still get 34 points? Why not a single point? I think the current system is much simpler and easier to understand. (without the damn stages) 168. RaceFanX posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richard Petty's final race car from this race is preserved at the The Petty Museum in Randleman, North Carolina; they've put the hood back on he front but otherwise it is still in the same shape it was in when the King parked it at the end of this Atlanta race all those years ago. 169. German500 posted: 01.29.2019 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ RaceFanX Thx. I watching this race actually and don't know the ending. ;-) 170. Jay posted: 01.29.2019 - 11:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) He did actually come back on the track near the end of the race. 171. David posted: 01.29.2019 - 11:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My mistake then, I thought I remembered the car going up in flames and Richard being interviewed not long after that. But I guess those things didn't necessarily preclude him from getting back out there as long as the car would still go. 172. Corey posted: 01.29.2019 - 12:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The car did go to flames and I think Petty thought they were done. It was the crew who got the car back together so Petty could take the checkered flag. 173. Jacob posted: 01.29.2019 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Couple of comments related to the Petty's in this race #62 and #81: If you thought there would have conspiracy rumors about Alan Kulwicki winning the championship and/or race in a Hooters-sponsored car at a Hooters-sponsored race, imagine if Kyle Petty had somehow pulled out the championship in the last race of his father's career. You know we'd be seeing rumors of a fix about this race perhaps surpassing the rumors involving Dale Jr. winning the 2001 Pepsi 400 (let alone in that case it being a reverse order of the 1-2 at the Daytona 500). #172 Based on the F-bombs after his car stopped, it sure sounded like Richard Petty thought his race was over 174. Paul88 posted: 05.25.2019 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor update #45 Rick Bickle Sponsor - Terminal Trucking/Fort Walton Beach Steel Source: https://editorial01.shutterstock.com/wm-preview-1500/6565696a/1be2d456/nascar-hampton-usa-shutterstock-editorial-6565696a.jpg 175. Wil posted: 12.20.2019 - 6:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (4) Surprised nobody has mentioned that Dale Earnhardt, due to his frustrations of a poor season, intentionally wrecked pole sitter Rick Mast and outside pole sitter Brett Bodine on the second lap at 190+ mph in a frightening crash. 176. Underdogfan posted: 02.13.2020 - 4:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) TW Taylor did not drive the #56 this race. He drove some random #91. Possibly self owned entry? There is a photo of it on Instagram. Check out rare.nascar and have your mind blown. 177. CerealIsAmazing posted: 04.24.2020 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) T.W. Taylor drove a KDS sponsored Ford. James Hylton drove a #48 Dial Page Chevrolet. Both DNQ'ed. 178. SweetRich posted: 06.06.2020 - 1:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons. The pit road reporters were Dr. Jerry Punch and John Kernan. 179. Anthony posted: 06.12.2020 - 8:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something curious - Brett Bodine led the first lap and was out before halfway round the second. Has that happened again? 180. ShinyMew151 posted: 06.12.2020 - 9:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale started a crash on lap 2 181. Ryan posted: 06.28.2020 - 12:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @162 @175 @180 Dale did NOT purposely crash anyone or start a wreck. Really dumb comments. If you go to youtube and type in "1992 Hooters 500 (RAW SATELLITE FEED)" and move ahead and watch from 22:55-23:00 and you'll see from the overhead view of the crash that Dale didn't touch the 26 of Bodine at all. What happened is that Mast was on Bodine's outside and took the air off of Bodine's car while Dale was behind Bodine and took the air off Bodine's spoiler is why there was a "whipping around" effect. Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons even said that Bodine didn't have any air to lean on. You all really need to go back to watch and listen. None of you have much when it comes to having an eye for detail. 182. SweetRich posted: 07.05.2020 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The swansong for Jimmy Hensley in The #66 Ford. The season for Cale was, at first, trying with two drivers in the first seven races and no finish higher than 22nd. When Hensley got the call to compete in the car For Martinsville, the luck began to turn with strong top ten and top twenty finishes along the way with the best coming at Bristol in August which was a seventh. And Hensley won rookie of the year honors despite not competing from Daytona to North Wilkesboro. When the ship was starting to sink, the super sub came in and did a fantastic job in giving the team the anchor it needed to not sink to the bottom, which had started since the beginning of 1991 with driver after driver. 183. SweetRich posted: 07.07.2020 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The final career NASCAR Winston cup Series race for Owner Bob Whitcomb, the owner of Whitcomb Racing. 184. Rsanch500 posted: 07.12.2020 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ?Davey Allison is in the crash!? -BP 185. Chase9Fan posted: 07.27.2020 - 3:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Always wondered why Jeff Gordon said crash here? Did he ever crash? 186. Corey posted: 07.27.2020 - 8:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) He did crash during the race. ESPN never caught it and a caution was never thrown but, there is a picture of his wrecked race car. 187. Matthew posted: 08.03.2020 - 2:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This may be the true central race of NASCAR's history, where everything past, present, and future meets. Six drivers in contention for the title, with the "Underbird" Alan Kulwicki winning the title by just 1 lap over Bill Elliott; the last true "self-made" champion, in the greatest "genuine" championship battle ever. At the same time, three of the greatest drivers in NASCAR's history: Richard Petty, King of the Past; Dale Earnhardt, King of the Present (although the points didn't show it this season); and Jeff Gordon, future King of the Modern Era; all racing against one another for the only time ever. If you were to connect Richard Petty's first start, and Jeff Gordon's last, and include all the Cup races between, it stretches from 1958 to 2015. The great majority of NASCAR's history. With this race, the 1992 finale, being the race that would bring every storyline together; the stories already written by Petty and the Classics, the stories being written by Kulwicki, Earnhardt, and the Next Generation, and the stories yet to be written by Gordon and the Modern Era drivers. It's hard to put into words how truly defining this race was for NASCAR, not just at the time, but now, looking back over 25 years later and seeing where NASCAR is now. Even with stories still being written, and stories still yet to write, this story may never be surpassed. 188. TheLongShot posted: 08.03.2020 - 7:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I've never bought into the idea that this is the greatest race of all-time, but it is arguably the most significant in that it acts as a transitional period from the older "halcyon days" of the sport into its current era, and it boasts one of the all-time great final-race championship battles in motorsports history to boot. It occupies a historical significance that few other races can claim to hold, and most of those other races are Daytona 500's (1979, 1984, 2001). 189. Slimshot3 posted: 08.04.2020 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just finished Rick Houston's book and highly recommend it. Yep, the good ol' days at NASCAR. It just ain't the same anymore... not stock car racing, instead, spec car racing. 190. flagdirt posted: 08.06.2020 - 7:22 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) First NASCAR race with yellow writing on the tires. Previously white. 191. Jim4Bill posted: 10.16.2020 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul Andrews confirmed in a recent podcast NASCAR came on their radio and said the 7 car had cliched most laps led - then they pitted - since there was no computer timing and scoring they would share that by radio in 1992 Bill could have won 3 Cup titles - with a little more luck (mostly by avoiding mechanical issues late in the 85 and 92 seasons). They ran fast enough - just didn't finish as a team in both cases. 1985 was probably exhaustion from all the media pressure. 1992 was Junior starting to run out of gas as a team owner. 192. MJM posted: 10.25.2020 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone may have brought this up before, but if both Kulwicki and Elliott switched roles as the driver who led the most laps, both would had been tied in points at the end of this race and season. Because Elliott had 5 wins and Kulwicki had only 2, Elliott would had won his second Winston Cup Championship in his Hall of Fame career. What a difference that single lap led made. Wow! 193. LMSC18 posted: 11.07.2020 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 41 was actually a Ford. Only race in 1992 they didn't run a Chevrolet. 194. Billy posted: 11.15.2020 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best Race Ever of all-time. Bill Elliott wins the battle and Alan Kulwicki wins the war. Richard Petty ends the 35-year career. 195. QFH posted: 12.22.2020 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Rudd experienced some power steering issues in this race and he apparently wanted JG to be his relief driver but he couldn't do it due to JG being a rookie in his debut. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: