1992 Coca-Cola 600

1992 Coca-Cola 600

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

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

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

Background

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

Summary

There were 42 drivers on the starting grid; almost half of them failed to finish the race. It took four and a half hours to resolve 400 laps. Dale Earnhardt defeated Ernie Irvan by nearly half a second. There were several crashes, some engine problems, and Stanley Smith's vehicle managed to lose all of its tires by lap 248. Last-place finisher Jimmy Means would develop trouble with his engine on the eight lap. There were 12 caution flags handed out by NASCAR officials throughout 62 laps of the race. Kyle Petty managed to develop a lengthy lead late in the race but couldn't prevent Dale Earnhardt from winning it.^[3] Had Earnhardt had a state-of-the art engine builder, he might have won more races earlier in his career.

Bill Elliott qualified for the pole position with speeds reaching up to 175.479 miles per hour (282.406 km/h) in the solo qualifying session. Actual racing speeds would be 132.98 miles per hour (214.01 km/h); more than 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) slower than qualifying. Rusty Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, and Randy Porter would accomplish individually solid finishes despite not being able to finish the race.^[3] The total prize purse for this racing event was $859,485 ($1,451,769.42 when adjusted for inflation). While the winner of the race received $125,100 of this total figure ($211,308.35 when adjusted for inflation), the last place finisher only received a meager $5,100 ($8,614.49 when adjusted for inflation).^[4]

Gary Balough would make his final start in the NASCAR Cup Series before he was sentenced to jail and could never race in NASCAR again.^[5] Being sentenced to 45½ months in jail for drug trafficking ruined Balough's professional career along with his marriage.^[6][7]

Top twenty finishers

1. Dale Earnhardt (No. 3)
2. Ernie Irvan (No. 4)
3. Kyle Petty (No. 42)
4. Davey Allison (No. 28)
5. Harry Gant (No. 33)
6. Terry Labonte (No. 94)
7. Alan Kulwicki (No. 7)
8. Ted Musgrave (No. 55)
9. Ricky Rudd (No. 5)
10. Dick Trickle (No. 8)
11. Jimmy Hensley (No. 66)
12. Dale Jarrett (No. 18)
13. Bobby Hillin, Jr. (No. 31)
14. Bill Elliott (No. 11)
15. Dave Marcis (No. 71)
16. Greg Sacks (No. 41)
17. Derrike Cope (No. 10)
18. Rusty Wallace (No. 2)
19. Lake Speed (No. 83)
20. Brett Bodine (No. 26)

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[3]	Differential
1	Davey Allison	1564	0
2	Bill Elliott	1453	-111
3	Harry Gant	1444	-120
4	Alan Kulwicki	1432	-132
5	Dale Earnhardt	1420	-144
6	Terry Labonte	1378	-186
7	Morgan Shepherd	1333	-231
8	Geoffrey Bodine	1248	-316
9	Dick Trickle	1245	-319
10	Mark Martin	1217	-347

References

1. "Weather information for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
2. "Coca-Cola 600 weekend focused on military tributes". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
3. "Racing information for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
4. "Prize winnings for the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
5. "Retirements after the 1992 Coca-Cola 600". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
6. "Racing information for Gary Balough". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
7. "History of Gary Balough". Stock Car Racing. Retrieved 2012-04-23.