The 1989 Goodwrench 500 was the second stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 5, 1989, before an audience of 44,300 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. On the final restart with six laps left in the race, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would manage to pull away to a sizable lead to take his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1989 GM Goodwrench 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | March 5, 1989 | ||
| Official name | 24th Annual Goodwrench 500 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.637 km) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 115.122 miles per hour (185.271 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 44,300 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Blue Max Racing | ||
| Time | 24.606 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Laps | 222 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Gary Nelson, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, March 2, at 2:30 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined the following day on Friday, March 3.[5] However, due to rain, the second round was cancelled. As a result, the rest of the starting lineup was set using the results from the first round. Depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.[6]
Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.606 and an average speed of 148.793 miles per hour (239.459 km/h) in the first round.[7][8]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
edit| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 492 | 222 | running | 185 | $72,100 |
| 2 | 12 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 492 | 24 | running | 175 | $29,600 |
| 3 | 19 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 492 | 0 | running | 165 | $24,200 |
| 4 | 6 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 492 | 19 | running | 165 | $17,975 |
| 5 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 492 | 14 | running | 160 | $15,963 |
| 6 | 17 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 492 | 22 | running | 155 | $14,680 |
| 7 | 16 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 491 | 0 | running | 146 | $9,975 |
| 8 | 25 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 490 | 2 | running | 147 | $9,525 |
| 9 | 15 | 88 | Greg Sacks | Baker–Schiff Racing | Pontiac | 490 | 0 | running | 138 | $9,225 |
| 10 | 33 | 31 | Jim Sauter | Bob Clark Motorsports | Pontiac | 489 | 0 | running | 134 | $9,450 |
| 11 | 22 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 489 | 2 | running | 135 | $8,525 |
| 12 | 27 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 488 | 0 | running | 127 | $8,125 |
| 13 | 42 | 84 | Dick Trickle (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 488 | 0 | running | 124 | $10,182 |
| 14 | 24 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 488 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,225 |
| 15 | 23 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 487 | 0 | running | 118 | $7,625 |
| 16 | 39 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 487 | 0 | running | 115 | $5,700 |
| 17 | 5 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 487 | 0 | running | 112 | $6,475 |
| 18 | 14 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 486 | 0 | running | 109 | $10,475 |
| 19 | 7 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 486 | 0 | running | 106 | $14,225 |
| 20 | 35 | 48 | Mickey Gibbs (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 486 | 0 | running | 103 | $4,800 |
| 21 | 10 | 66 | Rick Mast (R) | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 484 | 0 | running | 100 | $5,925 |
| 22 | 30 | 40 | Ben Hess (R) | Hess Racing | Oldsmobile | 483 | 0 | running | 97 | $2,850 |
| 23 | 18 | 2 | Ernie Irvan | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 482 | 0 | running | 94 | $3,450 |
| 24 | 38 | 20 | Dave Mader III | Bahre Racing | Pontiac | 480 | 0 | running | 91 | $2,675 |
| 25 | 3 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 479 | 0 | accident | 88 | $9,925 |
| 26 | 32 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 479 | 0 | running | 85 | $2,550 |
| 27 | 13 | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 477 | 0 | running | 82 | $10,700 |
| 28 | 34 | 53 | Jerry O'Neil | Aroneck Racing | Chevrolet | 476 | 0 | running | 79 | $2,450 |
| 29 | 2 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 461 | 0 | running | 76 | $11,225 |
| 30 | 28 | 16 | Larry Pearson (R) | Pearson Racing | Buick | 457 | 3 | engine | 78 | $2,375 |
| 31 | 8 | 33 | Harry Gant | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 451 | 79 | running | 75 | $2,200 |
| 32 | 11 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 450 | 104 | running | 72 | $5,825 |
| 33 | 36 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 448 | 0 | running | 64 | $2,080 |
| 34 | 9 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 407 | 0 | cylinder head | 61 | $4,680 |
| 35 | 26 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 1 | running | 63 | $4,605 |
| 36 | 40 | 41 | Jim Bown | Bown Racing | Chevrolet | 389 | 0 | oil pump | 0 | $1,925 |
| 37 | 41 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 384 | 0 | oil pressure | 52 | $1,900 |
| 38 | 29 | 10 | Ken Bouchard | Whitcomb Racing | Pontiac | 299 | 0 | valve | 49 | $3,475 |
| 39 | 21 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 294 | 0 | engine | 46 | $3,850 |
| 40 | 20 | 34 | Rodney Combs | AAG Racing | Buick | 214 | 0 | engine | 43 | $1,825 |
| 41 | 37 | 57 | Hut Stricklin (R) | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 115 | 0 | crank | 40 | $1,825 |
| 42 | 31 | 51 | Butch Miller (R) | Miller Racing | Chevrolet | 50 | 0 | engine | 37 | $1,825 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (March 6, 1989). "Yellow Flags Sweep Wallace To Victory Lane (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 17. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (March 6, 1989). "Yellow Flags Sweep Wallace To Victory Lane (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 22. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Randy (March 6, 1989). "Wallace gets 'em back (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 11. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Randy (March 6, 1989). "Wallace gets 'em back (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 15. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. March 2, 1989. p. 34. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (March 4, 1989). "Rain Washes Away 2nd-Day NASCAR Qualifying". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (March 3, 1989). "Wallace Takes Pole In Record Time (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 45. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (March 3, 1989). "Wallace Takes Pole In Record Time (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 47. Retrieved April 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
