The 1989 TranSouth 500 was the fifth stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 2, 1989, before an audience of 45,000 in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. At race's end, Jackson Bros. Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 10th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his only victory of the season, and his first victory in 90 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison and Hendrick Motorsports driver Geoff Bodine would finish second and third, respectively.

1989 TranSouth 500
Race details
Race 5 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1989 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Lake Speed.
The 1989 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Lake Speed.
Date April 2, 1989
Official name 33rd Annual TranSouth 500
Location Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Scheduled Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Average speed 115.475 miles per hour (185.839 km/h)
Attendance 45,000
Pole position
Driver Roush Racing
Time 30.523
Most laps led
Driver Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports
Laps 179
Winner
No. 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac Kroger
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Stroh's Light
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
10 Ken Bouchard Whitcomb Racing Pontiac Whitcomb Racing
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick Chattanooga Chew
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile B&B Racing
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac Slender You Figure Salons
33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
34 Rodney Combs AAG Racing Buick AAG Racing
40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile Hess Racing
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum
57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Banquet Foods
68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Pontiac Purolator
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Pontiac Miles Concrete
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac Crisco
90 Chad Little (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Donlavey Racing
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, March 30, at 2:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Friday, March 31, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[5] and 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.

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.523 and an average speed of 161.111 miles per hour (259.283 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.523 161.111
2 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.799 159.668
3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 30.823 159.543
4 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.831 159.502
5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 30.850 159.404
6 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.892 159.187
7 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.934 158.971
8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.941 158.935
9 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 30.955 158.863
10 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.960 158.837
11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.968 158.796
12 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 31.009 158.586
13 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 31.036 158.448
14 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 31.159 157.823
15 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.162 157.808
16 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 31.180 157.716
17 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.185 157.691
18 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.279 157.217
19 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 31.292 157.152
20 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.306 157.082
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.336 156.931
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.346 156.881
23 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.368 156.771
24 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 31.402 156.601
25 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 31.446 156.382
26 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 31.447 156.377
27 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 31.482 156.204
28 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.541 155.911
29 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 31.557 155.832
30 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 31.596 155.640
31 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Pontiac 31.637 155.438
32 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 31.650 155.374
33 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.693 155.164
34 10 Ken Bouchard Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 31.729 154.988
35 34 Rodney Combs AAG Racing Buick 31.742 154.924
36 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 31.794 154.671
37 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Pontiac 31.854 154.379
38 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 31.991 153.718
39 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 32.229 152.583
40 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 32.503 151.297
Provisional
41 90 Chad Little (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 32.589 150.898
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 10 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 367 179 running 185 $59,935
2 4 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 367 4 running 175 $35,435
3 8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 1 running 170 $25,345
4 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 367 18 running 165 $18,810
5 26 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 367 0 running 155 $18,270
6 13 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 367 0 running 150 $17,725
7 3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 366 56 running 151 $10,750
8 5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 366 64 running 147 $15,120
9 23 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 366 0 running 138 $8,820
10 14 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 366 2 running 139 $10,675
11 17 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 366 0 running 130 $7,850
12 25 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 365 0 running 127 $7,425
13 28 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 365 0 running 124 $8,250
14 2 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 365 0 running 121 $6,725
15 33 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 364 0 running 118 $4,955
16 12 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 363 0 running 115 $11,300
17 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 363 0 running 112 $5,935
18 19 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 362 1 running 109 $9,875
19 38 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 361 0 running 106 $3,610
20 36 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 361 0 running 103 $3,725
21 32 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 359 0 running 100 $2,570
22 34 10 Ken Bouchard Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 358 0 running 97 $3,490
23 29 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 357 0 running 94 $2,435
24 18 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 355 0 running 91 $3,080
25 16 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 352 7 crash 93 $5,925
26 15 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 352 0 crash 85 $4,870
27 6 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 350 0 crash 82 $9,140
28 30 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 350 0 crash 79 $2,095
29 35 34 Rodney Combs AAG Racing Buick 349 0 running 76 $2,050
30 39 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 341 0 running 73 $2,050
31 40 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 339 0 running 70 $1,935
32 31 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Pontiac 324 0 engine 67 $1,895
33 11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 290 35 running 69 $10,655
34 24 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 284 0 running 61 $5,090
35 37 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Pontiac 276 0 oil pump 58 $1,790
36 7 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 261 0 running 55 $10,355
37 41 90 Chad Little (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 257 0 engine 52 $2,350
38 27 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 211 0 rear end 49 $1,710
39 20 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 162 0 valve 46 $4,295
40 9 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 83 0 engine 43 $3,645
41 21 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 83 0 crash 40 $3,645
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 3, 1989). "Who Says Gant Can't? (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 3, 1989). "Who Says Gant Can't? (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ King, Randy (April 3, 1989). "For win-starved Gant, 'it's been awhile' (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 12. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ King, Randy (April 3, 1989). "For win-starved Gant, 'it's been awhile' (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 14. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. March 30, 1989. p. 47. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (March 31, 1989). "Martin Leads Ford Domination At Darlington (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 39. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Higgins, Tom (March 31, 1989). "Martin Leads Ford Domination At Darlington (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 44. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1989 Pontiac Excitement 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1989 season
Next race:
1989 Valleydale Meats 500