The 1992 Hanes 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 43rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 26, 1992, before an audience of 48,300 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. In a race marred with rear axle failures, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to keep his car intact and hold off the field on the final restart with four to go to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin and owner-driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1992 Hanes 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt and his pit crew. | |||
| Date | April 26, 1992 | ||
| Official name | 43rd Annual Hanes 500 | ||
| Location | Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 78.086 miles per hour (125.667 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 48,300 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.371 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | |
| Laps | 219 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| 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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Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 24, at 3:00 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 Saturday, April 25, at 12:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-30 would be decided on time,[3] 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; which was usually two. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.
Darrell Waltrip, driving for his own Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.371 and an average speed of 92.956 miles per hour (149.598 km/h) in the first round.[4]
Two drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
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References
edit- ^ Harris, Mike (April 27, 1992). "Patient approach works for Martin". Sun-Journal. p. 25. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 27, 1992). "Martin extends Ford's streak to 12". The Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. April 24, 1992. p. 28. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 25, 1992). "Chevys take top 2 positions for Hanes 500". The Rock Island Argus. p. 28. Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
