The 1992 Mello Yello 500 was the 26th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 11, 1992, before an audience of 162,500 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to make a late-race pass on eventual second-place finisher, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki with 32 laps to go to take his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, SABCO Racing driver Kyle Petty would finish third.

1992 Mello Yello 500
Race details
Race 26 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1992 Mello Yello 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1992 Mello Yello 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date October 11, 1992
Official name 33rd Annual Mello Yello 500
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Scheduled Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Average speed 153.537 miles per hour (247.094 km/h)
Attendance 162,500
Pole position
Driver AK Racing
Time 30.163
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Petty SABCO Racing
Laps 129
Winner
No. 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

With poor finishes from the top two in the driver's championship standings, those being Bill Elliott and Davey Allison, the points battle had tightened to extreme margins, with the top five in the driver's championship all being within 100 points within the leader with three races left in the season, the first time of such an occurrence in NASCAR history.[3]

Bobby Hillin Jr. was disqualified after the race after his car was found to have illegal engine in post-race inspection. It was the last time a disqualification was levied in the Cup Series for technical infringement until 2019, when Erik Jones was disqualified from the 2019 Federated Auto Parts 400.[4] The disqualification affected the team Hillin drove for, which opted to shut down after it was unable to pay for the fines levied for the inspection failure.[5]

Background

edit
 
The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

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 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 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.

Entry list

edit
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
05 Ed Ferree Ferree Racing Chevrolet Ferree Chevrolet
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Hooters
8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Snickers
9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Jeff Purvis Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet Raybestos
15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford Keystone
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet Bryant Heating & Cooling
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
41 Dick Trickle Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
45 Rich Bickle Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford Terminal Trucking
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac Rumple Furniture
49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet Ameritron Batteries
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Hurley Limo
55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
57 Bob Schacht (R) Stringer Motorsports Oldsmobile National Pronto Auto Parts
65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile Wheels Discount Auto
66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford Country Time
71 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Staley's Steakhouse
77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Buick Kenova Golf Course Construction
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Stahl Racing
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford Purex
85 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet Glidden
90 Pancho Carter Donlavey Racing Ford Plumb Hammers
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
97 Hut Stricklin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Junior Johnson & Associates

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, October 7, at 5:00 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 Thursday, October 8, at 1:30 PM 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,[6] 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. 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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.163 and an average speed of 179.027 miles per hour (288.116 km/h) in the first round.[7]

Five drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 30.163 179.027
2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.204 178.784
3 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 30.429 177.462
4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.438 177.410
5 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.578 176.598
6 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.590 176.528
7 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 30.623 176.338
8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 30.657 176.142
9 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 30.673 176.051
10 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 30.703 175.879
11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.742 175.655
12 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.749 175.615
13 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet 30.772 175.484
14 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 30.777 175.456
15 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford 30.780 175.439
16 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.789 175.387
17 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 30.799 175.330
18 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.821 175.205
19 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.878 174.882
20 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 30.885 174.842
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 30.924 174.622
22 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.964 174.396
23 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 30.964 174.396
24 12 Jimmy Spencer Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 30.992 174.239
25 9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford 31.019 174.087
26 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford 31.079 173.751
27 97 Hut Stricklin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 31.130 173.466
28 31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 31.138 173.422
29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.166 173.266
30 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 31.177 173.205
31 90 Pancho Carter Donlavey Racing Ford 31.275 172.662
32 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.283 172.618
33 45 Rich Bickle Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford 31.626 172.381
34 65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile 31.371 172.133
35 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 31.468 171.603
36 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 31.514 171.352
37 57 Bob Schacht (R) Stringer Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.556 171.124
38 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 31.582 170.983
39 71 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.591 170.935
40 41 Dave Marcis Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.645 170.643
Failed to qualify
41 77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Buick -* -*
42 05 Ed Ferree Ferree Racing Chevrolet -* -*
43 85 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
44 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford -* -*
45 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

edit
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 334 107 running 180 $101,500
2 1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 334 63 running 175 $89,000
3 20 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 334 129 running 175 $68,600
4 24 12 Jimmy Spencer Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 334 0 running 160 $41,200
5 5 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 0 running 155 $35,550
6 3 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 334 2 running 155 $34,150
7 2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 13 running 151 $32,500
8 18 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 334 8 running 147 $25,800
9 17 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 333 2 running 143 $19,300
10 12 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 333 0 running 134 $19,600
11 30 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 333 0 running 130 $16,200
12 13 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet 333 0 running 127 $15,000
13 6 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 333 0 running 124 $14,700
14 11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 332 0 running 121 $19,050
15 26 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford 331 0 running 118 $13,450
16 19 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 331 0 running 115 $11,350
17 14 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 331 0 running 112 $16,100
18 9 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 330 0 running 109 $8,450
19 22 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 329 0 running 106 $15,375
20 35 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 328 0 running 103 $7,550
21 39 71 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 326 0 running 100 $6,595
22 37 57 Bob Schacht (R) Stringer Motorsports Oldsmobile 325 0 running 97 $4,700
23 29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 325 0 running 94 $9,220
24 7 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 324 0 clutch 91 $9,640
25 33 45 Rich Bickle Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford 324 0 running 88 $4,830
26 15 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford 323 0 clutch 85 $4,235
27 32 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 323 0 running 82 $8,720
28 8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 320 0 running 79 $9,105
29 34 65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile 314 0 running 76 $3,965
30 16 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 310 10 sway bar 78 $13,880
31 27 97 Hut Stricklin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 305 0 quit 70 $3,800
32 31 90 Pancho Carter Donlavey Racing Ford 297 0 running 67 $3,735
33 25 9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford 294 0 overheating 64 $3,670
34 10 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 215 0 engine 61 $13,350
35 23 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 168 0 engine 58 $8,155
36 36 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 141 0 engine 55 $3,610
37 21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 128 0 engine 52 $11,600
38 38 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 89 0 engine 49 $3,590
39 40 41 Dave Marcis Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 0 rear end 46 $5,085
DSQ 28 31 Bobby Hillin Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 332 0 disqualified 43 $3,580
Failed to qualify
41 77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Buick
42 05 Ed Ferree Ferree Racing Chevrolet
43 85 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet
44 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford
45 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Coble, Dom (October 12, 1992). "Martin makes a point in Mello Yello win". Florida Today. p. 21. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Harris, Mike (October 12, 1992). "Mello Yello win thrusts Martin into points battle". The Anniston Star. p. 13. Retrieved February 7, 2023.  
  3. ^ Clarke, Liz (October 12, 1992). "Elliott woes tighten points race". The Charlotte Observer. p. 14. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Sturniolo, Zack (September 23, 2019). "Jones in tight spot after disqualification". Pocono Record. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Howell, Mark D. (1997). From Moonshine to Madison Avenue: A Cultural History of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-87972-739-X.
  6. ^ "Race week schedule". The Charlotte Observer. October 7, 1992. p. 61. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Foreman Jr., tom (October 8, 1992). "Kulwicki darkens pole position". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 13. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1992 Tyson Holly Farms 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1992 season
Next race:
1992 AC Delco 500