1989 Atlanta Journal 500

The 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 was the 29th and final stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 19, 1989, before an audience of 83,000 in Hampton, Georgia, at Atlanta International Raceway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate a majority of the race, leading 294 laps to take his 39th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth victory of the season.[1][2][3][4]

1989 Atlanta Journal 500
Race details
Race 29 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
The 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
Date November 19, 1989
Official name 30th Annual Atlanta Journal 500
Location Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Scheduled Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Average speed 140.229 miles per hour (225.677 km/h)
Attendance 83,000
Pole position
Driver AK Racing
Time 30.591
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 249
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In the NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver's championship battle, Rusty Wallace, needing an 18th place finish or better to clinch the championship, would manage to overcome late-race issues and maintain the 15th position, finishing three laps behind Earnhardt to clinch his first and only Winston Cup Series championship.[5]

The race was marred by the death of independent driver Grant Adcox. On lap 203 of the race, Adcox would crash in the first turn, with the front of the car accelerating into the outside wall, destroying the front of the car and the car being set on fire. After being sent to the Georgia Baptist Hospital, Adcox was pronounced dead at 4:15 PM EST due to massive head and chest injuries.[6]

Differing accounts on how the crash first occurred exist. According to Adcox's crew chief, Pete Card, Jim Sauter, who was ahead of Adcox, drifted down the turn and hit the right rear of Adcox's car. However, according to Sauter, Sauter stated that he was both was hit by Adcox and was behind Adcox at the time of the accident.[6] A reporter for The Anniston Star who was at the track, Mark McCarter, reported that Adcox's car blew a tire.[7][8] In a press statement given out by Goodyear spokesman Bill King, he disputed this, saying that the crash was caused by a mechanical failure.[6]

Background

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The layout of Atlanta Motor Speedway, the circuit where the race was held.

Atlanta International Raceway is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

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  • (R) - denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
01 Mickey Gibbs (R) Gibbs Racing Ford Gibbs–West Tractor
2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac Kroger
02 Rich Bickle Bickle Racing Buick Alka-Seltzer
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 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Pontiac Purolator
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Copenhagen
15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick Chattanooga Chew
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
20 Rob Moroso Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Swisher Sweets
21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Oldsmobile Herb Adcox Chevrolet
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
33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Jim Sauter Group 44 Pontiac Group 44
45 Patty Moise Moise Racing Buick Amway Fuel Additive
47 Jack Pennington Close Racing Oldsmobile Springsteen Properties
48 Greg Sacks Winkle Motorsports Pontiac Dinner Bell Foods
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
53 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile Aroneck Racing
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 Winn-Dixie
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
88 Jimmy Spencer (R) Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac Crisco
89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Tracy Leslie 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 Friday, November 16, 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 Saturday, November 17, 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,[9] 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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.591 and an average speed of 179.112 miles per hour (288.253 km/h) in the first round.[10][11]

Five drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 30.591 179.112
2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.690 178.534
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.818 177.792
4 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 30.864 177.527
5 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.889 177.384
6 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 30.962 176.965
7 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.976 176.885
8 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.034 176.555
9 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.061 176.401
10 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 31.069 176.356
11 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 31.085 176.265
12 48 Greg Sacks Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 31.089 176.242
13 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 31.095 176.208
14 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 31.110 176.123
15 20 Rob Moroso Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 31.162 175.830
16 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 31.180 175.728
17 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 31.223 175.486
18 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 31.251 175.329
19 88 Jimmy Spencer (R) Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 31.278 175.177
20 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 31.300 175.054
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.039 176.526
22 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 31.083 176.276
23 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.090 176.237
24 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 31.186 175.694
25 01 Mickey Gibbs (R) Gibbs Racing Ford 31.228 175.458
26 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.258 175.290
27 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 31.279 175.172
28 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.395 174.525
29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.403 174.480
30 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.428 174.341
31 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 31.434 174.308
32 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 31.454 174.197
33 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 31.459 174.170
34 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 31.474 174.087
35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.483 174.037
36 44 Jim Sauter Group 44 Pontiac 31.484 174.031
37 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 31.516 173.855
38 22 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Oldsmobile 31.566 173.579
39 47 Jack Pennington Close Racing Oldsmobile 31.597 173.409
40 02 Rich Bickle Bickle Racing Buick 31.605 173.365
Provisionals
41 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile - -
42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet - -
Failed to qualify
43 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
44 53 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
45 90 Tracy Leslie Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
46 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
47 45 Patty Moise Moise Racing Buick -* -*
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 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 249 running 185 $81,700
2 7 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 0 running 170 $33,625
3 6 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 328 5 running 170 $25,275
4 2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 38 running 165 $18,875
5 8 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 327 1 running 160 $18,800
6 16 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 326 0 running 150 $6,775
7 29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 326 0 running 146 $13,117
8 24 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 326 0 running 142 $13,350
9 26 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 326 0 running 138 $8,950
10 22 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 326 0 running 134 $10,925
11 23 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 325 0 running 130 $5,750
12 10 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 325 0 running 127 $5,450
13 1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 325 0 running 124 $11,250
14 33 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 325 1 running 126 $10,350
15 4 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 325 0 running 118 $12,875
16 37 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 324 0 running 115 $6,850
17 21 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 324 0 running 112 $12,050
18 28 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 324 0 running 109 $6,250
19 34 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 323 0 running 106 $4,700
20 11 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 322 0 running 103 $4,875
21 36 44 Jim Sauter Group 44 Pontiac 321 0 running 100 $2,550
22 40 02 Rich Bickle Bickle Racing Buick 319 0 running 97 $2,475
23 14 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 310 0 running 94 $5,350
24 39 47 Jack Pennington Close Racing Oldsmobile 303 0 running 91 $2,325
25 18 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 293 3 running 93 $11,350
26 30 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 279 0 running 85 $5,075
27 13 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 278 0 running 82 $13,150
28 35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 268 0 a frame 79 $2,925
29 12 48 Greg Sacks Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 257 0 engine 76 $2,150
30 20 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 224 0 engine 73 $5,625
31 17 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 213 0 engine 70 $2,050
32 38 22 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Oldsmobile 198 0 fatal crash 67 $2,040
33 42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 181 0 valve 64 $4,705
34 15 20 Rob Moroso Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 169 0 crash 61 $2,025
35 9 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 138 29 engine 63 $4,750
36 31 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 94 2 engine 60 $1,965
37 19 88 Jimmy Spencer (R) Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 66 0 crash 52 $4,575
38 25 01 Mickey Gibbs (R) Gibbs Racing Ford 37 0 engine 49 $1,935
39 27 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 35 0 brakes 46 $1,930
40 5 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 29 0 engine 43 $8,925
41 32 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 10 0 oil line 40 $1,925
42 41 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 8 0 engine 37 $4,525
Failed to qualify
43 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile
44 53 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile
45 90 Tracy Leslie Donlavey Racing Ford
46 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
47 45 Patty Moise Moise Racing Buick
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 20, 1989). "Wallace's Title Tempered (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 26. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 20, 1989). "Wallace's Title Tempered (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 34. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Robinson, Bill (November 20, 1989). "Triumph, Tragedy in 500 (Part 1)". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 72. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Robinson, Bill (November 20, 1989). "Triumph, Tragedy in 500 (Part 2)". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 86. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Cawthon, Raad (November 20, 1989). "Wallace Couldn't Relax on Ride to Title". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 85. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ a b c McCollister, Tom (November 20, 1989). "Firey Crash Claims Adcox". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 85. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ McCarter, Mark (November 20, 1989). "NASCAR loses one of the good guys (Part 1)". The Anniston Star. p. 9. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ McCarter, Mark (November 20, 1989). "NASCAR loses one of the good guys (Part 2)". The Anniston Star. p. 11. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. November 17, 1989. p. 41. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 18, 1989). "Kulwicki Sprints To Atlanta Pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 29. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 18, 1989). "Kulwicki Sprints To Atlanta Pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 42. Retrieved June 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


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1989 Autoworks 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1989 season
Next race:
1990 Daytona 500