1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300

The 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was the 12th stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the fourth race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the inaugural iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 11, 1989, before an audience of 62,000 in Sonoma, California, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, King Racing driver Ricky Rudd would manage to fend off a charge from Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace for the final four laps to take his 10th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Rusty Wallace and Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott would finish second and third, respectively.

1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300
Race details
Race 12 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 program cover, featuring Rick Mast.
The 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 program cover, featuring Rick Mast.
Date June 11, 1989
Official name Inaugural Banquet Frozen Foods 300
Location Sears Point International Raceway, Sonoma, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.52 mi (4.06 km)
Distance 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Scheduled Distance 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Average speed 76.088 miles per hour (122.452 km/h)
Attendance 53,000
Pole position
Driver Blue Max Racing
Time 1:40.754
Most laps led
Driver Ricky Rudd King Racing
Laps 61
Winner
No. 26 Ricky Rudd King 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

edit
 
The layout of Sears International Point Raceway used by NASCAR at the time.

Sears International Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[4] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[5] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[6]

Entry list

edit
  • (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
04 Hershel McGriff McGriff Motorsports Pontiac U.S. Bank
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
08 Rick McCray McCray Racing Pontiac Far West Meat
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
09 Terry Fisher Midgley Racing Chevrolet Midgley 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
19 Bill Cooper Stoke Racing Ford Lakeport Chamber of Commerce
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
33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Redkote Steel Tubing
40 Darin Brassfield Brassfield Racing Chevrolet Mobil 1
41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet Rose Auto Wrecking
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick Quaker State, Coca-Cola
46 Marta Leonard Leonard Racing Chevrolet The Leonard Company
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum
56 Ron Esau Esau Racing Oldsmobile Esau Racing
57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet Schmitt Racing
75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Buick Spears Manufacturing
79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford Autosports Enterprises
80 Bob Walker Bob Walker Racing Pontiac Bayside Builders
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
88 Joe Ruttman Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac Crisco
90 Stan Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford Hawaiian Tropic
93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick Taco Bell
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac Skoal

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 9, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, June 10, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-40 would be decided on time,[7] 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 two for entries in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and two extra provisionals for the NASCAR Winston West Series.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:40.754 and an average speed of 90.041 miles per hour (144.907 km/h) in the first round.[8][9]

Six drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 1:40.754 90.041
2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 1:40.774 90.023
3 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 1:40.802 89.998
4 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 1:40.849 89.956
5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:41.267 89.585
6 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:41.333 89.527
7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 1:41.494 89.385
8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:41.567 89.320
9 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 1:41.906 89.023
10 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:41.940 88.994
11 38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford 1:42.251 88.723
12 88 Joe Ruttman Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 1:42.294 88.686
13 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 1:42.394 88.599
14 41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet 1:42.427 88.570
15 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 1:42.428 88.570
16 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 1:42.571 88.446
17 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 1:42.612 88.411
18 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:43.134 87.963
19 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1:43.184 87.921
20 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 1:43.209 87.899
21 84 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1:43.584 87.581
22 16 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing Buick 1:43.596 87.571
23 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 1:43.794 87.404
24 09 Terry Fisher Midgley Racing Chevrolet 1:43.841 87.364
25 19 Bill Cooper Stoke Racing Ford 1:43.842 87.363
Failed to lock in Round 1
26 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 1:40.963 89.555
27 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 1:42.306 88.675
28 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 1:42.633 88.393
29 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 1:42.842 88.213
30 40 Darin Brassfield Brassfield Racing Chevrolet 1:43.094 87.997
31 04 Hershel McGriff McGriff Motorsports Pontiac 1:43.139 87.959
32 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick 1:43.818 87.384
33 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 1:43.904 87.311
34 57 Hut Stricklin Osterlund Racing Pontiac 1:43.936 87.284
35 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1:41.001 87.230
36 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 1:41.142 87.112
37 79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford 1:41.216 87.050
38 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1:41.268 87.007
39 56 Ron Esau Esau Racing Oldsmobile 1:41.730 86.623
40 08 Rick McCray McCray Racing Pontiac 1:41.862 86.524
Winston Cup provisional
41 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 1:46.730 85.000
Winston West provisional
42 99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac 1:46.071 85.528
Failed to qualify
43 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Buick -* -*
44 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
45 44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick -* -*
46 80 Bob Walker Bob Walker Racing Pontiac -* -*
47 90 Stan Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
48 46 Marta Leonard Leonard Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

edit
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 74 61 running 185 $62,350
2 1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 74 10 running 175 $39,225
3 3 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 74 3 running 170 $28,375
4 10 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74 0 running 160 $20,350
5 26 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 74 0 running 155 $18,507
6 12 88 Joe Ruttman Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 74 0 running 150 $11,350
7 9 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 74 0 running 146 $16,575
8 16 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 74 0 running 142 $10,075
9 15 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 74 0 running 138 $13,875
10 28 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 74 0 running 134 $11,600
11 18 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 74 0 running 130 $8,475
12 13 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 74 0 running 127 $11,175
13 19 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 74 0 running 124 $7,775
14 31 04 Hershel McGriff McGriff Motorsports Pontiac 74 0 running 0 $5,075
15 27 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 73 0 running 118 $10,675
16 35 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 73 0 running 115 $6,200
17 36 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 73 0 running 0 $3,925
18 23 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 73 0 running 109 $5,800
19 22 16 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing Buick 73 0 running 106 $4,475
20 8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 73 0 running 103 $10,675
21 34 57 Hut Stricklin Osterlund Racing Pontiac 73 0 running 100 $2,925
22 30 40 Darin Brassfield Brassfield Racing Chevrolet 73 0 running 97 $2,650
23 29 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 73 0 running 94 $3,475
24 32 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick 72 0 running 0 $2,605
25 24 09 Terry Fisher Midgley Racing Chevrolet 72 0 running 0 $2,825
26 38 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 72 0 running 85 $3,345
27 20 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 72 0 running 82 $5,275
28 40 08 Rick McCray McCray Racing Pontiac 72 0 running 0 $3,200
29 14 41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet 70 0 running 0 $2,215
30 21 84 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 69 0 running 73 $5,200
31 2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 69 0 running 70 $6,825
32 11 38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford 65 0 running 67 $2,425
33 42 99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac 65 0 running 0 $3,000
34 41 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 63 0 engine 61 $2,375
35 25 19 Bill Cooper Stoke Racing Ford 61 0 engine 0 $2,360
36 7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 55 0 engine 55 $4,330
37 5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47 0 running 52 $9,520
38 6 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47 0 running 49 $10,900
39 37 79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford 46 0 engine 0 $3,375
40 17 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 33 0 engine 43 $4,250
41 39 56 Ron Esau Esau Racing Oldsmobile 15 0 ignition 0 $2,250
42 33 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 8 0 transmission 37 $4,250
Failed to qualify
43 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Buick
44 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
45 44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick
46 80 Bob Walker Bob Walker Racing Pontiac
47 90 Stan Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford
48 46 Marta Leonard Leonard Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 12, 1989). "Rudd Outruns Wallace (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 9. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 12, 1989). "Rudd Outruns Wallace (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 12. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Harris, Mike (June 12, 1989). "Rudd holds off Wallace for title". Pottsville Republican. p. 16. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Sears Point". www.gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Passing is tough in Chute | chronicle.augusta.com". June 7, 2011. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "SEARS POINT BREAKS GROUND ON MODIFIED CHUTE - RacingWest". September 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  7. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. June 9, 1989. p. 26. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 10, 1989). "Wallace Takes Pole At Sears Point (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 29. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 10, 1989). "Wallace Takes Pole At Sears Point (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 31. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1989 Budweiser 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1989 season
Next race:
1989 Miller High Life 500