1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500

The 1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was the third stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 19, 1989, before an audience of 41,000 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. With the assist of a fast final pit-stop, Hendrick Motorsports driver Darrell Waltrip would manage to hold off the field on the final restart with nine laps left in the race to take his 75th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Stavola Brothers Racing driver Dick Trickle would finish second and third, respectively.

1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500
Race details
Race 3 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
The 1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
Date March 19, 1989
Official name 30th Annual Motorcraft Quality Parts 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 139.684 miles per hour (224.800 km/h)
Attendance 41,000
Pole position
Driver AK Racing
Time 30.969
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Laps 130
Winner
No. 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Paul Page, Sam Posey, Bobby Unser
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Atlanta International Raceway, the circuit where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly 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
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
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
18 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet Jeffrey Racing
21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile Auto Finders
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
36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac Almeda Auto Parts
40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile Hess Racing
41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet Bown Racing
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
48 Mickey Gibbs (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac SmartLease
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
69 Lee Raymond Raymond Racing Ford Raymond Racing
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
93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Chevrolet Baker 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, March 17, 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, March 18, 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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.969 and an average speed of 176.925 miles per hour (284.733 km/h) in the first round.[6]

Four 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 30.969 176.925
2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 31.000 176.748
3 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 31.136 175.976
4 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.228 175.458
5 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.230 175.447
6 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.305 175.026
7 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.310 174.998
8 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 31.314 174.976
9 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 31.316 174.965
10 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 31.413 174.425
11 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 31.447 174.236
12 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 31.455 174.192
13 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.457 174.181
14 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 31.470 174.109
15 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 31.492 173.987
16 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 31.497 173.959
17 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.608 173.349
18 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.622 173.272
19 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 31.638 173.184
20 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 31.638 173.184
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.237 175.407
22 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 31.507 173.904
23 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 31.527 173.794
24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.692 172.889
25 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.706 172.813
26 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Pontiac 31.729 172.687
27 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.742 172.617
28 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 31.790 172.356
29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.795 172.329
30 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 31.797 172.318
31 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.811 172.242
32 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.850 172.031
33 90 Chad Little (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 31.879 171.875
34 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 31.950 171.493
35 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 31.990 171.279
36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 32.017 171.134
37 41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet 32.103 170.676
38 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 32.182 170.257
39 10 Ken Bouchard Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 32.236 169.971
40 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Pontiac 32.256 169.866
Provisionals
41 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 33.047 165.800
42 48 Mickey Gibbs (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 33.687 162.650
Failed to qualify
43 18 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet -* -*
44 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac -* -*
45 69 Lee Raymond Raymond Racing Ford -* -*
46 93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Chevrolet -* -*
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 4 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 29 running 180 $63,500
2 5 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 92 running 175 $39,675
3 18 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 328 15 running 170 $30,250
4 23 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 327 0 running 160 $13,250
5 8 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 326 0 running 155 $22,500
6 32 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 326 0 running 150 $16,325
7 17 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 325 0 running 146 $11,350
8 35 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 324 0 running 142 $8,525
9 10 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 324 0 running 138 $11,200
10 19 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 323 0 running 134 $15,500
11 16 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 323 0 running 130 $15,295
12 27 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 323 0 running 127 $7,525
13 40 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Pontiac 320 0 running 124 $5,562
14 25 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 319 3 running 126 $7,655
15 21 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 316 28 running 123 $13,455
16 1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 316 0 running 115 $11,195
17 30 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 315 0 running 112 $4,705
18 36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 314 0 running 109 $4,375
19 6 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2 accident 111 $10,265
20 13 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 310 0 running 103 $8,070
21 14 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 306 0 running 100 $6,085
22 38 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 300 0 running 97 $3,400
23 41 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 278 0 running 94 $2,815
24 15 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 270 0 engine 91 $5,730
25 28 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 262 0 engine 88 $5,820
26 22 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 257 0 engine 85 $5,455
27 24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 257 9 engine 87 $3,295
28 20 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 254 0 engine 79 $2,510
29 7 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 240 0 running 76 $2,475
30 29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 233 0 engine 73 $5,140
31 3 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 217 130 engine 80 $23,110
32 34 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 166 0 engine 67 $3,075
33 12 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 164 1 accident 69 $4,925
34 26 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Pontiac 160 0 accident 61 $2,250
35 33 90 Chad Little (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 101 0 camshaft 58 $2,855
36 11 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 97 3 engine 60 $9,205
37 39 10 Ken Bouchard Whitcomb Racing Pontiac 56 0 overheating 52 $3,785
38 2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 48 16 engine 54 $4,165
39 42 48 Mickey Gibbs (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 30 0 engine 46 $2,140
40 9 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 19 0 engine 43 $10,660
41 37 41 Jim Bown Bown Racing Chevrolet 10 0 engine 40 $2,060
42 31 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 9 0 engine 37 $4,060
Failed to qualify
43 18 Rick Jeffrey Jeffrey Racing Chevrolet
44 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac
45 69 Lee Raymond Raymond Racing Ford
46 93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (March 20, 1989). "Waltrip Wins Atlanta Race (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (March 20, 1989). "Waltrip Wins Atlanta Race (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 27. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Hinton, Ed (March 20, 1989). "Waltrip Makes It 2 Out of 3 (Part 1)". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 39. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Hinton, Ed (March 20, 1989). "Waltrip Makes It 2 Out of 3 (Part 2)". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 47. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. March 17, 1989. p. 71. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (March 18, 1989). "Kulwicki Speeds To Pole In Qualifying At Atlanta". The Charlotte Observer. p. 35. Retrieved April 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


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