The 1992 Pyroil 500K was the 28th and penultimate stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the 11th and final race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the fifth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 1, 1992, before an audience of 80,000 in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 312 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to make a late-race charge late in the race, passing for the lead with 30 to go to retake the driver's championship points lead, assisted from a poor finish by the points leader heading into the race, Bill Elliott. The victory was Allison's 18th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and owner-driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.

1992 Pyroil 500K
Race details
Race 28 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1992 Pyroil 500K program cover, featuring Mark Martin.
The 1992 Pyroil 500K program cover, featuring Mark Martin.
Date November 1, 1992
Official name 5th Annual Pyroil 500K
Location Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Scheduled Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Average speed 103.885 miles per hour (167.187 km/h)
Attendance 80,000
Pole position
Driver Penske Racing South
Time 28.094
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South
Laps 161
Winner
No. 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In the driver's championship for the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, heading into the final race of the season, the 1992 Hooters 500, six drivers were eligible to win the driver's championship, culminating into one of the closest championship battles in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history. Driver's championship leader Davey Allison would lead second-place driver Alan Kulwicki by 30 points and third-place driver Bill Elliott by 40 points. For Allison to clinch the championship, Allison would need to finish fifth or better at the Hooters 500.[3] Second-place Kulwicki would need to win the race, lead the most laps, and for Allison to finish outside the top five to clinch the championship. Third-place Bill Elliott would need to win the race, lead the most laps, and for Allison to finish outside the top eight to win the championship. Additionally, three other drivers, considered long-shots to win the title, were also eligible to win the championship: Harry Gant, Kyle Petty, and Mark Martin.[4][5]

In the driver's championship for the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series, Spears Motorsports driver Bill Sedgwick, assisted by a poor finish by competitor Bill Schmitt, would manage to win the Winston West title by six points over Schmitt.[6]

Background

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The layout of Phoenix International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

Entry list

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  • (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
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Hooters
8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Snickers
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Jimmy Spencer 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
24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac Anaheim Electronics
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Diamond Ridge Motorsports
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet Chesrown Auto Group
41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford Van-K Karting Wheels
49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet Ameritron Batteries
51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Phoenix Construction
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Oliver Gravity Seperators
55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac Imperial Palace
61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet All Pro Auto Parts
66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford Country Time
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Marcis Auto Racing
73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford Bowman Fasteners
75 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet Spears Motorsports
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford Purex
86 Rich Woodland Jr. Woodland Racing Oldsmobile National Cold Storage
92 Ron Hornaday Jr. Fisher Racing Chevrolet Palmdale Chiropractic
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 30, at 5:30 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, October 31, at 2:00 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,[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 one for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and two extra provisionals for the NASCAR Winston West Series. 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.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.094 and an average speed of 128.141 miles per hour (206.223 km/h) in the first round.[8]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 28.094 128.141
2 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 28.284 127.280
3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 28.363 126.926
4 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.389 126.810
5 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 28.390 126.805
6 12 Jimmy Spencer Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 28.400 126.761
7 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 28.426 126.645
8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 28.426 126.645
9 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.436 126.600
10 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 28.465 126.471
11 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 28.489 126.365
12 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.491 126.356
13 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 28.518 126.236
14 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 28.523 126.214
15 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 28.527 126.196
16 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 28.531 126.179
17 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 28.564 126.033
18 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 28.581 125.958
19 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.606 125.848
20 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 28.633 125.729
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford 28.642 125.690
22 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.648 125.663
23 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 28.662 125.602
24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 28.775 125.109
25 41 Hut Stricklin Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.789 125.048
26 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 28.798 125.009
27 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 28.806 124.974
28 37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 28.819 124.918
29 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 28.823 124.900
30 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 28.883 124.641
31 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford 28.897 124.580
32 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 28.935 124.417
33 29 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 29.127 123.597
34 52 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 29.192 123.321
35 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford 29.329 122.745
36 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 29.372 122.566
37 75 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 29.528 121.918
38 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 29.602 121.613
39 44 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford 29.692 121.245
40 24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac 29.707 121.184
Provisionals
41 92 Ron Hornaday Jr. Fisher Racing Chevrolet - -
42 61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet - -
Failed to qualify
43 86 Rich Woodland Jr. Woodland Racing Oldsmobile 30.616 117.586
44 58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac - -
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 12 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 312 30 running 180 $65,285
2 8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 312 44 running 175 $40,555
3 10 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 165 $32,130
4 3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 312 49 running 165 $25,730
5 6 12 Jimmy Spencer Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 312 0 running 155 $22,105
6 9 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 150 $20,070
7 13 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 312 0 running 146 $13,220
8 21 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Ford 312 0 running 142 $15,820
9 2 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 311 21 running 143 $14,720
10 19 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 0 running 134 $21,370
11 11 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 311 0 running 130 $13,120
12 15 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 311 0 running 127 $12,520
13 27 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 311 0 running 124 $9,120
14 30 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 311 5 running 126 $16,220
15 25 41 Hut Stricklin Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 311 0 running 118 $8,370
16 26 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 311 0 running 115 $10,720
17 14 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 311 0 running 112 $10,420
18 31 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Ford 310 0 running 109 $5,320
19 7 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 309 0 running 106 $10,120
20 17 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 309 0 running 103 $10,485
21 23 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 309 0 running 100 $7,410
22 24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 309 0 running 97 $9,510
23 33 29 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 308 0 running 94 $6,460
24 16 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 302 2 engine 96 $9,410
25 41 92 Ron Hornaday Jr. Fisher Racing Chevrolet 301 0 running 88 $6,360
26 39 44 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford 299 0 running 85 $4,785
27 37 75 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 299 0 running 82 $7,285
28 1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 295 161 running 89 $26,735
29 40 24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac 292 0 running 76 $6,210
30 4 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 288 0 running 73 $12,885
31 18 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 260 0 running 70 $13,660
32 38 49 Stanley Smith BS&S Motorsports Chevrolet 251 0 running 67 $4,385
33 35 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford 209 0 engine 64 $4,860
34 5 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 201 0 crash 61 $13,935
35 36 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 180 0 engine 58 $4,310
36 32 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 141 0 brakes 55 $4,285
37 34 52 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 124 0 engine 52 $4,265
38 22 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 85 0 engine 49 $7,255
39 20 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 69 0 engine 46 $7,240
40 29 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 68 0 crash 43 $4,205
41 42 61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet 7 0 engine 40 $4,205
42 28 37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 1 0 quit 37 $4,205
Failed to qualify
43 86 Rich Woodland Jr. Woodland Racing Oldsmobile
44 58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Mike (November 2, 1992). "Allison in upswing of up-and-down year". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. p. 29. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 2, 1992). "Tearful Allison roars to victory, regains points lead". The Bradenton Herald. p. 27. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 2, 1992). "Elliott now must hope luck turns". The Charlotte Observer. p. 12. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ McKee, Sandra (November 15, 1992). "If history is guide, Allison is in driver's seat for title". The Baltimore Sun. p. 70. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 15, 1992). "Atlanta burns with drama, emotion". The Charlotte Observer. p. 48. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Beard, Brock (November 9, 2017). "11/1/92: The story of Rick Carelli, NASCAR's original Colorado connection, and a last-place finish at Phoenix". LASTCAR. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  7. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. October 30, 1992. p. 28. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Harris, Mike (October 31, 1992). "Rusty Wallace runs possessed". The Indianapolis News. p. 41. Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1992 AC Delco 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1992 season
Next race:
1992 Hooters 500