1992 Champion Spark Plug 400

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1992 Champion Spark Plug 400
Race details[1]
Race 19 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 program cover
Date August 16, 1992 (1992-August-16)
Official name Champion Spark Plug 400
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed 145.056 miles per hour (233.445 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Alan Kulwicki Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 73
Winner
No. 33 Harry Gant
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons

The 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on August 16, 1992, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The race was won by Harry Gant, driving the #33 Skoal Bandit Oldsmobile for Leo Jackson Motorsports. This was the last victory for Oldsmobile in NASCAR; after the season General Motors, which had entered the 1990s fielding cars under four of its marques including Buick, decided to withdraw the brand from NASCAR in favor of keeping Chevrolet and Pontiac in the sport.

Michigan International Speedway grandstands; picture taken in the 1990s

Gant’s victory was the eighteenth of his career as well as his last, and he set a still-standing record with his win as the oldest driver in the history of the Cup series to win a race. Gant was 52 years, 219 days old at the time of his victory.

Background[]

Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[2] Opened in 1968, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees.[2] The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.[2]

Race report[]

Approximately 13% of this 200-lap race was run under a caution flag; each green flag lasted for an average of 30 laps. There were four accidents in this event; a total of nine different cars were involved. Greg Sacks was the last-place finisher on the fourth lap due to three-car pileup that also took Jimmy Means out of the race and severely affected Bobby Hamilton. It took nearly two hours and fifty minutes to decide the race; Harry Gant would defeat Darrell Waltrip by five seconds.[3] All 18 of Harry Gant's wins came in the Skoal Bandit, making him (at least from the 1980s onward) the only driver to get each of his multiple Cup wins for a tobacco brand.[4]

Dale Earnhardt started 41st after failing post-qualifying inspection after second round qualifying.[3]

It was Gant's final NASCAR Cup series win, leading twice for 23 laps, including the last 15.[5] The win was based on the fuel strategy devised by Harry Gant and crew chief Leo Jackson. Alan Kulwicki earned the pole position at 178.156 miles per hour or 286.714 kilometres per hour during qualifying while the average race speed would be 145.056 miles per hour or 233.445 kilometres per hour. Seven drivers failed to qualify for the race; including Delma Cowart. All of the drivers in this event were born in the United States of America.[3]

At the end of the event, only twelve drivers remained on the lead lap. Jeff McClure was the lowest finishing driver to complete the race; even though he was 33 laps the lead lap.[3] Individual prize winnings varied from the winner's share of $71,545 ($131,943 when considering inflation) to the last-place finishers' share of $7,140 ($13,168 when considering inflation). The combined prize purse was $641,610 ($1,183,258 when considering inflation).[6]

Qualifying[]

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 7 Alan Kulwicki Ford Alan Kulwicki
2 6 Mark Martin Ford Jack Roush
3 28 Davey Allison Ford Yates Racing
4 25 Ken Schrader Chevrolet Rick Hendrick
5 4 Ernie Irvan Chevrolet Larry McClure
6 21 Morgan Shepherd Ford Wood Brothers
7 11 Bill Elliott Ford Junior Johnson
8 22 Sterling Marlin Ford Junior Johnson
9 17 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet Darrell Waltrip
10 26 Brett Bodine Ford Kenny Bernstein

Failed to qualify: H.B. Bailey (#36), James Hylton (#48), (#65), Andy Belmont (#59), Chuck Bown (#90), Delma Cowart (#0), Bill Venturini (#35)[7]

Finishing order[]

Source:[8]
POS ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED PTS
1 24 33   Harry Gant Skoal Bandit   (Leo Jackson) Oldsmobile 200 71545 running 23 180
2 9 17   Darrell Waltrip Western Auto   (Darrell Waltrip) Chevrolet 200 45670 running 6 175
3 7 11   Bill Elliott Budweiser   (Junior Johnson) Ford 200 45820 running 72 175
4 5 4   Ernie Irvan Kodak Film   (Larry McClure) Chevrolet 200 28920 running 35 165
5 3 28   Davey Allison Havoline   (Yates Racing) Ford 200 29265 running 0 155
6 15 42   Kyle Petty Mello Yello   (Felix Sabates) Pontiac 200 21715 running 0 150
7 8 22   Sterling Marlin Maxwell House Coffee   (Junior Johnson) Ford 200 19515 running 0 146
8 14 18   Dale Jarrett Interstate Batteries   (Joe Gibbs) Chevrolet 200 18265 running 4 147
9 2 6   Mark Martin Valvoline   (Jack Roush) Ford 200 19715 running 7 143
10 6 21   Morgan Shepherd Citgo   (Wood Brothers) Ford 200 18765 running 0 134
11 4 25   Ken Schrader Kodiak   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 200 19240 running 0 130
12 10 26   Brett Bodine Quaker State   (Kenny Bernstein) Ford 200 16615 running 7 132
13 28 1   Rick Mast Skoal Classic   (Richard Jackson) Oldsmobile 199 15115 running 0 124
14 1 7   Alan Kulwicki Hooters   (Alan Kulwicki) Ford 199 19915 running 46 126
15 16 68   Bobby Hamilton Country Time   (Mark Smith) Ford 199 14415 running 0 118
16 41 3   Dale Earnhardt Goodwrench   (Richard Childress) Chevrolet 199 19665 running 0 115
17 31 9   Chad Little 1-800-4-A-CHILD Child Abuse Hotline   (Harry Melling) Ford 199 7865 running 0 112
18 21 43   Richard Petty STP   (Petty Enterprises) Pontiac 199 13165 running 0 109
19 18 8   Dick Trickle Snickers   (Stavola Brothers) Ford 199 9665 running 0 106
20 27 16   Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Keystone Beer   (Jack Roush) Ford 199 7965 running 0 103
21 33 2   Rusty Wallace Miller Genuine Draft   (Roger Penske) Pontiac 198 15040 running 0 100
22 26 30   Michael Waltrip Pennzoil   (Chuck Rider) Pontiac 198 11940 running 0 97
23 13 94   Terry Labonte Sunoco   (Billy Hagan) Oldsmobile 198 11740 running 0 94
24 20 12   Hut Stricklin Raybestos Brakes   (Bobby Allison) Chevrolet 198 11590 running 0 91
25 35 55   Ted Musgrave Jasper Engines   (Ray DeWitt) Ford 197 11340 running 0 88
26 30 31   Bobby Hillin, Jr. MAXX Race Cards   (Martin Birrane) Chevrolet 197 6390 running 0 85
27 36 51   Jeff Purvis Phoenix Construction   (James Finch) Chevrolet 197 6340 running 0 82
28 32 23   Eddie Bierschwale SplitFire   (Don Bierschwale) Oldsmobile 193 6290 running 0 79
29 19 66   Jimmy Hensley TropArtic   (Cale Yarborough) Ford 191 8590 running 0 76
30 40 77   Mike Potter Kenova Construction   (Steve Balogh) Chevrolet 175 6140 running 0 73
31 39 27   Jeff McClure Showcase Racing Collectibles / Race for Life   (Jim Rosenblum) Chevrolet 173 5990 running 0 70
32 29 71   Dave Marcis Transmissions Unlimited   (Dave Marcis) Chevrolet 101 7540 engine 0 67
33 17 10   Derrike Cope Purolator   (Bob Whitcomb) Chevrolet 96 7465 crash 0 64
34 34 83   Lake Speed Purex   (Lake Speed) Ford 87 6840 crash 0 61
35 23 49   Stanley Smith Ameritron Batteries   (Stanley Smith) Chevrolet 61 5790 crash 0 58
36 11 5   Ricky Rudd Tide   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 55 13765 crash 0 55
37 38 13   Stan Fox Carrier   (Clint Folsom) Chevrolet 44 5740 crash 0 52
38 22 32   Jimmy Horton Active Trucking   (Joe Horner) Chevrolet 21 5715 engine 0 49
39 37 52   Jimmy Means Suburban Printery   (Jimmy Means) Pontiac 8 7240 engine 0 46
40 12 15   Geoffrey Bodine Motorcraft   (Bud Moore) Ford 4 10165 crash 0 43
41 25 41   Greg Sacks Kellogg's   (Larry Hedrick) Chevrolet 4 7140 crash 0 40
Failed to qualify
POS NAME NBR SPONSOR OWNER CAR
42 H.B. Bailey 36 Almeda Auto Parts H.B. Bailey Pontiac
43 James Hylton 48 Valtrol Steam Traps James Hylton Chevrolet
44 Jerry O'Neil 65 Wheels Discount Auto Alan Aroneck Oldsmobile
45 Andy Belmont 59 FDP Brakes Pat Rissi Ford
46 Chuck Bown 90 Team USA Junie Donlavey Ford
47 Delma Cowart 0 Master's Economy Inn H.L. Waters Ford
48 Bill Venturini 35 Amoco Bill Venturini Chevrolet

Standings after the race[]

Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Bill Elliott 2796 0
2 1rightarrow.png Davey Allison 2759 -37
3 Increase Harry Gant 2661 -135
4 Decrease Alan Kulwicki 2653 -143
5 1rightarrow.png Mark Martin 2511 -285
6 Increase Kyle Petty 2431 -365
7 Increase Ernie Irvan 2429 -367
8 Increase Morgan Shepherd 2415 -381
9 Decrease Terry Labonte 2401 -395
10 Decrease Dale Earnhardt 2400 -396

References[]

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c "Michigan International Speedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  3. ^ a b c d e Racing information for the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Racing Reference
  4. ^ Driver Harry Gant Career Statistics at Racing Reference
  5. ^ Racing information for the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Race Database
  6. ^ Race information for the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  7. ^ Qualifying information at Racing Reference
  8. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
Preceded by
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1992 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""