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1992 Champion Spark Plug 500

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1992 Champion Spark Plug 500
Race details
Race 13 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1992 Champion Spark Plug 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1992 Champion Spark Plug 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date June 14, 1992
Official name 11th Annual Champion Spark Plug 500
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 144.023 miles per hour (231.783 km/h)
Attendance 100,000
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 55.499
Most laps led
Driver Alan Kulwicki AK Racing
Laps 58
Winner
No. 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1992 Champion Spark Plug 500 was the 13th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 11th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 13, 1992, before an audience of 100,000 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki would manage to make a late-race pass for the lead with 11 to go to take his fifth and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second and final victory of the season, and enough points to move him into third in the driver's championship standings, 58 points behind the leader.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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

The race was held at Pocono International Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

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
9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin 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
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
32 Jimmy Horton Active Motorsports Chevrolet Active Trucking
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
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
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac Valtrol Steam Traps
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Oldsmobile Jasper Engines & Transmissions
56 Jerry Hill Hill Motorsports Pontiac Bell Motors
59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford FDP Brakes
62 Mark Thompson Gray Racing Ford Phoenix Air
65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile Aroneck Racing
66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Chevrolet Kenova Golf Course Construction
85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet Thomas Chevrolet
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Ford Sunoco

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 12, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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 13, 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 16-40 would be decided on time,[3] 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 provisionals were given. 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.

Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 55.499 and an average speed of 162.165 miles per hour (260.979 km/h) in the first round.[4]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 55.499 162.165
2 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 55.686 161.621
3 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 55.720 161.522
4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 55.748 161.441
5 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 55.812 161.256
6 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 55.939 160.890
7 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 55.939 160.890
8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 55.992 160.737
9 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56.241 160.026
10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 56.245 160.014
11 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet 56.270 159.943
12 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 56.281 159.912
13 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 56.334 159.761
14 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 56.373 159.651
15 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 56.402 159.569
Failed to lock in Round 1
16 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 55.756 161.418
17 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 56.152 160.279
18 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 56.204 160.131
19 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 56.294 159.875
20 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 56.428 159.495
21 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 56.432 159.484
22 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 56.436 159.473
23 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 56.487 159.329
24 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 56.535 159.193
25 9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford 56.600 159.011
26 41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56.781 158.504
27 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 56.792 158.473
28 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 56.903 158.164
29 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 56.972 157.972
30 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 57.213 157.307
31 77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Chevrolet 58.139 154.801
32 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 58.265 154.467
33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 58.505 153.833
34 32 Jimmy Horton Active Motorsports Chevrolet 58.692 153.343
35 65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile 59.016 152.501
36 59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford 59.199 152.030
37 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 59.283 151.814
38 62 Mark Thompson Gray Racing Ford 1:00.092 149.770
39 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac 1:01.497 146.349
40 56 Jerry Hill Hill Motorsports Pontiac 1:03.939 140.759
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 6 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 200 58 running 185 $74,255
2 4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 51 running 175 $39,480
3 3 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 200 12 running 170 $32,355
4 1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 15 running 165 $32,980
5 18 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 34 running 160 $27,175
6 5 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 150 $18,150
7 19 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 200 0 running 146 $15,750
8 8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 200 1 running 147 $14,650
9 23 66 Jimmy Hensley (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 200 5 running 143 $11,800
10 12 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 200 0 running 134 $15,600
11 26 41 Greg Sacks Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 130 $10,000
12 14 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 127 $9,650
13 24 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 199 1 running 129 $16,150
14 27 15 Geoff Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 199 0 running 121 $12,050
15 15 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 199 0 running 118 $11,550
16 21 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 198 0 running 115 $11,400
17 29 68 Bobby Hamilton TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 198 0 running 112 $12,050
18 32 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 109 $7,900
19 16 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 194 20 running 111 $16,000
20 31 77 Mike Potter Balough Racing Chevrolet 191 0 running 103 $6,475
21 35 65 Jerry O'Neil Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile 188 0 running 100 $5,750
22 7 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 187 0 running 97 $10,150
23 28 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 186 2 engine 99 $15,300
24 10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 185 1 running 96 $13,250
25 2 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 180 0 running 88 $9,860
26 39 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac 178 0 running 85 $5,150
27 13 16 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Roush Racing Ford 177 0 clutch 82 $5,100
28 17 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 148 0 engine 79 $16,600
29 20 8 Dick Trickle Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 146 0 engine 76 $6,600
30 30 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 141 0 engine 73 $9,525
31 11 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Chevrolet 116 0 engine 70 $9,450
32 37 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 113 0 engine 67 $4,850
33 22 55 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 102 0 engine 64 $9,275
34 34 32 Jimmy Horton Active Motorsports Chevrolet 49 0 crash 61 $4,675
35 33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 33 0 head gasket 58 $7,100
36 9 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22 0 engine 55 $12,515
37 25 9 Chad Little Melling Racing Ford 15 0 piston 52 $4,445
38 40 56 Jerry Hill Hill Motorsports Pontiac 10 0 engine 49 $4,405
39 38 62 Mark Thompson Gray Racing Ford 8 0 engine 46 $4,370
40 36 59 Andy Belmont (R) Pat Rissi Racing Ford 3 0 engine 43 $4,295
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ McKee, Sandra (June 15, 1992). "In one respect, Kulwicki gets big win". The Baltimore Sun. p. 19. Retrieved January 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 15, 1992). "Patient Kulwicki takes Pocono win". The Anniston Star. p. 9. Retrieved January 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. June 12, 1992. p. 21. Retrieved January 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 13, 1992). "Painful... Schrader isn't slowed by injury". Evansville Press. p. 17. Retrieved January 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1992 Save Mart 300K
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1992 season
Next race:
1992 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Michigan)