1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 41st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 18th modern-era Cup season. It began February 12 and ended November 19. Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing won the championship. This was the first year that every Winston Cup race had flag to flag coverage, with almost all of them being televised live.
The 1989 season marked the end of the first of two tire wars between Goodyear and Hoosier, with Hoosier leaving NASCAR shortly after Goodyear debuted their new radial tires.

Races

Busch Clash

The Busch Clash, an annual invitational event for all winners of the Busch Pole award from the previous season, was held February 12 at Daytona International Speedway. Ken Schrader drew for the pole.
Top Ten Results

Gatorade 125s

The Gatorade 125s, a pair of qualifying races for the Daytona 500, were held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip won the poles for each event, respectively.
Race One Top Ten Results

Race Two Top Ten Results

Jody Ridley substituted for Bill Elliott, who injured his wrist in a practice crash.

Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 was held February 19. Ken Schrader won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Darrell Waltrip stretched his fuel for 53 laps, and won the Daytona 500 for the first time after 17 attempts.

Goodwrench 500

The Goodwrench 500 was held March 5 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Rusty Wallace became the first driver to claim the Unocal 76 Challenge. After one rollover, and bonus money added at the season ending banquet, Wallace received an additional $22,800 for winning from the pole.

Motorcraft Quality Parts 500

The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was held March 19 at Atlanta International Raceway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: #36-H. B. Baily, #69-Lee Raymond, #70-J. D. McDuffie, Rodney Combs, Rick Jeffrey

Richard Petty was a factor among the leaders, and led 9 laps. But during a pit stop, the gas can leaked fuel onto the exhaust pipe, and started a bad pit fire. Crew member Robert Callicutt suffered second degree burns over 40% of his body and was hospitalized. Petty was forced to drop out of the race. The incident led to new rules regarding crew member fire protection, and newly designed gas can nozzles to prevent leakage. In addition, all pit road reporters for ABC and ESPN would be required to wear fire protected suits for future races telecast by either network.

Pontiac Excitement 400

The Pontiac Excitement 400 was held March 26 at Richmond International Raceway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 43-Richard Petty

This race was scheduled for the weekend after the Daytona 500, but snow fell in Richmond and blanketed the Speedway. The race was postponed a month, and in subsequent seasons, the spring Richmond race was moved later and later into the season. It is one of the rare times a NASCAR race has been held on Easter Sunday, a weekend that has not had an originally scheduled NASCAR Cup race in the modern era.
After qualifying for 513 consecutive races, Richard Petty failed to make the field for this race for the first time since the 1971 Georgia 500. He wrecked his primary car during practice, and could not get the backup car up to speed. His consecutive starts record would stand until the 1996 First Union 400 when Terry Labonte broke the record. Petty's failure to qualify would not be this isolated race however as he would fail to qualify for three additional races later in the season. This would eventually lead to the past champion's provisional being added for former Cup champions failing to qualify on speed or normal provisionals.

TranSouth 500

The TranSouth 500 was held April 2 at Darlington Raceway. Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

This was Harry Gant's first victory since the 1985 Holly Farms 400.

Valleydale Meats 500

The Valleydale Meats 500 was held April 9 at Bristol International Raceway. Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: #40-Ben Hess, #43-Richard Petty, #52-Jimmy Means, #70-J. D. McDuffie, #71-Dave Marcis, Steve Seligman

This would be Greg Sacks' best finish of 1989.
This was the final NASCAR start for team owner Buddy Arrington with Brad Teague as his final driver. Teague would finish 17th, 12 laps down to the winner.
This race would set the all time caution record for the NASCAR Cup Series; this record would hold up for seventeen years before being beaten by the 2005 Coca-Cola 600.

First Union 400

The First Union 400 was held April 16 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 8-Bobby Hillin Jr., 43-Richard Petty, 55-Phil Parsons*, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 04-Bill Meacham, Jerry O'Neil, Kevin Evans, Mark Walbridge

The race was notable for Goodyear debuting their new radial tires and Dale Earnhardt winning the race with them.
Phil Parsons' team purchased the No. 60 in this event in order to race. He finished 12th, 6 laps down.

Pannill Sweatshirts 500

The Pannill Sweatshirts 500 was held April 23 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.
Top Ten Results

• This would mark the final race as well as race victory for the older Chevrolet Monte Carlo body style. The new Chevrolet Lumina would debut the next week at Talladega Superspeedway.

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held May 7 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

This was the first race for the new Chevrolet Lumina race car.
This race marked the end of the first tire war, as Hoosier Racing Tire left NASCAR when they could not sell enough tires to be economically viable. Hoosier returned to the Winston Cup Series in 1994, but left for good after that season.
This was Robert Yates Racing's first race victory.
Derrike Cope brings his Purolator sponsorship to the Bob Whitcomb team as their new driver. He was involved in the race's final caution in The Big One crashing out of the race, finishing 30th.

The Winston

The Winston, an annual all-star race for previous winners and champions along with the winner of the same day Winston Open, was held May 21 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 11 of Terry Labonte won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Rusty Wallace spun Darrell Waltrip out of the lead coming to the white flag to earn the victory. This sparked a fight between Wallace and Waltrip's crew members in the pits before Wallace got to victory lane.

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 28 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

By winning the Daytona 500 earlier in the season, and now the Coca-Cola 600, Waltrip secured a $100,000 bonus for winning two of the Winston Million races, and put himself in position to win the Winston Million later in the season at Darlington.
Kyle Petty drives the number 42 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by Rick Hendrick in this race due to Kyle destroying the only car his regular owner Felix Sabates had during the previous weekend on lap 3 of The Winston. He would finish 17th, 8 laps down to the winner.
Darrell Waltrip, who won the final race with the older Chevrolet Monte Carlo body style at Martinsville a month earlier, became the first driver to take the Lumina that replaced it to Victory Lane.

Budweiser 500

The Budweiser 500 was held June 4 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

This race marked the debut of Jimmy Spencer in the NASCAR Cup Series driving Buddy Baker's number 88. However it was short lived as he would finish 34th only completing 75 laps due to engine failure.

Banquet Frozen Foods 300

The inaugural Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was held June 11 at Sears Point Raceway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Mark Martin actually rolled his car during the race due to an error by a new tire changer. Right after the car left the pits, the right rear came off, the car spun, hit the tire barrier and rolled onto its roof. However, he came back to finish the race in 31st, 5 laps down.
This would be Buick's penultimate victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Miller High Life 500

The Miller High Life 500 was held June 18 at Pocono International Raceway. The No. 27 of Rusty Wallace won the pole. This race was one of the few races telecast on Pay Per View.
Top Ten Results

This was the first victory for Junior Johnson's team using a Ford since the 1969 American 500 at Rockingham.

Miller High Life 400 (Michigan)

The Miller High Life 400 was held June 25 at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 25 of Ken Schrader won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Pepsi 400

The Pepsi 400 was held July 1 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 6 of Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

This was first time the Pepsi 400 was aired on ESPN. The race was shown flag-to-flag, but on same-day tape delay. Previously, the Pepsi/Firecracker 400 was aired as part of ABC's Wide World of Sports and only highlights of the race would air.
This race featured a rollover crash involving the No. 83 of Lake Speed on lap 144.

AC Spark Plug 500

The AC Spark Plug 500 was held on July 23 at Pocono International Raceway. Ken Schrader won the pole.
Top Ten Finishers

This race was notable for two wrecks that tore open portions of the track's boilerplate walls. Jimmy Horton crashed in Turn Two and tore open a hole in the wall. Later a big wreck erupted in Turn One involving Greg Sacks in the Tom Winkle No. 48 and the No. 83 of Lake Speed. The two cars got together going into Turn One and smashed into the boilerplate wall head-on. The hit punched open the wall and sent Sacks flipping. The yellow remained out for the duration of time needed to repair the wall. Speed broke his shoulder in the crash and had to sit out for a couple weeks.
Elliott cut a tire on the opening lap but rallied to take the lead from Wallace in the final ten laps. The win tied Elliott with Tim Richmond for most wins at Pocono. Richmond, battling illness, was the subject of a short retrospective piece on the ESPN telecast and former Richmond crew chiefs Barry Dodson and Harry Hyde were interviewed on-air about him.

Talladega DieHard 500

The Talladega DieHard 500 was held July 30 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Mark Martin won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Joe Ruttman substituted for Lake Speed in the No. 83, and crashed spectacularly on lap 145. Ruttman hit the wall nearly head-on and almost got on his side as a result.
This would be Labontes final win with the Junior Johnson team. Labonte would not win again in the Cup series until 1994.

Budweiser at the Glen

The Budweiser at the Glen was held August 13 at Watkins Glen International. Morgan Shepherd won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Eddie Bierschwale was the substitute driver in the No. 83 for Lake Speed, who was still recovering from his shoulder injury at Pocono. He finished 38th.
This race is notable for a big wreck on lap 89 involving the No. 5 of Geoff Bodine. Bodine lost a tire at the end of the backstraight, spun around and went through the barrier and hitting a fence behind the barrier. Bodine was uninjured.
Also on this day, Tim Richmond who had a long battle with AIDS, died earlier in the day.
Wallace's victory snapped a five-race winning streak for Ford.
Late in the race, ESPN showed Tom Cruise meeting with Rick Hendrick and members of that team as part of his preparation to play Cole Trickle in the 1990 film Days of Thunder.
This race would be Jim Sauter's final Top 10 finish, with Sauter's 9th place finish tying his finish at the 1987 Coca-Cola 600 for the best of his career.

Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 20 at Michigan International Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Busch 500

The Busch 500 was held August 26 at Bristol International Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 43-Richard Petty

This was the fourth race that Petty failed to qualify. In response to fan complaints about Petty missing several races, NASCAR introduced the past champion's provisional in 1991.
Fortunately, this would be the last DNQ for Richard Petty before his retirement in 1992.

Heinz Southern 500

The Heinz Southern 500 was held September 3 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Darrell Waltrip had a chance to win the Winston Million at Darlington, but hit the wall early in the race and finished 22nd.
Rodney Combs replaced Joe Ruttman as Lake Speed's substitute driver in the No. 83 at Darlington. He finished 23rd.

Miller High Life 400 (Richmond)

The Miller High Life 400 was held September 10 at Richmond International Raceway. The No. 9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Lake Speed returned to the No. 83 at Richmond after sitting out 5 races due to injury.
Lennie Pond retired after this race.

Peak Performance 500

The Peak Performance 500 was held September 17 at Dover Downs International Speedway. The No. 28 of Davey Allison won the pole.
Top Ten Results

The race was red-flagged briefly because of a crash involving Neil Bonnett. Bonnett, who broke his sternum in the incident, was forced to sit out the next three races. The reason for the delay was to clear the track to allow for an ambulance to transport Bonnett out of the speedway to a local hospital.

Goody's 500

The Goody's 500 was held September 24 at Martinsville Speedway. Dale Earnhardt started on the pole, which was actually won by Jimmy Hensley as Earnhardt and others could not reach the track in time due to Hurricane Hugo, which affected the area.
Top Ten Results

Tommy Ellis substituted for Neil Bonnett in the No. 21 in this race, and the next 2 events in Charlotte and North Wilkesboro.
This would be Darrell Waltrip's last Cup Series win with Hendrick Motorsports

All Pro Auto Parts 500

The All Pro Auto Parts 500 was held October 8 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 14-A. J. Foyt*

Foyt was involved in a practice crash where he suffered a significant concussion which kept him from attempting to qualify.
Dale Earnhardt lost the points lead in this race when the camshaft in his No. 3 Chevrolet broke in the 13th lap, and he dropped out.

Holly Farms 400

The Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway was originally scheduled for October 1, but rain forced the race to be postponed to October 15. Rain also cancelled qualifying so Dale Earnhardt who was leading the points at the time qualifying was cancelled on September 30 was awarded the pole per the current owners points at that time.
Top Ten Results

This race was notable for the race for the win between Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd. On the last lap, Earnhardt and Rudd touched in turn 1, spinning both cars out. This allowed Geoff Bodine to slip by and win the race, and allowed Rusty Wallace to gain points on Earnhardt for the championship hunt.
This was Bodine's first win since the 1988 Miller High Life 500 at Pocono. Bodine led only the final lap of the race while Dale Earnhardt dominated, leading 343 of the 400 laps. This was also Geoff Bodine's final win in a Chevrolet and with Hendrick Motorsports. Geoff would leave the #5 Levi Garrett Chevrolet Lumina to go drive the #11 Budweiser Ford Thunderbird for the next 2 years with Junior Johnson & Associates.
A rare father-and-son crash knocked both Richard Petty and son Kyle out of the race, with Richard finishing 32nd ; the 15th and final last-place finish for "the King". Kyle ended the afternoon in 31st place.

AC Delco 500

The AC Delco 500 was held October 22 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

This was Martin's first career Winston Cup victory.
This was Bonnett's first race back from his sternum injury that he suffered at Dover.

Autoworks 500

The Autoworks 500 was held November 5 at Phoenix International Raceway. Ken Schrader won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 18-Tommy Ellis, 41-Danny Lawson, 89-Bob Howard, 35-Keith van Houten, 07-Mark Walbridge, 44-Jack Sellers, 19-Robert Sprague, 24-Butch Gilliland, 22-St. James Davis, 80-Bob Walker, 08-Rick McCray, 99-John Krebs, 38-Duke Hoenshell, 04-Hershel McGriff, 50-Rick Scribner

Two cars entered by Hendrick Motorsports were entered to get in-race footage for the 1990 film Days of Thunder. Hamilton actually led the race with 100 laps to go before the engine blew. A third movie car failed to make the race.

Atlanta Journal 500

The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 19 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.
Top Ten Results

Three drivers entered the race mathematically eligible for the Winston Cup championship. Rusty Wallace had a 78-point lead over Mark Martin, and a 79-point lead over third-place Dale Earnhardt. Wallace had to finish 18th or better to clinch the title, but went into the race proclaiming he was going to 'run as hard as he could.' The statement was seen as a thinly veiled criticism of Bill Elliott whom Wallace lost the championship to a year earlier, in a similar situation. In that year, Elliott elected to drive a very conservative race, easily clinching the title, much to the ire of the hard-charging Wallace. Dale Earnhardt qualified 3rd, Wallace qualified 4th, but Martin would start back in 20th.
Despite his plan to race all-out, Wallace encountered problems that complicated his day. On the first round of pit stops, he pitted under green but lost a lap when the caution came out shortly thereafter. Later, he suffered a flat tire and fell all the way back to the 33rd position. Wallace slowly and steadily worked his way back up the standings. Dale Earnhardt, meanwhile, dominated the race leading 294 of the 328 laps en route to victory. Mark Martin, the other driver in the mix for the championship did not end up being a factor. He dropped out on lap 224 with a blown engine that resulted in a fire. In the closing laps, Wallace was three laps down in 15th place, just barely holding on to the hypothetical points lead. Wallace managed to finish the race in 15th, and won the Winston Cup championship by a mere 12 points over Earnhardt. It was Wallace's first and only Winston Cup championship, and the first championship in the modern era for Pontiac.
On lap 203, Grant Adcox struck the wall and suffered a heart attack and severe head injuries. Adcox died shortly after the accident.
Final career top 10 for Neil Bonnett.

Full Drivers' Championship

Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by owner's points. * – Most laps led.

	Driver	DAY	CAR	ATL	RCH	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL
1	Rusty Wallace	18	1*	31*	1	8	1	9	31	10	31	5	2	22*	2*	17	2*	37	1	1*	6	4	1*	7	4*	8	7	2*	16	15	4176
2	Dale Earnhardt	3	3	2	3	33	16	1*	2	8	38	1*	4	3	17	18	9	11	3	17	14	1*	2	1*	9	42	10*	20	6	1*	4164
3	Mark Martin	33	5	38	11	4	6	3	6	3	6	2	31	15	12	16	3	3	2	9	20	2	17	2	23	3	2	1	3	30	4053
4	Darrell Waltrip	1	29	1	7	36	2	8	1*	5	1	9	38	32	3	19	4	2	16	37	1*	22	6	18	1	14	20	3	4	5	3971
5	Ken Schrader	2*	25	15	19	27	32	14	7	6	3	3	37	4	11	36	7	4	20	11	23	5	24	3	10	1	13	4	13	4	3876
6	Bill Elliott	35	19	11	10	6	9	22	20	11	5	8	3	21	1	4*	1	12	18	39	24	7	18	4	15	4*	6	15	1	27	3774
7	Harry Gant	12	31	29	14	1*	10	23	12	7	40	23	12	2	32	32	5	8	19	3	4	6	5	38	2	2	4	29	8	17	3610
8	Ricky Rudd	19	32	24	4	12	8	6	23	31	10	6	1*	20	4	9	31	17	29	8	3	3	4	5	8	21	9	28	29	14	3608
9	Geoff Bodine	4	4	19	18*	3	3	7	16	12	4	29	20	35	27	22	17	35	21	5	16	12	3	27	16	22	1	7	28	2	3600
10	Terry Labonte	9	18	36	30	18	24	5	5	2	39	4	15	1	14	6	13	1	14	40	5	33	12	14	11	11	3	14	2	40	3569
11	Davey Allison	25	6	40	5	2	4	11	14	1*	33	32	9	16	31	1	6	9	4	7	25	18	10	24	21	5	21	26	39	25	3481
12	Sterling Marlin	11	7	5	8	5	15	26	8	14	2	26	40	6	8	7	36	28	7	34	18	10	28	17	20	7	19	23	30	3	3422
13	Morgan Shepherd	15	27	10	33	16	26	17	18	4	32	33	7	5	35	2	8	6*	6*	2	26	9	27	16	28	10	5	36	12	8	3403
14	Alan Kulwicki	7	2	16	2	7	20	2	22	13	23*	25	36	34	36	5	39	30	39	10	2	32	15	32	26	28	11	9	11*	13	3236
15	Dick Trickle '		13	3	25	13	5	4	3	27	29	21	30	24	25	8	20	16	34	19	28	17	8	25	3	30	12	5	7	35	3203
16	Bobby Hillin Jr.	39	15	30	15	26	27	DNQ	21	35	9	13	13	13	20	28	11	29	5	14	7	8	13	15	27	9	15	8	18	7	3139
17	Rick Wilson	8	17	6	17	11	21	30	4	15	35	14	8	27	6	29	25	5	8	32	27	11	22	19	18	41	29	13	40	18	3119
18	Michael Waltrip	21	12	20	13	9	11	29	25	21	27	22	10	14	16	34	28	36	10	31	32	13	23	6	12	17	23	17	9	26	3057
19	Brett Bodine	29	34	33	28	14	30	28	27	19	8	15	27	10	5	11	10	14	15	36	17	16	34	9	7	12	17	21	19	23	3051
20	Neil Bonnett	42	14	7	21	39	12	13	10	9	7	7	11	8	24	21	23	10	36	15	9	15	7	26				6	34	9	2995
21	Phil Parsons	5	39	14	27	41	23	12	13	17	13	10	18	12	15	3	12	41	17	33	11	21	36	13	14	20	28	24	37	42	2933
22	Ernie Irvan	41	23	12	9	24	29	10	19	25	15	17	23	26	18	23	26	20	24	25	15	24	26	33	6	33	8	16	33	11	2919
23	Larry Pearson '	14	30	22	6	20	18	24	29	29	22	19	19	9	19	30	40	22	11	16	21	29	20	40	25	15	24	12	24	19	2860
24	Dale Jarrett	32	11	9	23	40	22	19	15	40	28	11	42	7	22	31	18	23	23	38	10	20	35	23	5	24	27	39	5	16	2789
25	Dave Marcis	20	35	42	20	17	DNQ	20	9	20	16	16	16	18	21	25	19	19	25	24	12	28	16	22	DNQ	19	14	30	15	33	2715
26	Hut Stricklin '	DNQ	41	8	DNQ	30	28	16	30	33	14	12	21	17	33	10	37	13	22	4	19	19	9	20	17	23	30	22	23	20	2705
27	Lake Speed	30	8	21	12	10	25	27	11	18	24	18	5	11	7	24	29						14	36	22	38	25	19	22	10	2550
28	Derrike Cope	DNQ		34	35	35				39	12	28		36	9	26	35	38	40	6	29	25	25	8	13	6	26	11	14	12	2180
29	Richard Petty	17	16	27	DNQ	15	DNQ	DNQ	24	23	19	20	26	25	30	20	38	21	13	18	DNQ	35	33	30	24	34	32	34	42	28	2148
30	Kyle Petty	DNQ		4	DNQ	28				28	17				10	14	14	7		13	22	14	32	11	30	29	31	10	21	6	2099
31	Jimmy Means	DNQ	33	18	DNQ	38	DNQ	32	DNQ	41	41	24	DNQ	29	28	12	24	39	33	27	DNQ	26	19	21	31	37	22	31	25	DNQ	1698
32	Greg Sacks	23	9	26	34	25	7*	21	28	37	30				39		30			35	30	38	DNQ		19	35		18	38	29	1565
33	Jim Sauter	DNQ	10	32	36	19	13	31	DNQ	36	37					38	16		9	23	DNQ			12		40		33	17	21	1510
34												34		33	13	27	15	40	28	12	8	37	29	10		16	18	35	10	37	1445
35	Rick Mast '	6	21	25	16	34	14	25	32	DNQ	11							32			13					13				31	1315
36		10	26	23	31	21	19	18	DNQ	39	36	27	34		29		32		38	28						25				DNQ	1306
37	Ben Hess '	22	22	17	24	23	DNQ	15	17	22	20																				921
38	Chad Little '	36		35	22	37			26	34	18									26											602
39	Butch Miller '		42		26		31			DNQ	42				38					22			21		32				43		576
40	A. J. Foyt	38		28						16						35		18	37							Wth				36	527
41	Mickey Gibbs '	34	20	39	29					DNQ								25		DNQ						26				38	508
42	Rodney Combs	37	40	DNQ	32	29				DNQ	DNQ				40			DNQ		DNQ		23				32			27	41	470
43	Joe Ruttman	13											6				34	31		21	31	30					DNQ	27	20		469
44	J. D. McDuffie	24	37	DNQ	DNQ	31	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ						DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	35	DNQ		36	31	34	DNQ	DNQ		DNQ		DNQ	457
45	Phil Barkdoll	31								32	DNQ					15		15													378
46	Jimmy Horton	DNQ		13		32				DNQ		31		37			33														377
47	Dick Johnson												32				22	24	32	DNQ											322
48	Ken Bouchard	16	38	37	DNQ	22																									313
49	Terry Byers										21			19		DNQ	21	DNQ													306
50	Darin Brassfield												22						12				30								297
51	Grant Adcox									24						13		DNQ												32	282
52	Jerry O'Neil		28					DNQ	DNQ		26															36		38		DNQ	268
53	Norm Benning											30		30			DNQ	DNQ						31							216
54	Ken Ragan									DNQ										29						27				39	204
55	Bill Schmitt												17																26		197
56	Tracy Leslie										25									20						DNQ				DNQ	191
57	Charlie Baker	40								26	DNQ					DNQ	DNQ	DNQ								DNQ		40			171
58	Bob Schacht																27											25			170
59	Jim Bown	DNQ	36	41							DNQ		29															37
60	H. B. Bailey			DNQ							DNQ				26							27				DNQ					167
61	Stan Barrett															37		34	26										31		155
62	Rich Bickle																									39				22	143
63	Rob Moroso																							28						34	140
64	Lennie Pond																						11								130
65	Hershel McGriff												14																DNQ		121
66	Tommy Ellis																				DNQ				29	18	16		DNQ		115
67	John McFadden										DNQ					40						31									113
68	Brad Teague	QL					17																		QL	31					112
69	Patty Moise															39		33		DNQ										DNQ	110
70	Tommie Crozier													38										37				DNQ			101
71	Ron Esau									38			41																35		98
72	Bobby Gerhart	DNQ								DNQ				23																	94
73	Ronnie Thomas														23											DNQ					94
74	James Hylton																	DNQ		DNQ		39		39			DNQ				92
75	Jack Pennington																											32		24	91
76	Troy Beebe												24																		91
77	Dave Mader III		24							DNQ																					91
78	Bill Ingram				DNQ										DNQ	DNQ		26		DNQ											85
79	Terry Fisher												25																		84
80	Roy Smith												39																41		83
81	Mike Alexander	27																													82
82	Mark Stahl																	27										DNQ			82
83	Randy LaJoie	DNQ												28																	79
84	Rick McCray												28																DNQ		79
85	Ronnie Sanders	28																													79
86	Andy Belmont																							29							76
87	Rick Jeffrey			DNQ																30											73
88	Oma Kimbrough																		30												73
89	Bobby Hamilton																												32		72
90	Ted Thomas																		31												70
91	Mark Gibson	DNQ														33															64
92	John Krebs												33																DNQ		64
93	Allan Grice										34																				61
94	Mike Miller														34																61
95	Mike Potter																DNQ					34									61
96	Bill Cooper												35																		58
97	Jack Ely																DNQ							35							58
98	Bill Flowers											35																			58
99	Bill Sedgwick												DNQ																36		55
100	Bill Venturini														37																52
101	Lee Raymond	26		DNQ											DNQ
102	Tommy Kendall																		27
103	Trevor Boys	DNQ												31
104		DNQ
105	Doug Heveron	DNQ
106	Connie Saylor	DNQ
107	Brad Noffsinger	DNQ
108	Ricky Woodward	DNQ
109	Tony Spanos	DNQ			DNQ					DNQ
110	Philip Duffie	DNQ								DNQ
111	Delma Cowart	DNQ								DNQ	DNQ					DNQ
112	Steve Seligman				DNQ		DNQ		DNQ
113	Bill Meacham				DNQ			DNQ																				DNQ		DNQ
114	Kevin Evan							DNQ
115	Mark Walbridge							DNQ	DNQ																				DNQ
116	Walter Surma									DNQ																	DNQ
117	Marta Leonard												DNQ
118	Jack Sellers												DNQ																DNQ
119	Bob Walker												DNQ																DNQ
120	Ed Sanger														DNQ
121	Tom Rotsell																		DNQ
122	Robert Pressley																									DNQ
123	Dale Fischlein																										DNQ
124	Robert Sprague																												DNQ
125	Butch Gilliland																												DNQ
126	St. James Davis																												DNQ
127	Keith van Houten																												DNQ
128	Duke Hoenshell																												DNQ
129	Danny Lawson																												DNQ
130	Bob Howard																												DNQ
131	Rick Scribner																												DNQ
132	David Pearson																									Wth
133	Jimmy Hensley																								QL
134	Tommy Houston																								QL
	Driver	DAY	CAR	ATL	RCH	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NWS	CAR	PHO	ATL

Rookie of the Year

Dick Trickle was named the 1989 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, despite entering the competition in the second week of the season, replacing Mike Alexander at Stavola Brothers Racing. The top runner-up was former Dash champion Hut Stricklin, driving for returning car owner Rod Osterlund. Two-time Busch champion Larry Pearson and former modified driver Jimmy Spencer were the only other candidates to make a full schedule, as Rick Mast, Ben Hess, Chad Little, Butch Miller, and Mickey Gibbs all ran part-time.