1992 GM Goodwrench 500


The 1992 GM Goodwrench 500 was the second stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 1, 1992, before an audience of 43,600 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 492 laps to complete. At race's end, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 35th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison and Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
0Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingFordMasters Inn Economy
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Dick TrickleStavola Brothers RacingFordSnickers
9Phil ParsonsMelling RacingFordMelling Racing
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsChevroletRaybestos
13Mike SkinnerMansion MotorsportsChevroletGlidden
15Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFordKeystone
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
21Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMaxwell House
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingFordQuaker State
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
41Greg SacksLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
49Stanley SmithBS&S MotorsportsChevroletAmeritron Batteries
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacJimmy Means Racing
53John McFaddenJimmy Means RacingPontiacJimmy Means Racing
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsOldsmobileJasper Engines & Transmissions
56Jerry HillHill MotorsportsPontiacHill Motorsports
59Andy Belmont 'Pat Rissi RacingFordSlick 50
66Chad LittleCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordPhillips 66 TropArtic
68Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletAbilene Boots
87Randy BakerBuck Baker RacingChevroletBuck Baker Driving School
94Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobileSunoco
98Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevroletMoly Black Gold

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 28, at 2:30 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, February 29, at 11:30 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, 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.
Kyle Petty, driving for SABCO Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.420 and an average speed of in the first round.
No drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings
  • Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.