1992 Save Mart 300K


The 1992 Save Mart 300K was the 12th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the third race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the fourth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 7, 1992, before an audience of 83,000 at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to make a late-race pass for the lead with eight to go, coming back from an early penalty to take his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hagan Racing driver Terry Labonte and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Sears Point Raceway at the time was one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is long; the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to. The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout. In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
0Irv HoerrPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFordSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
04Bobby WoodsLipseia RacingPontiacGraph-Ricks Racing Decals
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Dick TrickleStavola Brothers RacingFordSnickers
9Bill SchmittMelling RacingFordRaley's Supermarkets, 7 Up
09R. K. SmithMidgley RacingPontiacMidgley Racing
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsChevroletRaybestos
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
24Butch GillilandGilliland RacingPontiacAnaheim Electric
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingFordQuaker State
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
37Rick CarelliChesrown RacingChevroletHoosier Racing Tire
41Greg SacksLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
44Jack SellersEmerson RacingBuickDad's Root Beer
50Hershel McGriffJTC RacingChevroletStar Race Computers
51Rick ScribnerScribner RacingChevroletAll Pro Auto Parts
52Tommy KendallJimmy Means RacingPontiacSave Mart Supermarkets
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsOldsmobileJasper Engines & Transmissions
58Wayne JacksJacks MotorsportsPontiacImperial Palace
60Mike ChaseKaylan Young RacingPontiacBowman
66Jimmy Hensley 'Cale Yarborough MotorsportsFordPhillips 66 TropArtic
68Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletBig Apple Markets
75Bill SedgwickSpears MotorsportsChevroletSpears Manufacturing
92Ron Hornaday Jr.Fisher RacingChevroletPalmdale Chiropractic
94Terry LabonteHagan RacingFordSunoco
99John KrebsDiamond Ridge MotorsportsPontiacDiamond Ridge Motorsports

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 5, at 6:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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 6, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-40 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; 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.
Ricky Rudd, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:39.709 and an average speed of in the first round.
Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

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