1992 Hooters 500

Richard Petty

Since this was the last event of the season, it also marked the final stop on Richard Petty's "Fan Appreciation Tour." On October 1, 1991, Petty announced he would retire at the end of the 1992 season. He planned on running the entire season, not just selected events, and to that point, had managed to qualify for all 28 of the events in 1992. Media coverage of Petty's final race was extensive, and the weeks leading up to the race saw considerable pre-race hype and anticipation. Ticket sales were brisk, and a record sell-out crowd was expected at Atlanta to see "King Richard" in his final event.

Under the spotlight of attention during the 1992 season, Petty's on-track results had been so far unimpressive. He had scored zero top tens, and had a best finish of 15th (three times). His most notable race of the season came at Daytona during the July 4 Pepsi 400. With President George H. W. Bush in attendance, Petty was honored during the pre-race ceremonies. He qualified on the outside of the front row, and led the first five laps of the race.

At Atlanta, facing the intense pressure of a hectic schedule of appearances and honors, not to mention the actual on-track activities, Petty barely managed to qualify for the Hooters 500. He posted the 39th-fastest speed out of 41 cars. He would not have been eligible for the provisional starting position, and had to qualify on speed. Petty stood on his first round time, and sweated out second round qualifying. He slipped from 36th to 39th on the grid, but was not bumped from the lineup. With Petty safely in the field, the stage was set for a huge sendoff. Ceremonies to honor Petty were planned in the pre-race and post-race, and Petty was expected to take a ceremonial final lap around the track after the race to formally conclude his career. On the night before the race, Alabama held a concert honoring Petty at the Georgia Dome, with 45,000 in attendance.[13]

On the night before pole qualifying, Richard Petty's cousin and longtime crew chief and team manager Dale Inman was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Atlanta airport. The robber tried to grab a necklace from Inman's neck, but failed. He pointed his gun and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire, and no one was injured.

The first round of qualifying was held on Friday November 13. Rick Mast won his first career pole position in the No. 1 car. His qualifying speed of 180.183 miles per hour (289.976 km/h) was the first-ever NASCAR qualifying speed over 180 mph at an intermediate length circuit. Previously that speed had only been achieved at Daytona and Talladega. It would be the final NASCAR pole for Oldsmobile as they were leaving the Cup series after this race.

Under the rules at the time, the first round of qualifying locked in only the top twenty cars. In first round qualifying, all of the six championship contenders except for Harry Gant qualified. Mark Martin (4th) was the highest of the six contenders. Richard Petty was not among the top twenty. A field of 40 cars (plus at least one provisional) was expected to comprise the starting grid. With Petty sitting 36th-fastest after Friday's first round, he was precariously close to being bumped from the field on Saturday.

• Source: The (Lexington, NC) Dispatch, Saturday, November 14, 1992, p. 2B.

Second round qualifying was held on Saturday November 14. Under the rules at the time, drivers who did not qualify during the first round moved on to second round qualifying. Each driver could elect to stand on his time from the first round, or erase their time and make a new attempt. Rookie Jeff Gordon bettered his time from the day before, and became the fastest qualifier of the second round. That entered him into the wild card drawing for the 1993 Busch Clash.

Most drivers stood on their times, including Richard Petty, who held on to qualify 39th. Jimmy Hensley elected to try again, and wound up losing eleven spots on the grid. Stanley Smith, who did not even make top 40 on Friday, made a big improvement, qualifying 33rd. Likewise, Jimmy Horton went from only 47th-fastest on Friday, to qualify 36th.

Qualifying cars SP No. Driver Speed 21 24 Jeff Gordon 177.735 22 55 Ted Musgrave 177.677* 23 25 Ken Schrader 177.665* 24 17 Darrell Waltrip 177.602* 25 30 Michael Waltrip 177.596* 26 45 Rich Bickle 177.343* 27 68 Bobby Hamilton 177.154* 28 57 Bob Schacht 176.823 29 33 Harry Gant 176.657* 30 16 Wally Dallenbach, Jr. 176.646* 31 90 Bobby Hillin, Jr. 176.339* 32 18 Dale Jarrett 176.327* 33 49 Stanley Smith 176.220 34 66 Jimmy Hensley 176.140 35 9 Chad Little 175.751* 36 32 Jimmy Horton 175.734 37 52 Jimmy Means 175.565* 38 88 Mike Wallace 175.318 39 43 Richard Petty 175.318* 40 23 Eddie Bierschwale 175.284 41 71 Dave Marcis Provisional *Stood on Friday time

Failed to qualify No. 77 Mike Potter No. 80 Dave Blaney No. 85 Mike Skinner No. 91 Kerry Teague No. 82 Mark Stahl No. 48 James Hylton No. 50 Clay Young No. 65 Jerry O'Neil No. 56 T. W. Taylor No. 08 Jeff Fuller Rookie Jeff Gordon

A record 160,000 fans, some with seats in hastily-built temporary grandstands, arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway to witness Petty's final ride, and to watch the exciting championship battle. Country Western Band Alabama (American band) sang the national anthem, then Richard Petty's son Kyle along with his sisters gave Richard the command to fire his engine one final time. Before the start of the 500 mile race, 4 Apache Helicopters hovered over the race track and then saluted Petty and the rest of the 40 car field as they chased them before the drop of the race. The green flag then flew with polesitter Rick Mast in the #1 Skoal Oldsmobile for Richard Jackson Motorsports and Brett Bodine in the #26 Quaker State Ford for King Racing, battling into turn 1, with Bodine leading the first lap. On lap 2, the two cars tangled, and crashed in turn 1. Dale Earnhardt, the defending series champion whose reign was ending that day and who was running third in his familiar #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, slipped by, and took over the lead. Several other cars were collected in the crash, and five of the championship contenders got through unscathed. Davey Allison, however, slowed to avoid the crash, and was tagged from behind in the left rear by Hut Stricklin's #41 Chevrolet. The left rear fender was badly bent, but did not puncture the tire. Allison stayed out on the track, and the crew would be able to bend the bodywork away from the tire on the next pit stop. The cars of Rich Bickle, Wally Dallenbach Jr., and Bob Schacht were also involved but sustained minor damage and were able to continue.

During the caution, Mark Martin ducked into the pits to change all four tires, because he was afraid he ran over debris from the incident, as well as flat-spotting the tires when he locked up the brakes and slid sideways to avoid it.

Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan, driving the #4 Kodak Chevrolet, traded the lead for the first 60 laps. Championship contenders Elliott, Allison, and Kulwicki ran near the top 10, while Gant, Martin, and Kyle Petty ran near the back of the pack. Richard Petty worked up to 30th.

By lap 60, entering the first round of green flag pit stops, the highest running of the championship contenders was Elliott in fifth. With the leaders in for service, Michael Waltrip spun out in the #30 Pennzoil Pontiac and brought out the caution. Earnhardt and several other front runners lost a lap after being stuck on pit road. After the cycle completed under caution, four of the top five positions were filled by championship contenders. Elliott assumed the lead with Kulwicki second, Martin fourth, and Gant fifth.

The news was not all good for the #7 team. After his service was complete, Kulwicki stalled the engine and could not get the car moving. His crew was forced to push him out of their pit box, where he was able to start the engine back up. The problem was in the transmission's gearbox, causing the #7 to lose first gear. Kulwicki would be forced to run his engine in high gear for the entire race which meant that he would lose additional time on pit stops and restarts due to getting back up to speed would be significantly slower.

On lap 85, Bob Schacht stalled in turn 1 & another series of yellow flag pit stops had shuffled the field, bringing Allison to the lead. Martin took the lead on lap 91. With this, the two joined Elliott and Kulwicki with the five point bonus for leading a lap. The #6, #28, and #33 were running in the top three with Gant's car the only one of the three that had yet to lead a lap (he would not do so for the remainder of the event). Elliott and Kulwicki were inside the top 10. Petty's fortunes were not so lucky, as he was having engine trouble and was unable to keep pace; since he was one of the drivers that needed to win, lead the most laps, and rely on trouble striking the other contenders, his title chase was all but over.

On lap 95, the #25 Kodiak Chevrolet of Ken Schrader and the #8 Snickers Ford of Dick Trickle tangled on the frontstretch. The cars spun wildly to the inside. Darrell Waltrip's #17 Western Auto Chevrolet spun to avoid the crash, and ran into the #16 Keystone Beer Ford driven by Wally Dallenbach, Jr.. The #45 Terminal Trucking Ford of Rich Bickle was also collected, which led to Richard Petty running into him and destroying the front end of the car, breaking the oil cooler. The oil started a fire, and Petty's car coasted to the infield in flames. Petty (who was overheard on ESPN's in-car camera shouting to the rescue crews "BRING THE F***ING FIRE EXTINGUISHER!"[14]) was uninjured, however the car was badly damaged, and his return to the race was in question.[15]

At the 100 lap mark, Allison continued to hold the hypothetical lead in the points standings, with Kulwicki second, and Elliott close behind in third.

Alan Kulwicki

The second half settled down to the top three championship contenders: Allison, Elliott, and Kulwicki. Around lap 118, rookie Jeff Gordon made a pit stop. The Ray Evernham-led "Rainbow Warriors" crew were still unrefined, and made many mistakes. Evernham himself referred to them as the bumbling "Keystone Kops."[16] The crew accidentally left a roll of duct tape on the hood, and it fell off out on the track. Davey Allison, running second, hit the debris and suffered a damaged front air dam.[16] He lost several positions and the handling of the car was affected.

Mark Martin dropped out on lap 160 with a blown engine. He was the first of the six championship contenders to drop out, and his chances for the title were over. After a strong first half, Harry Gant slid down the standings, and he too fell out of contention for the title. Kyle Petty was still running at this point, but was not a factor. The title would be settled between Allison, Elliott, and Kulwicki.

Rookie Jeff Gordon's debut ended on lap 164. Battling a loose race car all day, he hit the wall and was unable to continue.[15] Gordon's 31st-place finish was largely overlooked in light of the day, and it marked the only time Gordon ever drove with Richard Petty in a NASCAR race.

Elliott shuffled to the front, and led for 42 laps. The hypothetical points race tightened, Allison (running 7th) held a mere 11-point lead over Elliott and Kulwicki, who were tied for second.

On lap 210, Kulwicki passed Elliott for the lead. Allison ran sixth, which would still be enough for him to clinch the title if he stayed there.

With 74 laps to go, Ernie Irvan's #4 Kodak Films Chevrolet blew a tire exiting turn four.[12] Irvan spun into the path of his good friend Allison, who t-boned Irvan's car and suffered critical tie rod and steering damage as both cars came to rest on the inside wall on the front straightaway. The #28 crew would work to try to get Allison back out to finish the race, but his championship hopes were now over. With two of the six mathematical contenders now out of the race and two more (Gant and Petty) running further back in the pack, the race was realistically between just two drivers: the veteran Elliott and the independent Kulwicki.[15]

Bill Elliott

With Kulwicki now in control of both the race and the points lead, strategy would now become a factor. Under the caution, Kulwicki's penchant for thinking outside the box led him and his crew chief Paul Andrews to change strategy slightly. Instead of going for the win in the race, their focus would turn strictly to winning the championship. Specifically, they went to work to maximize their track position.

Under caution at lap 259, it was discussed whether or not to fill the gas tank of the #7 during the yellow flag period. Kulwicki and Andrews both decided not to come in, because the team would need to make it seventy laps and even with the possibility of more cautions, it would be too great a task. So, knowing that their car was one of the best and fastest on track, the team decided to stay out as long as they could and aim for the additional five points a driver would receive for leading the most laps. Kulwicki was quickly approaching that mark, and he needed every point he could get for if Elliott was able to make up the ten point gap between the drivers entering the race the championship would be his; even if the standings ended in a deadlock Elliott owned the tiebreaker as he had won more races that season than Kulwicki had.

Elliott and Kulwicki began jockeying for the lead while the team plotted strategy. The decision was made for a fuel-only stop, with just enough gasoline added to the car for it to run to the finish. At lap 300, Kulwicki held about a two second lead on Elliott. Crew chief Andrews figured out that it would take about three seconds' worth of fuel, which would fill the tank approximately halfway, to allow Kulwicki to finish, and on lap 306 Kulwicki was to come down pit road. However, those plans changed when the crew realized how close Kulwicki was to clinching the bonus points he needed. Now needing to save what he could so he could make it to the magic number of laps led, Kulwicki began to slow down to conserve fuel. Elliott caught up to the #7 and nearly passed him on several occasions but Kulwicki held firm.

Kulwicki led his 103rd lap of the race on lap 309, then conceded the position to Elliott on lap 310 as he finally came to pit road.[17] Car chief and gas man Tony Gibson stood waiting for his boss as he would be the only crew member over the wall. The rest stood by just in case Kulwicki stalled again as he had earlier. After 3.4 seconds, Kulwicki took off and headed back onto the track. However, there was an issue with the fuel relay and Gibson was unsure he got enough gas into the tank.[17]

Elliott's task was now to stay on track as long as he could, as he was nearing Kulwicki's total for laps led. He led lap 313, then ceded the lead to Terry Labonte so he could make his own fuel stop. He regained the lead on lap 316, with that being the 90th he led. Since the highest total laps he could lead was 102, this gave the five extra bonus points to Kulwicki.

After being told that he had clinched the most laps led, Kulwicki — now running in second place — was told he still needed to conserve fuel as there was doubt Gibson got the required amount into the car. Since there was no further point in contending for the win as he did not need it, and he was significantly ahead of third place Geoff Bodine, Kulwicki just needed to hold his position and not run out of gas over the last twelve laps.

When the checkered flag fell, Elliott came across first and recorded his fifth victory of the season. Kulwicki's fuel held up, and he won the championship while finishing a distant second.[3] Kulwicki's final lead in the standings was just ten points,[3] the closest margin in NASCAR history until the 2011 season when Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards finished in a tie for first place, with the championship going to Stewart due to him winning 5 races to Edwards' 1.

Richard Petty's crew worked diligently all afternoon to get his car running again, and with two laps remaining, Petty pulled out of the pits. His car had no sheet metal on the front end[15] and no hood. He finished 35th, and was credited as running at the finish in his final race.[18] Commenting on the fire, Petty said, "I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory; I just forgot about the glory part." After the victory lane celebration, Petty climbed in the car for one final ceremonial lap to salute the fans. He waved out the window while the song "Richard Petty Fans" by Alabama was played on the public address system.

Immediately after taking the checkered flag, Alan Kulwicki drove back around to the frontstretch. He proceeded to stop at the flagstand and turn around, to drive what he referred to as a "Polish victory lap", clockwise (backwards) around the track, waving to fans. It mimicked a similar celebration he did at his first victory in 1988 at Phoenix.

• Time of race – 3:44:20
• Average speed – 133.322 mph
• Margin of victory – 8.06 seconds
• Lead changes – 20 among 9 drivers
• Total purse: US$785,787 (winner's share $93,600)

• Busch Pole Award: Rick Mast
• Busch Beer Fastest Second round Qualifier: Jeff Gordon
• Gillette Halfway Challenge: Ernie Irvan
• Goody's Headache Award: Davey Allison[19]
• AP Parts Meet the Challenge Award:
• True Value Hard Charger Award: Bill Elliott
• Gatorade Circle of Champions Award: Bill Elliott
• Plasti-kote Winning Finish Award: Tim Brewer (Elliott)
• Western Auto Mechanic of the Race: Danny Glad (Kulwicki)
• Unocal 76 Challenge: $22,800 available to polesitter Rick Mast – not won (rollover)

1. Alan Kulwicki, 4078 points
2. Bill Elliott, −10
3. Davey Allison, −63
4. Harry Gant, −123
5. Kyle Petty, −133
6. Mark Martin, −191
7. Ricky Rudd, −343
8. Terry Labonte, −404
9. Darrell Waltrip, −419
10. Sterling Marlin, −475

Two of the principals in the championship chase that the Hooters 500 resolved would not survive the next season. On April 1, 1993, three days before the Food City 500 at Bristol, Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash along with Hooters executives, while they were flying back from an appearance at a Hooters restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A little over three months later on July 12, 1993, Davey Allison was flying his helicopter to Talladega Superspeedway to watch his friend David Bonnett (Neil Bonnett's son) test a Busch Series car. While trying to land the helicopter in a closed-in section of the Talladega infield, Allison crashed and suffered grave head injuries. He died the next morning.

Both Kulwicki and Allison were in the top five of the Cup series points at the time of their deaths, with Allison recording a victory at Richmond. Allison and Kulwicki were also invited to participate in IROC XVII based on their performances, with Kulwicki automatically qualifying as the NASCAR Winston Cup champion, and at the time of their deaths, both drivers were in the top five in IROC points. Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt took over for the deceased drivers and Labonte's effort in the final IROC race gave the series title to Allison posthumously.

To commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the race, Jeff Gordon served as grand marshal and Richard Petty the honorary starter for the 2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 that took place on October 28, 2007.