1992 Hooters 500

1992 Hooters 500
Race details[1]
Race 29 of 29 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
The 1992 Hooters 500 program cover, paying tribute to Richard Petty, who would retire from NASCAR after the race.
The 1992 Hooters 500 program cover, paying tribute to Richard Petty, who would retire from NASCAR after the race.
Date November 15, 1992 (1992-November-15)
Official name Hooters 500
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.410 km)
Weather Sunny & Cold with temperatures up to 57 °F (14 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed 133.322 miles per hour (214.561 km/h)
Attendance 162,500
Pole position
Driver Richard Jackson Racing
Time 30.409
Most laps led
Driver Alan Kulwicki AK Racing
Laps 103
Winner
No. 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett

The 1992 Hooters 500 was the 29th and final race of the 1992 NASCAR season. It was held on November 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is widely considered the greatest NASCAR race of all time,[2][3] with three stories dominating the race: the debut of Jeff Gordon in the Winston Cup Series, the final race of seven-time champion Richard Petty's thirty-five-year career,[4][5] and the battle for the series points championship with six drivers mathematically eligible to win the title.

The race was won by Bill Elliott in the No. 11 Budweiser Ford for Junior Johnson and Associates. The championship was won by Alan Kulwicki, driving the No. 7 Hooters Ford for AK Racing, which he also owned. Kulwicki placed second in the race, and by virtue of leading one more lap than Elliott clinched the title by securing five bonus points for leading the most laps, which enabled him to maintain a ten-point cushion he had over Elliott entering the race.[6][7]

The 1992 Hooters 500 represented the 33rd running of the Atlanta fall race, and the sixth time the event was held as the NASCAR season finale.

  1. ^ "Weather information for the 1992 Hooters 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Day: 1992 Hooters 500". The Day. Season 1. Episode 3. 2011-09-17. 60 minutes in. SPEED. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  3. ^ "Greatest NASCAR rivalries". CMT.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2007.
  4. ^ Harris, Mike (November 16, 1992). "Petty had quite an interesting final day in Hooters 500 (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 9. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  5. ^ Harris, Mike (November 16, 1992). "Petty had quite an interesting final day in Hooters 500 (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 11. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ Harris, Mike (November 16, 1992). "Kulwicki's second-place finish good for Winston Cup crown (Part 1)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 9. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  7. ^ Harris, Mike (November 16, 1992). "Kulwicki's second-place finish good for Winston Cup crown (Part 2)". The Indianapolis Star. p. 11. Retrieved April 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon