1989 Daytona 500

The 31st annual Daytona 500 was held February 19 at Daytona International Speedway. Ken Schrader won the pole for the second time in a row.

Summary

General information

In the last 53 laps without a pit stop and on a nearing empty tank, Darrell Waltrip took his #17 Tide Chevrolet Monte Carlo to victory lane in the race. It was noted that the CBS announcers said that Darrell Waltrip resided in Franklin, Tennessee as opposed to his "real" home town of Owensboro, Kentucky.

The 1989 Daytona 500 race was Waltrip's first (and only) Daytona 500 race win in his 17th try, edging ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Ken Schrader, who led the most laps, by 7.64 seconds. "I won the Daytona 500! I won the Daytona 500!," Waltrip shouted on the radio to his crew, adding "I can't believe I won it! Don't lie to me, this is Daytona, ain't it? I'm not dreamin', am I?" Still in disbelief, Waltrip asked television reporter Mike Joy in victory circle, "This is the Daytona 500, isn't it? Don't tell it isn't." In celebration, Darrell performs his memorable 'Ickey Shuffle' dance with helmet spike. Plus, the race is also remembered for Davey Allison flipping his car off of the dirt embankment separating the cars from Lake Lloyd. Waltrip's win gave Hendrick Motorsports their second Daytona 500 win. The first Daytona 500 win for Hendrick Motorsports was by Geoff Bodine three years prior.

With Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine finishing 3rd and 4th respectively, Chevrolet finished 1-2-3-4. Waltrip later won five additional races in the 1989 season, tying Rusty Wallace with the most wins of the season.

Finishing order

1. 17-Darrell Waltrip, Led 25 of 200 Laps
2. 25-Ken Schrader, Led 114 Laps
3. 3-Dale Earnhardt, Led 3 Laps
4. 5-Geoffrey Bodine, Led 9 Laps
5. 55-Phil Parsons, Led 12 Laps
6. 66-Rick Mast*, Led 6 Laps
7. 7-Alan Kulwicki, Led 6 Laps
8. 4-Rick Wilson, Led 7 Laps
9. 11-Terry Labonte, Led 3 Laps
10. 23-Eddie Bierschwale, Led 2 Laps
11. 94-Sterling Marlin, 1 Lap down
12. 33-Harry Gant, 1 Lap down
13. 45-Joe Ruttman, 1 Lap down
14. 16-Larry Pearson*, 1 Lap down
15. 75-Morgan Shepherd, 1 Lap down
16. 10-Ken Bouchard, 2 Laps down
17. 43-Richard Petty, 2 Laps down
18. 27-Rusty Wallace, 3 Laps down
19. 26-Ricky Rudd, 3 Laps down; Led 2 Laps
20. 71-Dave Marcis, 3 Laps down; Led 1 Lap
21. 30-Michael Waltrip, 3 Laps down; Led 1 Lap
22. 40-Ben Hess*, 4 Laps down
23. 88-Greg Sacks, 4 Laps down
24. 70-J.D. McDuffie, 7 Laps down
25. 28-Davey Allison, 7 Laps down
26. 69-Lee Raymond*, 11 Laps down
27. 84-Mike Alexander, 12 Laps down
28. 19-Ronnie Sanders, 16 Laps down
29. 15-Brett Bodine, 177 Laps Completed (Valve)
30. 83-Lake Speed, 50 Laps down
31. 73-Phil Barkdoll, 143 Laps (Accident); Led 2 Laps
32. 29-Dale Jarrett, 69 Laps down
33. 6-Mark Martin, 110 Laps (Accident)
34. 67-Mickey Gibbs*, 76 Laps (Engine Failure)
35. 9-Bill Elliott (Jody Ridley took over;see other notes), 72 Laps (Accident)
36. 90-Chad Little*, 72 Laps (Accident)
37. 89-Rodney Combs, 72 Laps (Accident)
38. 14-A.J. Foyt, 41 Laps (Shocks); Led 4 Laps
39. 8-Bobby Hillin Jr., 39 Laps (Accident)
40. 93-Charlie Baker*, 39 Laps (Accident)
41. 2-Ernie Irvan, 8 Laps (Engine)
42. 21-Neil Bonnett, 2 Laps (Oil line).

• Failed to qualify:

52-Jimmy Means, 57-Hut Stricklin*, 68-Derrike Cope, 42-Kyle Petty, 31-Jim Sauter, 95-Trevor Boys, 77-Connie Saylor, 34-Charlie Glotzbach, 74-Randy LaJoie, 60-Jimmy Horton, 1-Doug Heveron, 41-Jim Bown, 31-Philip Duffie, 49-Tony Spanos, 0-Delma Cowart, 85-Bobby Gerhart, 59-Mark Gibson, and 39-Ricky Woodward.

Other notes

• On Lap 3, Neil Bonnett's engine blew then caught fire. He stopped the Wood Brothers' Citgo Ford Thunderbird on the apron between Turn 1 and 2 as smoke filled the car. He climbed out and fell to the ground as the race continued under the green flag. A lap later NASCAR finally issued the yellow flag.

• The #23 of Eddie Bierschwale was adorned with Peak Antifreeze logos, and when Neil Bonnett's engine blew on the third lap, Kyle Petty was put in the car en route to a 10th place finish.

• At the same time, Bill Elliott was relieved by Jody Ridley due to a wreck in practice before the Twin 125's.

• On Lap 23 the #28 of Davey Allison spun and hit the earthen bank that separated the backstretch grass from the shore of Lake Lloyd. The car slowly rolled once, but Allison finished the race (albeit minus the hood).

• On lap 145, the Phil Barkdoll in his #73 got loose and spun out of 18th place coming of turn 2, spun through the grass, hit the earthen bank, and ended up on his side.

References

• Sports Illustrated February 27, 1989
• New York Times March 9, 1989