DieHard 500
The DieHard 500 was held July 26 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Sterling Marlin won the pole. In awe-inspiring fashion, Allison walked into the garage area at Talladega, determined to put on his uniform and drive in the DieHard 500. With a tailor-made cast, a wrist brace and velcro on the shifter, Allison started the race and gained the all-important Winston Cup points. After four laps, backup driver Bobby Hillin Jr. took over the wheel and nearly drove the Texaco Ford to victory. Irvan and Marlin again battled for superspeedway supremacy with Irvan nipping the winless Marlin by a scant .19 seconds. Earnhardt had engine failure again and finished dead last for the second time in three races, taking him out of contention for a third consecutive Winston Cup title. Remarkably, Hillin's third-place run in Allison's sted gave the Texaco/Havoline team a one-point lead over Elliott in the points chase. Kulwicki trailed by 120 points and Gant by 129.
Top Ten Results
- 4-Ernie Irvan
- 22-Sterling Marlin
- 28-Davey Allison/Bobby Hillin, Jr.
- 5-Ricky Rudd, 1 lap down
- 11-Bill Elliott, 1 lap down
- 42-Kyle Petty, 1 lap down
- 30-Michael Waltrip, 1 lap down
- 9-Chad Little, 1 lap down
- 25-Ken Schrader, 1 lap down
- 26-Brett Bodine, 1 lap down
- Davey Allison found the strength to start this race (thus receiving all points scored by the #28 car) after suffering the skull fracture the previous week at Pocono. At the first caution, he handed the driving duties over to 1986 winner Bobby Hillin, Jr., who gave the car a great third place run.
- The race only saw two yellows, at Lap 6 and Lap 70. The long green runs caused the field to spread out, and the strongest cars in the field (the 4, 22, and 28) lapped everyone else.
- Ernie Irvan suffered a flat tire on Lap 5. When the yellow came out, he sped out of the pits to stay on the lead lap, but failed to beat leader Ricky Rudd to the line and was penalised to the rear of the field for speeding. He went on to pass everyone and get his lap back, and when the second (and only other) caution came out, he made up his lost lap.
- Davey Allison leapfrogged Bill Elliott by 1 point to re-take the lead. Alan Kulwicki (who finished 3 laps down in 25th) and Harry Gant (2 laps down in 17th) fell to a deficit of 120 and 129 points respectively.
Read more about this topic: 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series