Photo – 1992 Winston Cup Yearbook Cover
Davey Allison’s 1992 season started off with a bang. The 31-year-old driver won the season opening Daytona 500 for Robert Yates Racing. It was the start to a great season.
Along the way, he picked up wins at North Wilkesboro and Talladega in the spring and Michigan in June. No other win was more prominent than the Winston in May, featuring a last-lap duel between Allison, Dale Earnhardt and Kyle Petty.
On the way to the checkered flag, Earnhardt got loose and spun while Petty and Allison sped by; it was a drag race and Allison barely edged out Petty. Allison wound up in an ambulance after his No. 28 car hit the wall after making contact with the No. 42 of Petty. He went on to race next week’s Coca-Cola 600.
It was not the only incident for Allison that season. At Pocono in July, he had a wild tumble, resulting in breaking his wrist. His season consisted of ups-and-downs, but he was in the championship hunt going into Phoenix.
Bill Elliott led the points in his No.11 Junior Johnson Ford and had some bad luck recently, allowing the others to gain points on his lead advantage. Rusty Wallace won the pole for the race and had the most dominant car in the first half of the race, until the battery went on the No. 2 Penske Racing Pontiac.
The battle for the victory came down to Allison, Mark Martin, and Alan Kulwicki. In the end, Mark Martin pitted under green, and two laps later, the last caution flew on lap 285.
The leaders came to the pits with Allison coming out first. Martin fought his way back to second, but it was not enough. Allison was in the right place at the right time as he scored his fifth win of the season.
Elliott was never a factor during the race. The No. 11 team made numerous repairs and at the end of the day, he saw himself in 31st place and his points lead was now gone. Allison left Phoenix with a 30 point lead over Alan Kulwicki and Elliott was 40 points behind.
In the season finale, a record six drivers competed for the 1992 Winston Cup title at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Alan Kulwicki of AK Racing won the Cup championship in the second-closest battle in NASCAR history to-date. Since then the closest Cup title competition was between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards in 2011.
1992 Pyroil 500 Top Ten
#28 Davey Allison (left with the points lead)
#6 Mark Martin
#17 Darrell Waltrip
#7 Alan Kulwicki
#12 Jimmy Spencer (third start with Bobby Allison Motorsports)
#25 Ken Schrader
#10 Derrike Cope (1990 Daytona 500 winner)
#68 Bobby Hamilton
#22 Sterling Marlin (won both poles at Daytona in 1992)
#3 Dale Earnhardt
Notables
14. #33 Harry Gant
19. #42 Kyle Petty
28. #2 Rusty Wallace (won pole)
31. #11 Bill Elliott (trailed Allison by 40 points after the race)