#92
- One Magical Season ~ 1992 - Part 2
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10/04/2018 Matt McLaughlin |
(Editor’s Note) In 1997
- 1998, Matt McLaughlin penned a special Anthology of historical pieces in
honor of the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR entitled "50 Years of NASCAR
Racing." Matt has entrusted the entire collection, minus one or two that
were misfiled back then and cannot be salvaged, to my tender, loving care.
As NASCAR turns 70, the
Anthology itself will celebrate a 20th anniversary through 2018, and will run
again here on Race Fans Forever. As before, there is no record of which pieces
came first, so it will appear in the sequence presented earlier. Please, sit
back and enjoy as you take a journey back through the pages of history and
perhaps relive a memory or two.
As always, many thanks
to Matt, and God bless you my friend. ~PattyKay
Ford had won all nine Winston Cup events as the series arrived at Charlotte for
the World 600, and things went as expected, with Bill Elliott grabbing the pole
for that race. But even before the race, things had gone badly for Davey Allison,
who was in line to claim the Winston Million.
Allison, who had won the 1991 running of the Winston
in convincing fashion, once again earned the pole for the event, run that year
under the lights. He won the first 30 lap segment easily, after which the field
was inverted. Kyle Petty won the next segment and thus started on the pole for
the frantic ten lap shootout to the big check. Kyle led until Darrell Waltrip
spun, bringing out a caution. When the green flag dropped again with two laps
left to go, Dale Earnhardt dove so low he put two wheels in the grass to get
around Kyle. Earnhardt led at the white flag with Kyle behind him, trying
desperately to retake the lead. The two charged out of turn three, with Kyle
trying to go low to get inside of Dale, and Earnhardt ducking low to block the
move. They came out of the final corner inches apart, and Dale kept trying to
go lower to block Kyle. Eventually both lost control, and went flying back up
across the track. Earnhardt hit the wall and never finished the race. Kyle was
all over the track trying to catch his out of control car, as Davey, who had
been in third waiting for the two to wreck, took advantage and grabbed the
lead. As he crossed the start finish line, though, Petty's out of control
Pontiac slammed into Allison, putting him hard into the wall, and knocking him
out cold. Davey never arrived in victory lane. He had to be cut out of the
wreckage and flown to the hospital where he was diagnosed as having a nasty
concussion, a bruised lung, and massive bruising to his legs that had Davey
hobbling for some time. Even worse, his favorite car, 007, the one he had been
planning to race for the Winston Million the next weekend, was destroyed.
(Robert Yates later said the wreck scared him so badly he had the entire car
crushed so he'd never have to see it again.)
Things didn't go well for the Fords, right from the
start of the World 600. Elliott experienced engine problems early and had to
limp his car around the track as best as he could for the rest of the evening.
In somewhat of a surprise, three GM teams asserted themselves to the front,
Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Irvan in Chevys and Kyle Petty aboard a Pontiac. Kyle
and Ernie opened up a little distance between themselves and Earnhardt and
looked ready to make it a two man race as the final round of pit stops began.
Both Kyle and Ernie had flawless pit stops, and headed back out onto the track.
Then Dale Earnhardt came charging into the pits, seemingly heedless of the pit
road speed limit, locked up all four tires in clouds of smoke and slithered
sideways into his pit stall. He left about as quickly. Though the stop itself
was no faster, somehow Dale made up his three second deficit during that pit
stop, but NASCAR issued no penalty for speeding on pit road. Earnhardt went on
to win his first race of the season. A lot of other angry drivers and fans said
NASCAR played favorites with Dale Earnhardt because he was their "poster
boy". For newer fans, hopefully you are beginning to sense, the more
things change the more they stay the same. Only the names seem to change; the
stories remain the same. Davey Allison, who probably shouldn't even have been
in that car, managed fourth place, good enough to keep his points lead, but
three positions shy of the million dollar bonus. He would have to wait until
September's Southern 500 to have his next chance at the big prize.
Alan Kulwicki was well noted for bringing his cars
home in one piece, a trademark of the owner/driver who counted every penny he
spent. At the next race on the schedule, Dover, Alan wiped out two Thunderbirds
in practice, and had to send a truck to pick up a third car from the shop just
to qualify. In fact, that year Alan only damaged four cars badly enough they
needed entire new clips (The frame sections behind or in front of the roll cage
assembly that surrounds the driver.) All four of those cars were damaged at
Dover. That race saw a lot of wrecks caused by a sealer that the Dover Downs
management put down to try to save their decaying asphalt. (Again, does this
sound familiar for a one mile track up North?) It was a last ditch attempt
before Dover changed over to a concrete surface.
The race at Dover had a rather odd outcome. Davey
Allison and Harry Gant made hard contact on pit road, damaging both cars. Davey's
day was downhill from there, and he was also penalized for speeding on pit
road. In light of the circumstances at Charlotte that allowed Dale Earnhardt to
win, Davey was livid. A number of top contending cars fell laps off the pace,
after an untimely caution flag caught them a lap down in the middle of the pit
stop sequence. In the end, it was a battle between Harry Gant and Darrell
Waltrip, both of whom decided to roll the dice and stretch their fuel mileage
to forego a late pit stop. Dale Earnhardt was poised to capitalize if they both
ran out of gas. Darrell did indeed run out of fuel. So did Harry Gant, but it
was on the last lap and he was able to coast back to the checkers without
giving up the lead.
That week the NASCAR community was saddened by the
loss of the organization's founder, Bill France Senior. France, who had been in
poor health for a number of years, passed away the morning of the Sonoma event.
Like a modern day Moses, he had led his organization right to the brink of the
Promised Land, and because of his vision he could see the good things that lay
ahead, but did not cross the river himself.
Home state native Ernie Irvan had all challengers
covered at Sonoma that day. He won rather easily despite being black flagged
once for jumping a start. Bill Elliott managed a fifth place finish to
capitalize on Davey Allison having gone off course and dropping to 28th place
in the final run down. The points race was tightening
up. Meanwhile, quietly back in fifth place in the points sat Alan Kulwicki.
Pocono was next on the 1992 schedule, and that year
two notable drivers were trying something new at the oddly shaped track. Both
Mark Martin and Alan Kulwicki decided to gear their cars, so they shifted back
and forth from third to fourth on the tri-oval to allow for extra speed without
over-revving the engines on Pocono's long straight-aways.
As you might guess, since all the teams use that trick now, the strategy worked
splendidly, and Kulwicki won his second race of the season that day, after
Martin's run was foiled by a long pit stop, dropping him to second. Elliott,
the best of the "shiftless" bunch, came home third. Davey Allison had
a strong run going until he too encountered trouble in the pits, relegating him
to a fifth place finish. The sound of Dale Earnhardt's engine popping three
quarters of the way into the race, not only dropped him to 28th that day, but
also from second to fifth in the points, and it signaled the beginning of the
end for his 1992 season, which would suddenly go horribly wrong as well.
Davey Allison had the dominant car at the tour's next
stop, Michigan. His pit crew, which may have cost him the race at Pocono, made
atonement by knocking off flawless stops all day. Once again Junior tried to
gamble, leaving Bill Elliott out on the track after all the other leaders
pitted. The strategy backfired when Bill ran out of gas and lost a lap, on a
track where he usually dominated.
The 1992 Firecracker 400 held special significance, as
it would be the last time that Richard Petty would ever race at Daytona, a
track that he had made nearly synonymous with his name. All week there were
special events, awards and ceremonies, and no less a dignitary than President
Bush was on hand to see Richard run his last race at Daytona. In a carefully
orchestrated move (The one time I will admit NASCAR scripted part of a race)
Richard Petty was allowed to lead the first five laps, before all the other
drivers began to race in earnest. All the hoopla of that week, and a hot day
took its toll on the King, who had to call on a relief driver on lap 82. When
no one could be found who fit in the car, the STP Pontiac was parked, to the
great disappointment of the fans.
Ernie Irvan saved his car all day until it mattered,
then pulled the trigger late in the race to edge out Sterling Marlin by a
couple of car lengths. Bill Elliott managed fifth to whittle away some more of
Davey Allison's points lead, when Davey came home
tenth.
The series returned to Pocono that July with Davey
Allison having led the points since winning the Daytona 500. His return trip to
the Poconos started out well with Davey claiming the pole, and with all that
Robert Yates horsepower under the hood Davey had to be considered a favorite
that day. After leading early and often, yet another SNAFU in the pits cost
Davey a lot of track position during a caution flag pit stop. Davey was mired
well back in the pack but there were enough laps left in the race, and he had
enough car, he could have made up the distance. It was not to be. After the
green flag dropped Davey and Darrel Waltrip were charging for the front, when
they aimed their cars at the same piece of open real estate. Davey got the
worst of it. The black 28 car got sideways, then began a series of sickening
end over end rolls, shedding parts down the short chute and at one point almost
landing on top of a safety truck, before the Ford came down hard on the guard
rail. It was one of the most frightening wrecks in Winston Cup history, and it
seemed impossible Davey could have survived. While Allison did survive the
horrendous wreck, he broke his right arm and wrist, and a collarbone, and
fractured his skull. It was the fourth time the thin driver from Alabama had to
be admitted to a hospital after a wreck, but it was the first time that Davey
lost the points lead. Despite a lackluster 13th place finish, Bill Elliott took
that lead. Darrell Waltrip went on to win the race, but his first words in
Victory Lane were, "How's Davey?" Allison never bore any ill will
towards Darrell, despite the severity of his injuries. He said both drivers
were at fault in a momentary miscalculation, "one of them racing
deals."
Incredibly Davey started the next race at Talladega,
and drove six laps before handing the car over to Bobby Hillin, and crossing
his fingers. Allison spent the rest of the day in the Texaco suite coaching his
relief driver over the radio.
Ernie Irvan lost a lap after being penalized for
speeding on pit road, but a fan who tossed a beer can out on the track bought
out a caution that got Ernie back onto the tail end of the lead lap. Irvan made
the most of that opportunity and fought his way to the front. In the end, Irvan
got a crucial assist from fellow GM driver Ricky Rudd, while the Fords in the
lead pack commenced to fighting among themselves for position and let Ernie get
away. Coming in third that day in his relief role for Allison was Bobby Hillin.
Coupled with Elliott's fifth place finish, Davey actually took back the points
lead by a single point, while sitting in the Texaco suite.
But things would not go so well for Davey at the next
race, Watkins Glen. Obviously as badly hurt as he was, there was no way Allison
could drive a complete race on a road course. Robert Yates turned to noted road
course ace Dorsey Schroeder to take the wheel of the 28 in a relief role.
The weather was terrible that year at the Glen, and
the race was delayed more than three hours at the start, then run under
threatening skies that had the teams knowing the event would probably not go
its full length. Kyle Petty had a strong car, but was forced to the pits after
waiting as long as he could with rain once again threatening. Dick Trickle took
the lead by not getting fresh tires on his stop, and it seemed the rain might
come in time to give Dick the win. It wasn't to be. The race resumed under
green just long enough to allow Kyle to take advantage of his fresh tires to go
back into the lead, at which point the rain returned. Four laps were run under
caution and the race was finally called official. Schroeder did a fine job
driving for Allison, until his inexperience with a heavy Winston Cup car caused
him to brake too late during a pit stop and sail right past his stall. Dorsey
had to go back out on the track, complete another lap and try again. He wound
up 20th, handing the points lead back to Elliott, who could only manage 14th
that day.
The seesaw battle for the championship was anyone's to
win, and things were looking better for Davey Allison. Incredibly, less than a
month after his horrendous wreck at Pocono, Allison was cleared to drive the
schedule's next race at Michigan without relief help. Considering he had won on
the track earlier that season, Davey looked to be in good position to reassert
himself in the title hunt. Yes, things were looking better for Davey. Little
did he know what a cruel hand fate would deal him at Michigan that summer.
It was Friday afternoon at Michigan, and the Winston
Cup regulars were hanging out in the garage, while their Busch series
counterparts were on the track practicing for the next day's race. Then there
was the sound of screeching tires followed quickly by the sound of sheetmetal
shredding into one of Michigan's unyielding outer walls. All conversation
stopped as people turned to see who had crashed, and if that driver was all
right. The driver was Davey Allison's younger brother, Clifford, and he was far
from all right. Davey tried to reach the car even as rescue crews began cutting
away the roof, but was restrained by track officials, who told him he best get
to the hospital. Clifford was helicoptered to the hospital, while Davey and his
wife Liz drove. By the time they reached the hospital they were informed
Clifford had died en route.
Robert Yates told Davey if he needed to get home to mourn
his brother, the 28 team would line up a relief driver. He even suggested that
might be the right course of action. But for Davey there was no question
whether he would race at not. Heartbroken, and body still badly battered, he
started that race Sunday.
Just as he had at Dover, Harry Gant used a fuel
strategy to take the win that day. During the final caution flag, Gant came in
and got four tires and fuel, then stopped again just before the green flag
dropped to top off the tank. The rest of the field needed to make one more pit
stop, allowing Harry to take the win by a comfortable five seconds over Darrell
Waltrip. Elliott finished third, and Davey Allison bought the 28 car home
fifth. Because he had never led a lap, and Elliott had led the most laps that
day, Allison fell another 20 points behind his rival. A 20 point drop in the
standings pales by significance to the loss of a brother. Immediately after the
race, Davey left the track to fly home and be with his family, talking only
briefly with the press.
From Michigan the series returned to Bristol, but
there was a new twist to Thunder Valley for that event. The high banked oval
was notorious for having its track surface come apart under racing conditions,
so the track management tried something new. The track was re-surfaced in
concrete. Almost to a man, the drivers despised the track the first time they
ran on it, saying it was too bumpy, and slick.
During the race many drivers did find that a steeply
banked concrete racing surface was a bit unforgiving. Chief amongst them was
Davey Allison, who was running in the top five and trying to move forward, when
the back end of the 28 car got away from him, and Davey backed hard into the
wall winding up 30th in a 32 car field. Elliott and Kulwicki struggled a bit as
well, finishing a lap off the pace, but still managing a sixth and fifth place
finish respectively. The points race was tightening
up, and Kulwicki in third was actually closer to overtaking Allison then Davey
was to grabbing the point back from Bill.
The acknowledged master of Bristol was Darrell
Waltrip, who had 11 career wins at the track going into that event. The new
surface didn't seem to bother him much, and Waltrip dominated the latter half
of the race. Asked what he thought about the new track surface, DW just
grinned, feigned surprise and asked; "They resurfaced it? I didn't even
notice."
For Davey Allison and the 28 team there was no time to
dwell on the Bristol disaster. An eventful and occasionally tragic summer was
winding down. The next race on the schedule was the Southern 500 at Darlington,
and it would be Allison's last chance to claim the Winston Million. Robert
Yates racing had every intention of giving Davey the car he needed to win, and
Allison was a master of the superspeedways. Besides the dyno operator, Larry
McReynolds, and the chassis specialists, Yates should have hired a good
meteorologist too.
*Matt can no longer
field comments or email at Race Fans Forever. If you have comments or
questions, please leave them below and I’ll do my best to supply answers.
~PattyKay Lilley, Senior Editor.