The 1989 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 19, 1989, before an audience of 150,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Gambling on fuel mileage, Hendrick Motorsports driver Darrell Waltrip would manage to run the last 53 laps on one tank of fuel to take his 74th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first and only Daytona 500 victory, and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor0Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingChevroletJ. W. Exley Lumber1Doug HeveronEllington RacingBuickEllington Racing2Ernie IrvanU.S. RacingPontiacKroger3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus4Rick WilsonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsOldsmobileKodak5Geoff BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLevi Garrett6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordStroh's Light7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordZerex8Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuickMiller High Life9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordCoors Light10Ken BouchardWhitcomb RacingPontiacSimoniz11Terry LabonteJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser14A. J. FoytA. J. Foyt RacingOldsmobileCopenhagen15Brett BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft16Larry Pearson (R)Pearson RacingBuickChattanooga Chew17Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide19Ronnie SandersGray RacingChevroletHamby Chevrolet21Neil BonnettWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo23Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobilePeak Antifreeze25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFolgers26Ricky RuddKing RacingBuickQuaker State27Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiacKodiak28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline29Dale JarrettCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiacHardee's30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacCountry Time31Jim SauterBob Clark MotorsportsPontiacSlender You Figure Salons32Philip DuffieDuffie RacingBuickBob Beard Buick33Harry GantJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit34Charlie GlotzbachAAG RacingBuickAllen's Glass39Ricky WoodwardWangerin RacingFordMoen Incorporated40Ben Hess (R)Hess RacingOldsmobileHess Racing41Jim BownBown RacingChevroletRose Auto Wrecking42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacPeak Antifreeze43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP45Joe RuttmanCalCar MotorsportsPontiacSchaefer Beer, Machinists Union48Mickey Gibbs (R)Winkle MotorsportsPontiacGMAC49Tony SpanosHylton MotorsportsBuickHylton Motorsports52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacAlka-Seltzer55Phil ParsonsJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal, Crown Central Petroleum57Hut Stricklin (R)Osterlund RacingPontiacHeinz59Mark GibsonGibson RacingPontiacIngalls Construction66Rick Mast (R)Mach 1 RacingChevroletMach 1 Racing67Brad TeagueArrington RacingPontiacArrington Racing68Derrike CopeTesta RacingPontiacPurolator69Lee RaymondLC RacingFordLC Racing70J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiacRumple Furniture71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletLifebuoy73Phil BarkdollBarkdoll RacingOldsmobileBarkdoll Racing74Randy LaJoieWawak RacingPontiacWawak Racing75Morgan ShepherdRahMoc EnterprisesPontiacValvoline77Connie SaylorRagan RacingFordRagan Racing80Jimmy HortonS&H RacingPontiacMiles Concrete83Lake SpeedSpeed RacingOldsmobileKraft Dinner84Mike AlexanderStavola Brothers RacingBuickMiller High Life85Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevroletJames Chevrolet88Greg SacksBaker–Schiff RacingPontiacCrisco89Rodney CombsMueller Brothers RacingPontiacEvinrude Outboard Motors90Chad Little (R)Donlavey RacingFordPurolator93Charlie BakerSalmon RacingChevroletSalmon Racing94Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobileSunoco95Trevor BoysSadler RacingChevroletSadler Racing
Qualifying Qualifying was set by the 1989 Twin 125 Qualifiers. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Twin 125 Qualifiers held on Saturday, February 11, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting was set in the Twin 125 Qualifiers, held on Thursday, February 16 during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, would set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, would set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers would set positions 31-40 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Saturday. If needed, up to two extra provisionals were given to teams high enough in the previous season's owner's standings that did not qualify for the race by either qualifying speed or from the Twin 125 Qualifiers.
Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 45.686 and an average speed of in Saturday's session.
18 drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeReason125Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletQualified on pole217Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevroletQualified on outside pole375Morgan ShepherdRahMoc EnterprisesPontiacSecond in Twin 125 #1411Terry LabonteJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordFirst in Twin 125 #256Mark MartinRoush RacingFordThird in Twin 125 #1694Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobileSecond in Twin 125 #2755Phil ParsonsJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobileFourth in Twin 125 #183Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletThird in Twin 125 #297Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordFifth in Twin 125 #1105Geoff BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFourth in Twin 125 #21166Rick Mast (R)Mach 1 RacingChevroletSixth in Twin 125 #11233Harry GantJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobileFifth in Twin 125 #2139Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordSeventh in Twin 125 #11416Larry Pearson (R)Pearson RacingBuickSixth in Twin 125 #21510Ken BouchardWhitcomb RacingPontiacEighth in Twin 125 #11628Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordSeventh in Twin 125 #21745Joe RuttmanCalCar MotorsportsPontiacNinth in Twin 125 #11815Brett BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordNinth in Twin 125 #21971Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletTenth in Twin 125 #12029Dale JarrettCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiacTenth in Twin 125 #22169Lee RaymondLC RacingFord11th in Twin 125 #12284Mike AlexanderStavola Brothers RacingBuick11th in Twin 125 #22330Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac12th in Twin 125 #12414A. J. FoytA. J. Foyt RacingOldsmobile12th in Twin 125 #22593Charlie BakerSalmon RacingChevrolet13th in Twin 125 #1268Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuick13th in Twin 125 #22719Ronnie SandersGray RacingChevrolet14th in Twin 125 #12890Chad Little (R)Donlavey RacingFord14th in Twin 125 #22970J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac15th in Twin 125 #13089Rodney CombsMueller Brothers RacingPontiac15th in Twin 125 #23173Phil BarkdollBarkdoll RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (191.906)3240Ben Hess (R)Hess RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (191.217)332Ernie IrvanU.S. RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (190.585)3443Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacOwner's points provisional3527Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (190.694)3626Ricky RuddKing RacingBuickOwner's points provisional3788Greg SacksBaker–Schiff RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (190.521)3821Neil BonnettWood Brothers RacingFordSpeed provisional (194.611)3983Lake SpeedSpeed RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (192.230)404Rick WilsonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsOldsmobileSpeed provisional (192.287)4123Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (191.583)4267Mickey Gibbs (R)Arrington RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (190.428)Failed to qualify or withdrew4374Randy LaJoieWawak RacingPontiac16th in Twin 125 #14442Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac17th in Twin 125 #24557Hut Stricklin (R)Osterlund RacingPontiac17th in Twin 125 #14659Mark GibsonGibson RacingPontiac18th in Twin 125 #14741Jim BownBown RacingChevrolet18th in Twin 125 #24877Connie SaylorRagan RacingFord19th in Twin 125 #24980Jimmy HortonS&H RacingPontiac19th in Twin 125 #15052Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac20th in Twin 125 #25134Charlie GlotzbachAAG RacingBuick25th in Twin 125 #15285Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevrolet22nd in Twin 125 #25349Tony SpanosHylton MotorsportsBuick26th in Twin 125 #15431Jim SauterBob Clark MotorsportsPontiac23rd in Twin 125 #2550Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingChevrolet27th in Twin 125 #15668Derrike CopeTesta RacingPontiac24th in Twin 125 #25732Philip DuffieDuffie RacingBuick25th in Twin 125 #25895Trevor BoysSadler RacingChevrolet27th in Twin 125 #2591Doug HeveronEllington RacingBuick29th in Twin 125 #26039Ricky WoodwardWangerin RacingFord30th in Twin 125 #2WD48Mickey Gibbs (R)Winkle MotorsportsPontiacLack of backup carOfficial Twin 125 Qualifiers resultsOfficial starting lineup
Race results