The 1989 Motorcraft 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston West Series season. The race was held on Monday, July 17, 1989, at Evergreen Speedway, a 0.625 mi (1.006 km) oval shaped racetrack in Monroe, Washington. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, July 16, but was delayed to Monday due to rain. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Chad Little won the race, his first of the season and last of his career. Little won by 1.2 seconds over Roy Smith after leading the final 198 laps and holding off Smith through two late race restarts. Hershel McGriff finished third, the only other car on the lead lap. Derrike Cope and Brad Tidrick rounded out the top five.
Report
Background Evergreen Speedway is a racetrack located within the confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The layout of the track is unique in that it incorporates an oversized 0.625 mi (1.006 km) paved outer oval, a 0.375 mi (0.604 km) paved inner oval, a 0.200 mi (0.322 km) paved inner oval, a 0.125 mi (0.201 km) dragstrip, and the #2 ranked figure-eight track in the United States.
Entry list DriverOwnerManufacturer1Jim BownSara VincentChevrolet04Hershel McGriffHershel McGriffPontiac07Mark WalbridgeUnknownPontiac7Ron EatonRon EatonPontiac08Rick McCrayRick McCrayPontiac09Derrike CopeDick MidgleyChevrolet9Bill ElliottHarry MellingFord14Mike FrenchMike FrenchOldsmobile17Tony HeckartUnknownBuick19Robert SpragueFred Stoke/Larry RouseFord22St. James DavisLaDonna DavisBuick24Butch GillilandButch GillilandBuick28Gary CollinsMarion CollinsOldsmobile38Duke HoenshellDuke HoenshellPontiac41Gary ScottSara VincentChevrolet44Jack SellersAdele EmersonBuick63Walt PriceM. K. KankeChevrolet68Larry GaylordLarry GaylordOldsmobile72Brad TidrickCindi TidrickBuick73Bill SchmittBill SchmittChevrolet75Bill SedgwickWayne SpearsChevrolet77Mike HickingbottomMike HickingbottomPontiac79Roy SmithWarren RazoreFord83Sumner McKnightSumner McKnightFord88Bob WalkerBob WalkerPontiac90Chad LittleGeorge Jefferson/Fred StokeFord91J.C. DanielsenLarry RouseFord98Jerry BowersJohn KieperChevrolet99John KrebsJohn KrebsPontiac
Qualifying The first round of qualifying was held on Friday, July 14, and determined the first 20 starting positions, with final qualifying taking place on Saturday. Defending NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Bill Elliott won the pole with a speed of 97.436 mph.
Qualifying results Pos#DriverOwnerMakeSpeed19Bill ElliottHarry MellingFord97.436290Chad LittleGeorge Jefferson/Fred StokeFord96.973373Bill SchmittBill SchmittChevrolet96.91641Jim BownSara VincentChevrolet96.52657Ron EatonRon EatonPontiac96.274609Derrike CopeDick MidgleyChevrolet96.258799John KrebsJohn KrebsPontiac96.210804Hershel McGriffHershel McGriffPontiac96.171983Sumner McKnightSumner McKnightFord96.0321079Roy SmithWarren RazoreFord96.0201107Mark WalbridgeUnknownPontiac95.7671219Robert SpragueFred Stoke/Larry RouseFord95.6451308Rick McCrayRick McCrayPontiac95.4011498Jerry BowersJohn KieperChevrolet95.4011575Bill SedgwickWayne SpearsChevrolet95.3001628Gary CollinsMarion CollinsOldsmobile94.8331791J.C. DanielsenLarry RouseFord94.2071814Mike FrenchMike FrenchOldsmobile94.2071924Butch GillilandGilliland RacingBuick93.0132038Duke HoenshellDuke HoenshellPontiac92.7352172Brad TidrickCindi TidrickBuick92.4472288Bob WalkerBob WalkerPontiac91.7182344Jack SellersAdele EmersonBuick90.2552422St. James DavisLaDonna DavisBuick88.0342568Larry GaylordLarry GaylordOldsmobile87.2452677Mike HickingbottomMike HickingbottomPontiac84.3682741Gary ScottSara VincentChevrolet83.6702863Walt PriceM. K. KankeChevrolet–2917Tony HeckartUnknownBuick–
Race results FinSt#DriverOwnerMakeLapsLedStatusPts1290Chad LittleGeorge Jefferson/Fred StokeFord500375Running18521079Roy SmithWarren RazoreFord50074Running1753804Hershel McGriffHershel McGriffPontiac50014Running1704609Derrike CopeDick MidgleyChevolet4960Running16052172Brad TidrickCindi TidrickBuick4860Running1556373Bill SchmittBill SchmittChevrolet4840Running15071308Rick McCrayRick McCrayPontiac4820Accident14681924Butch GillilandButch GillilandBuick4800Running14291814Mike FrenchMike FrenchOldsmobile4790Running1381041Jim BownSara VincentChevrolet47826Accident139112038Duke HoenshellDuke HoenshellPontiac4740Running130121498Jerry BowersJohn KieperChevrolet4720Accident127132344Jack SellersAdele EmersonBuick4640Running124142741Gary ScottSara VincentChevrolet4480Running12115799John KrebsJohn KrebsPontiac4450Running118161628Gary CollinsMarion CollinsOldsmobile3970Engine115171791J.C. DanielsenLarry RouseFord3890Engine112181575Bill SedgwickWayne SpearsChevrolet3880Running109192288Bob WalkerBob WalkerPontiac3690Fatigue1062057Ron EatonRon EatonPontiac3410Fatigue103211219Robert SpragueFred Stoke/Larry RouseFord2925Engine105222677Mike HickingbottomMike HickingbottomPontiac1230Oil Line97232568Larry GaylordLarry GaylordOldsmobile1210Suspension94242422St. James DavisLaDonna DavisBuick880Transmission912519Bill ElliottHarry MellingFord486Head Gasket9326983Sumner McKnightSumner McKnightFord400Accident85271107Mark WalbridgeUnknownPontiac120Accident82282863Walt PriceM. K. KankeChevrolet00Engine79292917Tony HeckartUnknownBuick00Ignition76
Standings after the race PosDriverPoints 1Bill Schmitt 1150 2Roy Smith 1144 (–6) 3Hershel McGriff 1083 (–67) 4Rick McCray 1034 (–116) 5Bill Sedgwick 964 (–186) 6John Krebs 955 (–195) 7Jerry Bowers 920 (–230) 2 8Butch Gilliland 796 (–354) 1 9Robert Sprague 767 (–383) 1 10Jack Sellers 743 (–407)
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References