On Nov. 15, 1992, more than 160,000 race fans, the largest crowd to date for a sporting event in Georgia, gathered at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
They had no idea the drama that was about to take place.
Most came to see the final race driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty. The winner of 200 races and seven Daytona 500s was to strap into his No. 43 Pontiac a final time and say goodbye to a 35-year racing career. Petty settled into his Pontiac as he and Lynda Petty’s children, Kyle (sitting in his own race car), Rebecca, Sharon and Lisa, gave the command to start engines.
On lap 96 of the 328-lap race, “The King” was caught up in a multi-car crash that also involved Dick Trickle, Wally Dallenbach, Darrell Waltrip, Ken Schrader and Rich Bickle.
After a fire was extinguished under the hood of the STP Pontiac, Petty’s crew worked throughout the remainder of the race to get his car running again, determined to have him finish his last race. With two laps remaining, he drove his mangled machine out of the garage as cheers erupted for the 35th-place finisher.
“I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory; I just forgot about the glory part,” Petty said. After all post-race ceremonies had been completed, Petty climbed back in the car for one final ceremonial lap to salute the fans. He waved out the window while the song “Richard Petty Fans” by the country music group Alabama was played on the public-address system.
When Petty returned to the hauler and silenced his engine for a final time, his family was there to greet him. There were hugs all around and the tears flowed, as the decades-long journey entered its next chapter with Petty transitioning to the role of team owner.
Young star Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, made his Cup Series debut that day after having won five NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 1991 and ’92. The future four-time Cup Series champion had a short day, crashing out on lap 164.
The biggest story of the day was the battle for the Cup Series championship with six drivers entering the day in contention.
Davey Allison, wheeling the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford, started the race as the points leader and needed to finish fifth or better to claim the title.
Alan Kulwicki, owner and driver of the No. 7 Ford, was second in the standings, followed by Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 11 Junior Johnson and Associates Ford. Harry Gant, in the No. 33 Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile; Kyle Petty, in the SABCO Racing Pontiac; and Mark Martin, in the Roush Racing Ford were also in title contention.
Allison and his Larry McReynolds-led crew quickly discovered it would be a long afternoon of anxious moments that eventually led to heartbreak. On the second lap, Allison suffered rear-end body damage during a multi-car crash in the first turn. Later, when Gordon pitted his No. 24 Chevrolet, a member of his crew left a roll of tape on the deck lid of the car that fell off and was hit by Allison’s car, causing an aerodynamic problem to his Ford.
Three more cautions followed. Allison escaped the second multi-car crash that involved Petty, as well as a single-car crash that eliminated Dale Earnhardt on lap 204 and a blown engine in the Junie Donlavey Ford driven by Bobby Hillin Jr. on lap 243.
Allison was in the top five when a devastating blow ended his title hopes on lap 254. Ernie Irvan, driver of the Morgan-McClure Racing Chevrolet, spun exiting turn four and collected Allison. Allison’s team made repairs, but he finished 27th.
“I saw Ernie get loose and we just ran out of room,” Allison said. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes. I hate it for all the guys at Robert Yates Racing. They deserve a lot better than this. They deserve to win a championship this year. We didn’t get it, so we’ll just go back next year and try again. It just wasn’t meant to be for us.”
Gant was never a factor and finished 13th, while Kyle Petty fought back from losing a lap only to have engine problems during the closing laps en route to a 16th-place finish.
Martin suffered engine failure, leaving Kulwicki and Elliott to fight for the title. The tension was palpable, as the championship picture changed with each completed lap. Lap after lap, the pair battled side by side, exchanging the lead and keeping everyone on the edges of their seats. Elliott won the race and Kulwicki finished second.
Kulwicki’s 103 laps led to Elliott’s 102, made the difference in winning the championship. The fact that Kulwicki led at least one lap gave him five bonus points and that he led one more lap than Elliott meant he gained five more points, giving him the 10-point bonus he needed to win the title.
Ken Martin, then ESPN’s race statistician, had the weight of the world on his shoulders during the closing laps.
“Days before the race, I had put together a spreadsheet of all six drivers that could win the championship with various scenarios,” Martin said. “During the closing laps when it came down to Kulwicki and Elliott, my hands are shaking as I’m calculating the championship numbers. I gave it to Bob Jenkins, and he showed it to Ned (Jarrett) and Benny (Parsons). He flashed me a legal pad with the words, ‘Are you sure?’ I’m thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is a big deal.’ But I knew I was right. I knew that even if Bill won the race, Kulwicki would be the champion.”
Kulwicki explained what he was thinking during the 500-mile race.
“On the last pit stop, we had about a 1.5-second lead when we came in,” Kulwicki said. “I knew we had led the most laps and Bill couldn’t beat me for the championship unless I screwed up. I was a little conservative coming down pit road and then exiting the pits. But I wasn’t about to let Bill force me to make a mistake and speed on pit road. I wasn’t about to lose a championship we fought so hard for by having NASCAR black flag me for speeding on pit road.
“That conservatism let Bill get back in front of us for the remainder of the race, but as long as I could finish second, the title was ours. That’s the way I raced the final few laps,” Kulwicki continued. “I knew that I couldn’t erase the three-second lead in the final few laps remaining, and all I had to do was finish second. And that I did. It’s a whole lot better to lose a race by a few seconds than to lose a championship by trying to win the race in the last few laps and make a mistake.”
Added Elliott, “I felt I could keep him within a couple of seconds when he was on new tires, I could beat him at the end if the race went green. That’s the way it ended up, but he knew exactly what he needed to do. He came in here with 10 points over me and I needed someone to be in between him and me at the end. But that just didn’t happen.”
H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, former presiden and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, was present when Elliott drove his Junior Johnson and Associates Ford into victory lane.
“I went down to help since SMI (Speedway Motorsports, Inc.) had just bought the track,” Wheeler said. “You need to have a track representative in the winner’s circle, and they asked me to do it. So, whoever won the championship I was to be with the winner of the race. All of a sudden, there is Bill Elliott and he’s won the race. I usually don’t go to the winner’s circle. I had never seen a group of people more down than that group after winning a race.
“They wanted that championship and they didn’t get it,” Wheeler continued. “They lost it to a guy that if you were an oddsmaker, should have never come close to it. And usually, winner’s circles are overburdened with people. This one wasn’t because everyone was over at Kulwicki’s winner’s circle.”
Kulwicki and four others were killed in a private plane crash en route to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on April 1, 1993. Only three months later on July 13, 1993, Allison died as a result of a helicopter crash at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.