The 1989 Winston 500

CONCORD, N.C. (May 21, 1989)

All's fair in love and war, especially on the race track in The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Rusty Wallace spun Darrell Waltrip out of first place with just over two miles remaining and went on to win the fifth edition of The Winston at the 1.5-mile superspeedway. The 202.5- mile event, which was otherwise a relatively serene affair, heated up in the final moments and after the race, as fans voiced their displeasure over Wallace's exploits. Wallace and Waltrip won the first two segments of the three-part all-star event. They started on the front row for the final 10-lap dash, and Waltrip bolted to an early lead. Toward the end, Wallace started creeping up on Waltrip.

Entering the fourth turn as the pair were coming up on the white flag, Wallace dove under Waltrip and clipped his rear bumper, sending Waltrip spinning into the grass. The caution flag came out and officials ordered Waltrip to the rear, and took one lap off the scoreboard.

Dirt track-type rules were in effect in the final 10 laps, whereas in the event of a yellow flag, the restarting order would be determined by the order of the cars running prior to the caution. Waltrip contended he should be placed at the front of the line since "he (Wallace) caused the caution by spinning me out."

NASCAR officials disagreed and placed Waltrip at the rear of the field. Wallace led the final two laps and beat Ken Schrader by three car-lengths to win the $240,000 first prize. Dale Earnhardt finished third, Bill Elliott was fourth and Alan Kulwicki fifth. "It was an ugly win," said Waltrip, who charged from 15th to seventh in the final two laps. "He drove into me and spun me out. It was pretty flagrant."

"If a man thinks this is a leisurely Sunday afternoon ride, he ought not to be in the race," Wallace said. In the post-race interview, Wallace insisted he did not intentionally spin Waltrip out. "I'd be crazy to drive up on the rear of somebody and just spin them out in front of God and everybody," Wallace said.