| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 29 in the1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1989 Valleydale Meats 500 program cover, featuringBill Elliott. | |||
| Date | April 9, 1989 | ||
| Official name | 29th Annual Valleydale Meats 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee,Bristol Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 76.034 miles per hour (122.365 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 56,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 15.953 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Greg Sacks | Baker–Schiff Racing | |
| Laps | 119 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Ned Jarrett,Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1989 Valleydale Meats 500 was the sixthstock car race of the1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 29th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Sunday, April 9, 1989, before an audience of 56,000 inBristol, Tennessee, atBristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Coming back from initial mishaps early in the race,Blue Max Racing driverRusty Wallace would manage to make a late race charge to the lead, passing for the lead with 43 laps left in the race to take his 13th careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three,Darrell Waltrip andGeoff Bodine, both drivers forHendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.
TheBristol Motor Speedway, formerly known asBristol International Raceway andBristol Raceway, is aNASCARshort track venue located inBristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, twopit roads, andstadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 7, at 2:00 PMEST. Originally, the first 15 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 16-30 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, April 8.[5] However, due to rain, the second round was cancelled. As a result, the rest of the starting lineup was set using the results from the first round. Depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.[6]
Mark Martin, driving forRoush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.953 and an average speed of 120.278 miles per hour (193.569 km/h) in the first round.[7]
Five drivers would fail to qualify.
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| Previous race: 1989 TranSouth 500 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1989 season | Next race: 1989 First Union 400 |
