The criteria for what makes a great NASCAR race can vary depending on what the storylines are headed into said race.
The backstory of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs added excitement to a stellar race at Homestead-Miami on Oct. 27 that saw Tyler Reddick win on a last-lap pass.
The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 wasn’t only decided in a photo finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch but could’ve very well been the race that saved Darlington Raceway from potentially shutting down.
But if one race must be chosen as the greatest in NASCAR history, one choice looms above the rest: The 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Six drivers — Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott, Harry Gant, Kyle Petty and Mark Martin — entered the 1992 Winston Cup Series finale with a chance to win the championship.
As the then-present generation of stars prepared to battle for the title, a seven-time champion was saying his farewells. Richard Petty made his final NASCAR start on that November day at Atlanta, capping a 35-year career.
At the same time, a member of NASCAR’s next generation was prepared to make his debut. That was Jeff Gordon, driving the first iteration of the now-iconic DuPont No. 24 for Rick Hendrick.
As Apache helicopters entertained the crowd of over 162,000 on hand for the race, butterflies swirled inside the stomachs of the championship contenders.
What happened next was, as they say, a moment in history.
After a race where the top three drivers of Allison, Kulwicki and Elliott all ran up front, the 254th lap changed both the race and the season in dramatic fashion. Allison was caught up in a crash that crippled his No. 28 and ended his championship hopes.
It was a heartbreaking end to a season where Allison showed more grit than perhaps any other driver in history.
With Gant, Martin and Petty all out of the picture, it was up to Kulwicki and Elliott to decide the title fight. As the leaders prepared to come down pit road for the final pit stop of the afternoon, Elliott’s crew chief, Tim Brewer, made the worst mistake of his career.
As the race played out, it became apparent that the bonus points awarded for leading the most laps could be the difference in the championship. After a gutsy call by Kulwicki’s crew chief, Paul Andrews, to leave Kulwicki on the track on fumes, Elliott pitted on lap 314 along with Kulwicki.
Both drivers took fuel only, and while Elliott ended up going on to win the race, Brewer hadn’t considered the No. 94 car of Terry Labonte, who led the lap Elliott needed to potentially clinch the cup.
That small margin gave Kulwicki — who finished second — the advantage he needed to win the Winston Cup.
Elliott’s car owner, Junior Johnson, was so angry with Brewer that he fired him at the racetrack that evening.
Kulwicki’s title was seen as a watershed moment for the underdog driver, who tragically perished in a plane crash in April of 1993. It was Elliott’s last serious chance at his second Winston Cup, which he never ended up winning.
But more importantly, it was perhaps the greatest combination of stories ever told during a single NASCAR race. From the championship battle to “The King” stepping away to the debut of a future legend, the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta was racing cinema in its purest form.
