1989 Budweiser 500

File:Dover_International_Speedway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]

Dover Downs International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%" !# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor

2 |Ernie Irvan |U.S. Racing |Pontiac |Kroger

3 |Dale Earnhardt |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |GM Goodwrench Service Plus

4 |Rick Wilson |Morgan–McClure Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Kodak

5 |Geoff Bodine |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Levi Garrett

6 |Mark Martin |Roush Racing |Ford |Stroh's Light

7 |Alan Kulwicki |AK Racing |Ford |Zerex

8 |Bobby Hillin Jr. |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller High Life

9 |Bill Elliott |Melling Racing |Ford |Coors Light

10 |Derrike Cope |Whitcomb Racing |Pontiac |Purolator Filters

11 |Terry Labonte |Junior Johnson & Associates |Ford |Budweiser

15 |Brett Bodine |Bud Moore Engineering |Ford |Motorcraft

16 |Larry Pearson (R) |Pearson Racing |Buick |Chattanooga Chew

17 |Darrell Waltrip |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Tide

21 |Neil Bonnett |Wood Brothers Racing |Ford |Citgo

23 |Eddie Bierschwale |B&B Racing |Oldsmobile |B&B Racing

25 |Ken Schrader |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Folgers

26 |Ricky Rudd |King Racing |Buick |Quaker State

27 |Rusty Wallace |Blue Max Racing |Pontiac |Kodiak

28 |Davey Allison |Robert Yates Racing |Ford |Texaco, Havoline

29 |Dale Jarrett |Cale Yarborough Motorsports |Pontiac |Hardee's

30 |Michael Waltrip |Bahari Racing |Pontiac |Country Time

33 |Harry Gant |Jackson Bros. Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Skoal Bandit

43 |Richard Petty |Petty Enterprises |Pontiac |STP

49 |Bill Flowers |Hylton Motorsports |Buick |Hylton Motorsports

52 |Jimmy Means |Jimmy Means Racing |Pontiac |Alka-Seltzer

55 |Phil Parsons |Jackson Bros. Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum

57 |Hut Stricklin (R) |Osterlund Racing |Pontiac |Heinz

71 |Dave Marcis |Marcis Auto Racing |Chevrolet |Lifebuoy

75 |Morgan Shepherd |RahMoc Enterprises |Pontiac |Valvoline

80 |Jimmy Horton |S&H Racing |Pontiac |S&H Racing

83 |Lake Speed |Speed Racing |Oldsmobile |Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce

84 |Dick Trickle (R) |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller High Life

88 |Jimmy Spencer (R) |Baker–Schiff Racing |Pontiac |Crisco

94 |Sterling Marlin |Hagan Racing |Oldsmobile |Sunoco

99 |Norm Benning |O'Neil Racing |Chevrolet |O'Neil Racing

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 2, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, June 3, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1989 |title=NASCAR Today |pages=28 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/124132806/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and 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 provisionals were given.

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.933 and an average speed of {{Convert|144.387|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=June 2, 1989 |title=Martin, Ford Cruise Away For Dover Pole (Part 1) |pages=29 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-martin-ford-crui/124133766/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=June 2, 1989 |title=Martin, Ford Cruise Away For Dover Pole (Part 2) |pages=32 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-martin-ford-crui/124133785/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

No drivers would fail to qualify.

{{col-start}}

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;Drivers' Championship standings

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Pos ! Driver ! Points
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | Darrell Waltrip | style="text-align:center;"| 1,617
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | style="text-align:center;"| 1,615 (-2)
align="left"| 10px 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | Mark Martin | style="text-align:center;"| 1,543 (-74)
align="left"| 10px 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | Geoff Bodine | style="text-align:center;"| 1,534 (–83)
align="left"| 10px 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | Rusty Wallace | style="text-align:center;"| 1,473 (–144)
align="left"| 10px 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | Alan Kulwicki | style="text-align:center;"| 1,463 (–154)
align="left"| 10px 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | Sterling Marlin | style="text-align:center;"| 1,459 (–158)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 | Ken Schrader | style="text-align:center;"| 1,408 (–209)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | Davey Allison | style="text-align:center;"| 1,358 (–259)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | Bill Elliott | style="text-align:center;"| 1,353 (–264)
class="sortbottom" !colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today-winston-cup-standings/124043653/ Official driver's standings]

• Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1989 Coca-Cola 600|Next_race=1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300|Monsteryear=1989|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{1989 Winston Cup}}

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Budweiser 500

Category:NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway

Budweiser 500

Budweiser 500