1992 Vons 300
{{Short description|1st race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series}}{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=CUST|Year=1992|Race_Name=Vons 300|Details_ref={{cite web
| title = 1992 Vons 300 results
| url = https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1992_Vons_300/P
| website = Racing Reference
| access-date = May 21, 2025
| publisher = NASCAR Digital Media, LLC.}}|Description=Race 1 of 11 in the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series season|Image=MesaMarinSpeedwayMap.svg|Date=May 17|Location=Mesa Marin Speedway in Bakersfield, California|Distance_mi=150.00|Course_mi=0.500|Course_km=0.805|Distance_laps=300|Distance_km=241.40|Avg={{convert|73.973|mph|km/h}}|Pole_Driver=Gary Collins|Pole_Team=Collins Motorsports|Most_Driver=Rick Carelli|Most_laps=187|Most_Team=Chesrown Racing|Car=37|First_Driver=Rick Carelli|First_Team=Chesrown Racing|Pole_Time=18.978}}
The 1992 Vons 300 was the first race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston West Series season. The race was held on Sunday, May 17, 1992, at Mesa Marin Raceway, a 0.500 mile (0.805 km) oval shaped racetrack in Bakersfield, California. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. The race was won by Rick Carelli, his first win of the season and first of his career. In a late race pit stop, Carelli's team changed right side tires, and came off pit road second to Bill Sedgwick, whose team changed left side tires.{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2022 |title=ARCA West History: May 17, 1992, the 600th Race |url=https://kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-west-history-may-17-1992-the-600th-race/ |access-date=May 21, 2025 |website=Kickin' The Tires |language=en-US}} With fresh right side tires, Carelli was able to get the lead in the final laps en route to victory. Sedgwick finished second, thee laps ahead of third place Bill Schmitt. John Krebs and Butch Gilliland would round out the top five.
Report
= Background =
Mesa Marin Raceway was a 0.500 mi (0.805 km) paved oval race track, located near the junction of CA 178 and CA 184 (Kern Canyon Road), east of Bakersfield, California. It opened in 1977 and was owned by Marion Collins throughout its existence. The 1992 Vons 300 was one of 45 NASCAR Winston West Series races to be held at the track during its existence.
== Entry list ==
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!# !Driver !Owner !Manufacturer |
| 00
|Don Puskarich |
| 2
|Gary Betchel |
| 15
|Rick Scribner |
| 22
|LaDonna Davis |
| 24 |
| 28
|Marion Collins |
| 29
|Gary Betchel |
| 37 |
| 41
|Sara Vincent |
| 44
|Adele Emerson |
| 50
|John Strauser |
| 73
|Ford |
| 75 |
| 78
|Ford |
| 86
|Richard Woodland |
| 90
|Tim McCauley |
| 92 |
| 99
|Gary Betchel |
Qualifying
With a track record of 18.978 seconds at 94.847 mph, Gary Collins would win the pole, although due to an injury he'd be replaced by Dirk Stephens for the race.
Race results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
!St !# !Driver !Owner !Make !Laps !Led !Status |
| 1
|2 |37 |Rick Carelli |Marshall Chesrown |Chevrolet |300 |187 |Running |185 |
| 2
|3 |75 |Bill Sedgwick |Wayne Spears |Chevrolet |300 |110 |Running |175 |
| 3
|4 |73 |Bill Schmitt |Bill Schmitt |Ford |295 |3 |Running |170 |
| 4
|6 |29 |John Krebs |Gary Betchel |Pontiac |294 |0 |Running |160 |
| 5
|8 |24 |Butch Gilliland |Butch Gilliland |Pontiac |291 |0 |Running |155 |
| 6
|13 |00 |Bryan Brown |Don Puskarich |Oldsmobile |290 |0 |Running |150 |
| 7
|9 |15 |Rick Scribner |Rick Scribner |Chevrolet |282 |0 |Running |146 |
| 8
|10 |86 |Rich Woodland Jr. |Richard Woodland |Chevrolet |271 |0 |Running |142 |
| 9
|11 |44 |Jack Sellers |Adele Emerson |Buick |262 |0 |Running |138 |
| 10
|1 |28 |Dirk Stephens |Marion Collins |Oldsmobile |257 |0 |Ignition |134 |
| 11
|5 |92 |Ron Hornaday Jr. |Ron Hornaday Jr. |Chevrolet |257 |0 |Running |130 |
| 12
|17 |90 |Tim McCauley |Tim McCauley |Chevrolet |197 |0 |Running |127 |
| 13
|16 |22 |St. James Davis |LaDonna Davis |Buick |184 |0 |Oil Pump |124 |
| 14
|15 |99 |Steve Bare |Gary Betchel |Pontiac |86 |0 |Suspension |121 |
| 15
|7 |50 |Hershel McGriff |John Strauser |Chevrolet |78 |0 |Timing Chain |118 |
| 16
|12 |41 |Wayne Jacks |Sara Vincent |Buick |4 |0 |Oil Pressure |115 |
| 17
|14 |2 |Jim Courage |Gary Betchel |Pontiac |3 |0 |Camshaft |112 |
| 18
|18 |78 |Dan Fisher |Bill Schmitt |Ford |3 |0 |Ignition |109 |
Standings after the race
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! !Pos !Driver !Points |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 185 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 175 (-10) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 170 (-15) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 160 (-25) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 155 (-30) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 150 (-35) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 146 (-39) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 142 (-43) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 138 (-47) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 134 (-51) |
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
{{Reflist}}{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1991 Pyroil 500|Series=NASCAR Winston West Series|Monsteryear=1992|Next_race=1992 Alpha Beta 200}}