NASCAR’s longest race of 1992 featured controversy for their reigning champion and some confusion for two competitors that thought he should not have won. 

With 54 laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24, 1992, Dale Earnhardt made a quick pit stop ahead of leaders Kyle Petty and Ernie Irvan and emerged 1.27 seconds ahead of them and remained there until the checkered flag fell.

Earnhardt, driver of the No. 3 RCR Enterprises Chevrolet, came to pit road behind Petty, in the SABCO Racing Pontiac and Irvan, in the Morgan-McClure Racing Chevrolet, and emerged off pit road first. Petty was certain Earnhardt was speeding and wasn’t caught for the infraction by NASCAR. Petty’s stop was clocked at 19.9, while Irvan’s was 20.2 as both drivers took on four tires and fuel. 

“There’s no way a man can be over two seconds behind you on the race track and everybody pits about the same time and he (Earnhardt) comes out over a second ahead,” Petty said, according to Greg Feilden’s 40 Years of Stock Car Racing book series. “I don’t care what anybody says. Unless he had a 13 second pit stop, there’s no way he should have been up there where he was. The only place he could have gotten that advantage was speeding down pit road. 

Irvan said he couldn’t understand “how he gained one second in the pits. But it came out to five seconds on the race track. I guess I should have run a little faster. I guess I should have run a little faster down pit road.” 

When Earnhardt made his final stop, he had been trailing the leaders by three seconds but pitted a lap later than they did on Lap 347.  He zipped down pit road at an alarming rate, according to recaps of the race, and locked his brakes and skidded his tires through two pit stalls. He stopped his Chevrolet in his stall where his crew performed a 19.1 second four-tire stop. There was no question that he gained ground on pit road. 

After taking the checkered flag and celebrating in victory lane, the Kannapolis, N.C. native explained in post-race interviews how he managed to stay in front of his rivals. 

“I ran my line, and for Ernie to pass me he would have had to move me or move his line. He raced me hard but clean. I was a little surprised at that. But Ernie is coming around. He’s becoming a pretty good driver.” 

Earnhardt added, “I got in real quick and flat-footed it on the return lane. I fudged all I could on the speed limit without getting penalized.” 

The Coca-Cola 600 was Earnhardt’s only Cup Series victory in 1992. He and his RCR team finished 12th in the 1992 Cup Series championship behind champion Alan Kulwicki. 

In the photo, Earnhardt is standing in victory lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway with sons Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) and Kerry Earnhardt while holding the winner’s trophy. During his 27-year career, Earnhardt Sr. won the 600 three times in 1986, ’92 and ’93.