1989 NASCAR Busch Series

The 1989 NASCAR Busch Series season began February 18 and ended October 29. Rob Moroso of Moroso Racing won the championship.

Goody's 300
The Goody's 300 was held on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway. Kenny Wallace won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 17-Darrell Waltrip
 * 2) 72-Rusty Wallace
 * 3) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 4)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 5) 15-Geoff Bodine
 * 6) 75-Rick Wilson
 * 7) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 8) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 9) 52-Ken Schrader
 * 10) 36-Kenny Wallace

Goodwrench 200
The Goodwrench 200 was held March 4 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 2)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 3) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 4) 44-Bobby Labonte
 * 5)  6-Tommy Houston 1 lap down
 * 6)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 7) 11-Jack Ingram 1 lap down
 * 8) 34-Jimmy Spencer 1 lap down
 * 9) 56-Ronald Cooper 1 lap down
 * 10) 86-Dana Patten 1 lap down

Miller Classic
The Miller Classic was a 200 lap race held March 10 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 25 of Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 2)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 3) 42-Elton Sawyer
 * 4)  4-Max Prestwood
 * 5) 49-Ed Ferree
 * 6) 34-Jimmy Spencer 1 lap down
 * 7) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 8) 63-Chuck Bown 1 lap down
 * 9)  1-Mark Martin 1 lap down
 * 10) 12-Jeff Burton 1 lap down

Mountain Dew 400
The Mountain Dew 400 was held March 25 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Dale Jarrett won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 34-Jimmy Spencer*
 * 2) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 3) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 4) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 5) 32-Dale Jarrett* 1 lap down
 * 6)  7-Harry Gant 1 lap down
 * 7) 22-Rick Mast 1 lap down
 * 8) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 9) 24-Joe Thurman 1 lap down
 * 10)  3-Dale Earnhardt 2 laps down


 * Jimmy Spencer spun out Dale Jarrett in turn 3 with 2 laps to go in order to win the race. Fines were handed out to both Spencer and Jarrett for inappropriate actions afterwards by NASCAR.

Country Squire 200
The Country Squire 200 was held April 1 at Darlington Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 15-Geoff Bodine
 * 2)  1-Mark Martin
 * 3)  7-Harry Gant
 * 4) 55-Phil Parsons
 * 5) 75-Rick Wilson
 * 6)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 7) 28-Davey Allison
 * 8) 52-Ken Schrader
 * 9) 25-Rob Moroso 1 lap down
 * 10) 56-Ronald Cooper 1 lap down

Budweiser 200
The Budweiser 200 was held April 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Rick Wilson won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 75-Rick Wilson
 * 2)  1-Mark Martin
 * 3) 22-Rick Mast
 * 4)  9-Steve Grissom
 * 5) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 6) 25-Rob Moroso 1 lap down
 * 7)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 8) 30-Michael Waltrip 2 laps down
 * 9) 34-Jimmy Spencer 2 laps down
 * 10)  6-Tommy Houston 2 laps down

GM Parts 300
The GM Parts 300 was held April 30 at Nazareth Speedway. The No. 6 of Tommy Houston won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 81-Bobby Hillin, Jr.
 * 2) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 3) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 4) 86-Tom Peck
 * 5) 28-Davey Allison
 * 6) 52-Ken Schrader 1 lap down
 * 7) 79-Dave Rezendes 3 laps down
 * 8) 11-Jack Ingram 5 laps down
 * 9) 34-Jimmy Spencer 6 laps down
 * 10) 60-Dale Shaw 11 laps down

Busch 200
The Busch 200 was held May 6 at South Boston Speedway. Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 2) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 3)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 4) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 5) 22-Rick Mast
 * 6) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 7) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 8) 63-Chuck Bown 1 lap down
 * 9) 30-Ronnie Silver 1 lap down
 * 10) 32-Robert Powell 1 lap down

Big Star/Nestle 200
The Big Star/Nestle 200 was held May 13 at Lanier Raceway. The No. 63 of Chuck Bown won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 2) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 3)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 4) 32-Robert Powell
 * 5) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 6) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 7) 22-Rick Mast
 * 8) 47-Billy Standridge
 * 9) 12-Jeff Burton 1 lap down
 * 10) 81-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 1 lap down

Granger Select 200
The Granger Select 200 was held May 20 at Nashville Speedway USA. Kenny Wallace won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 22-Rick Mast
 * 2)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 3) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 4) 11-Jack Ingram 1 lap down
 * 5) 56-Ronald Cooper 1 lap down
 * 6) 30-Ronnie Silver 1 lap down
 * 7) 99-Tommy Ellis 2 laps down
 * 8) 63-Chuck Bown 2 laps down
 * 9) 34-Jimmy Spencer 2 laps down
 * 10)  2-L.D. Ottinger 3 laps down

Champion 300
The Champion 300 was held May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 87 of Greg Sacks won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 2) 17-Darrell Waltrip
 * 3) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 4) 33-Brad Teague
 * 5) 22-Rick Mast
 * 6) 32-Dale Jarrett
 * 7)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 8) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 9) 72-Rusty Wallace
 * 10) 15-Geoff Bodine

Budweiser 200
The Budweiser 200 was held June 3 at Dover International Speedway. The No. 7 of Harry Gant won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 75-Rick Wilson
 * 2) 55-Phil Parsons
 * 3) 87-Dale Earnhardt
 * 4)  1-Mark Martin
 * 5) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 6) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 7) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 8) 52-Ken Schrader
 * 9) 86-Dana Patten
 * 10) 71-Randy LaJoie 1 lap down
 * This would be Henderson Motorsports' last NASCAR win until 2017

Roses Stores 200
The Roses Stores 200 was held June 10 at Orange County Speedway. Jimmy Spencer won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 34-Jimmy Spencer*
 * 2)  6-Tommy Houston 1 lap down
 * 3) 22-Rick Mast 1 lap down
 * 4) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 5) 30-Ronnie Silver 1 lap down
 * 6) 42-Elton Sawyer 1 lap down
 * 7) 81-Kyle Petty 2 laps down
 * 8) 12-Jeff Burton 3 laps down
 * 9) 59-Robert Pressley 3 laps down
 * 10) 56-Ronald Cooper 5 laps down


 * Jimmy Spencer lapped the entire field in this race.

Granger Select 200
The Granger Select 200 was held June 24 at Louisville Motor Speedway. Kenny Wallace won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 2) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 3) 42-Elton Sawyer
 * 4)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 5) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 6) 02-Kenny Burks
 * 7) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 8) 96-Tom Peck
 * 9) 25-Rob Moroso 1 lap down
 * 10)  9-Steve Grissom 1 lap down

Firecracker 200
The Firecracker 200 was held July 1 at Volusia County Speedway in Barberville, Florida. Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 2) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 3) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 4)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 5) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 6) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 7) 22-Rick Mast
 * 8) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 9) 30-Ronnie Silver
 * 10) 79-Dave Rezendes

Carolina Pride / Budweiser 200
The Carolina Pride / Budweiser 200 was held July 4 at Myrtle Beach Speedway. The No. 22 of Rick Mast won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 34-Jimmy Spencer
 * 2) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 3)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 4) 12-Jeff Burton
 * 5) 42-Elton Sawyer
 * 6) 02-Kenny Burks
 * 7) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 8) 32-Robert Powell
 * 9) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 10) 96-Tom Peck −1 lap

Coors 200
The Coors 200 was held July 15 at South Boston Speedway. Chuck Bown won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 2) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 3) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 4)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 5) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 6) 90-Larry Pearson
 * 7) 70-Jimmy Hensley
 * 8) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 9) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 10) 24-Joe Thurman

Pepsi 200
The Pepsi 200 was held July 22 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Jimmy Hensley won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 2) 34-Randy LaJoie*
 * 3) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 4) 22-Rick Mast
 * 5)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 6) 70-Jimmy Hensley 1 lap down
 * 7) 41-Max Prestwood 1 lap down
 * 8)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 9) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 10) 32-Robert Powell 2 laps down


 * Randy LaJoie replaced Jimmy Spencer, who had been released.

Old Milwaukee 200
The Old Milwaukee 200 was held July 29 at New River Valley Speedway in Dublin, Virginia. The No. 25 of Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 22-Rick Mast
 * 2) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 3)  9-Steve Grissom
 * 4) 02-Kenny Burks
 * 5)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 6)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 7)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 8) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 9) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 10) 59-Robert Pressley 1 lap down

Kroger 200
The Kroger 200 was held August 5 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Michael Waltrip won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 2)  1-Mark Martin
 * 3)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 4) 86-Dana Patten
 * 5)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 6)  9-Steve Grissom
 * 7)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 8) 63-Chuck Bown 1 lap down
 * 9) 96-Tom Peck 1 lap down
 * 10) 90-Morgan Shepherd 1 lap down

Texas Pete 200
The Texas Pete 200 was held August 12 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina. The No. 25 of Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 59-Robert Pressley*
 * 2)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 3) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 4) 22-Rick Mast
 * 5) 30-Ronnie Silver
 * 6)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 7) 12-Jeff Burton 1 lap down
 * 8) 14-Wayne Patterson 1 lap down
 * 9) 96-Tom Peck 1 lap down
 * 10) 90-Davey Johnson 1 lap down


 * This was Robert Pressley's first career Busch Grand National victory.

Jay Johnson 200
The Jay Johnson 200 was held August 25 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The No. 90 of Morgan Shepherd won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  1-Mark Martin
 * 2)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 3) 22-Rick Mast
 * 4) 32-Dale Jarrett
 * 5)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 6) 87-Jimmy Spencer
 * 7) 02-Kenny Burks 1 lap down
 * 8) 99-Tommy Ellis 2 laps down
 * 9) 36-Kenny Wallace 2 laps down
 * 10)  6-Tommy Houston 2 laps down

Gatorade 200
The Gatorade 200 was held September 2 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 15 of Ken Schrader won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  7-Harry Gant
 * 2) 55-Phil Parsons
 * 3) 01-Jack Pennington
 * 4)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 5) 96-Tom Peck
 * 6) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 7) 44-Bobby Labonte
 * 8)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 9)  4-Ed Berrier
 * 10) 92-Jimmy Means

Commonwealth 200
The Commonwealth 200 was held September 9 at Richmond International Raceway. Tommy Ellis won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 2) 99-Tommy Ellis
 * 3) 36-Kenny Wallace
 * 4) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 5)  3-Dale Earnhardt
 * 6) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 7)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 8)  1-Mark Martin 1 lap down
 * 9)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 10) 81-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 1 lap down

Ames/Peak 200
The Ames/Peak 200 was held September 16 at Dover International Speedway. The No. 30 of Michael Waltrip won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 52-Ken Schrader
 * 2)  1-Mark Martin
 * 3) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 4) 82-Kyle Petty
 * 5) 17-Darrell Waltrip 1 lap down
 * 6) 63-Chuck Bown 1 lap down
 * 7) 22-Rick Mast 1 lap down
 * 8)  2-L.D. Ottinger 1 lap down
 * 9) 96-Tom Peck 1 lap down
 * 10) 86-Dana Patten 2 laps down

Zerex 150
The Zerex 150 was held September 23 at Martinsville Speedway. Rob Moroso won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 2) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 3) 12-Jeff Burton
 * 4) 56-Ronald Cooper
 * 5)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 6) 47-Billy Standridge
 * 7) 79-Dave Rezendes
 * 8) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 9) 75-Butch Miller 1 lap down
 * 10) 87-Jimmy Spencer 1 lap down

All Pro 300
The All Pro 300 was held October 7 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Michael Waltrip won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1) 25-Rob Moroso*
 * 2) 30-Michael Waltrip
 * 3) 32-Dale Jarrett
 * 4) 01-Jack Pennington
 * 5) 87-Jimmy Spencer
 * 6) 44-Bobby Labonte
 * 7)  7-Harry Gant
 * 8) 36-Kenny Wallace 1 lap down
 * 9)  9-Steve Grissom 1 lap down
 * 10) 55-Phil Parsons 2 laps down


 * This was Rob Moroso's 3rd consecutive Busch Grand National victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

AC-Delco 200
The AC-Delco 200 was held October 21 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The No. 1 of Mark Martin won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  7-Harry Gant
 * 2) 55-Phil Parsons
 * 3)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 4) 17-Darrell Waltrip
 * 5)  6-Tommy Houston
 * 6) 81-Bobby Hillin, Jr.
 * 7)  3-Michael Waltrip
 * 8) 34-Randy LaJoie
 * 9) 52-Ken Schrader
 * 10) 99-Tommy Ellis 1 lap down

Winston Classic
The Winston Classic was a 200 lap race held October 29 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 22 of Rick Mast won the pole.

Top Ten Results


 * 1)  2-L.D. Ottinger
 * 2)  7-Harry Gant
 * 3) 25-Rob Moroso
 * 4)  1-Geoff Bodine
 * 5) 63-Chuck Bown
 * 6) 77-Morgan Shepherd
 * 7) 11-Jack Ingram
 * 8)  8-Bobby Hamilton
 * 9) 08-Bobby Dotter
 * 10) 99-Tommy Ellis

Final points standings

 * 1) 25-Rob Moroso – 4001
 * 2)  6-Tommy Houston – 3946
 * 3) 99-Tommy Ellis – 3945
 * 4)  2-L.D. Ottinger – 3916
 * 5) 11-Jack Ingram – 3802
 * 6) 36-Kenny Wallace – 3750
 * 7) 22-Rick Mast – 3558
 * 8) 56-Ronald Cooper – 3554
 * 9) 63-Chuck Bown – 3349
 * 10) 86/96-Tom Peck – 3171
 * 11)  8-Bobby Hamilton – 3133
 * 12)  9-Steve Grissom – 3108
 * 13) 12-Jeff Burton – 2967
 * 14) 47-Billy Standridge – 2843
 * 15) 34/87-Jimmy Spencer – 2704
 * 16) 79-Dave Rezendes – 2635
 * 17) 24-Joe Thurman – 2575
 * 18) 70/42-Elton Sawyer – 2202
 * 19) 59-Robert Pressley – 2129
 * 20)  7-Harry Gant – 1907
 * 21)  1-Mark Martin – 1832
 * 22) 70-Jimmy Hensley – 1785
 * 23) 30/3-Michael Waltrip – 1716
 * 24) 02-Kenny Burks – 1682
 * 25) 3/87-Dale Earnhardt – 1637
 * 26) 71/34-Randy LaJoie – 1542
 * 27) 81-Bobby Hillin, Jr. – 1360
 * 28) 4/41-Max Prestwood – 1354
 * 29) 75-Rick Wilson – 1273
 * 30) Brandon Baker – 1172
 * 31) 30-Ronnie Silver – 1155
 * 32) 52/15-Ken Schrader – 1108
 * 33) 55-Phil Parsons – 1098
 * 34) 32-Dale Jarrett – 1049
 * 35) 45-Patty Moise – 1023
 * 36) 17-Darrell Waltrip – 985
 * 37) Ed Berrier – 961
 * 38) 28-Davey Allison – 954
 * 39) 86-Dana Patten – 893
 * 40) 32/5-Robert Powell – 785
 * 41) 44-Bobby Labonte – 757
 * 42) 62-John Linville – 691
 * 43) 41-Jamie Aube – 646
 * 44) 14-Wayne Patterson – 621
 * 45) Joe Bessey – 573
 * 46) 66-Donny Ling, Jr. – 562
 * 47) 01-Jack Pennington – 553
 * 48) 33-Brad Teague – 549
 * 49)  5-Jay Fogleman – 536
 * 50) 85-Bobby Moon – 527

Rookie of the Year
Kenny Wallace won the first Busch Series Rookie of the Year Award ever given, posting sixteen top-ten finishes and winning three poles. Bobby Hamilton and Jeff Burton, both of whom would later go on to win the award in Winston Cup, finished second and third in the standings, respectively. Dave Rezendes, Robert Pressley, and Brandon Baker were the only other full-time contenders, as Dave Simpson, Ed Ferree, and Tom Harrington only ran a limited schedule

Additional Information
On September 30, 1990, less than 1 year after becoming champion, Rob Moroso was killed in an automobile crash near Mooresville, North Carolina, only hours after finishing 21st in the NASCAR Winston Cup Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Traveling at estimated 75 mi/h, Moroso lost control of his vehicle on a curve with a 35 mi/h posted speed limit. The resulting collision killed both Moroso and Tammy Williams, the driver of the vehicle in the opposite lane. The curve in which Moroso was killed is now called Dead Mans Curve, by the townspeople of Mooresville, NC.

Investigations revealed that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol. His blood alcohol level was 0.22, over twice the then legal level of 0.10. He also had been convicted of speeding four times. Judges could have revoked his license at least twice but the charges were reduced.

Moroso earned enough points after completing just 25 of 29 NASCAR Winston Cup races that he was posthumously awarded the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 1990.