| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1989 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott. | |||
| Date | February 19, 1989 | ||
| Official name | 31st Annual Daytona 500 | ||
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Average speed | 148.466 miles per hour (238.933 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 150,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 45.686 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 114 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Chris Economaki, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1989 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 19, 1989, before an audience of 150,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Gambling on fuel mileage, Hendrick Motorsports driver Darrell Waltrip would manage to run the last 53 laps on one tank of fuel to take his 74th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first and only Daytona 500 victory, and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 20, 1989). "Waltrip Triumphs At Daytona (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 17. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 20, 1989). "Waltrip Triumphs At Daytona (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 21. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coble, Don (February 20, 1989). "No. 17 a charm for Waltrip (Part 1)". Florida Today. p. 17. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coble, Don (February 20, 1989). "No. 17 a charm for Waltrip (Part 2)". Florida Today. p. 18. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
