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1992 - Falling Down
In fact, he finished 1992 in 12th place, matching the worst points finish of his career. A major reason for Dale's quiet season was the sheer dominance of the Ford Thunderbird. Fords won the first nine races of 1992 and finished with 16 victories in the season's 29 races, easily beating out Chevrolet (eight wins), Pontiac (three wins) and Oldsmobile (two wins). That performance translated tp points supremacy, with Ford drivers taking the top three spots in the championship standings and four four of the top six. Ricky Rudd, who ended the season in seventh while piloting the No.17 car for Rick Hendrick, was the top-finish Chevrolet in the points battle. Six of those Top 10s came in arow, with the last of those six- a sixth-place showing at Sears Point- actually moving Dale into second place in the point standings, 28 points behind Davey Allison. From that point forward, however, Dale slid steadily down the points scale. He failed to finish three of the next five races, registering two 40th-place efforts that sent him spiraling down the standings. Dale Earnhardt never recovered and finished 504 points behind Alan Kulwicki who rallied past Davey Allison in the season's final event at Atlanta to win the 1992 championship. Dale Earnhardt's stat sheet for 1992 reflects his sub-par season. His highest finish in any category was a tie for seventh in poles, accomplished with his singel start from there at Watkins Glen. He led just nine races all season for 483 laps. Not once did he pick up five extra bonus points for leading the most laps. It was not a Dale Earnhardt season. The next one would be....!
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After
winning four Winston Cup championships in six seasons- and missing a
fifth by 12 points in 1989- Dale Earnhardt might have been due for a
down campaign. The 1992 season fit the bill. A wild chase to the 1992
title, eventually won by the late Alan Kulwicki, did not involve Dale.
Simply
no match for Fords driven by Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki, Bill Elliott
and Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt nevertheless contributed one
win to the Chevrolet effort by taking the Coca Cola 600 in May at
Charlotte. With just the one victory, the 1992 season was undeniably
atypical for Dale. He netted just six Top 5 finishes and 15 Top
10s.