Back in April 1989, one race in NASCAR history perfectly captured the wild, unpredictable, car-banging essence of short-track racing—it was the 1989 Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
A race so chaotic and crash-heavy, it carved its name into the record books and, honestly, into every fan’s memory forever. Imagine 500 laps of bumper-to-bumper action, but with more yellow flags than a summer beach.
This was the first Cup Series race to ever reach a mind-blowing 20 caution flags. It was absolute madness from start to finish. No one could’ve predicted how banged-up the track would get, or how many drivers would end up spinning, crashing, or just plain losing control.
This record stood untouched for 16 long years until the 2005 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway brought out 22 cautions and finally topped it. But make no mistake—what went down in 1989 is still one of the craziest days in NASCAR history.
NASCAR Race at Bristol Becomes a Demolition Derby
The list of crashes and spins reads like a script from an action movie. From the very first incident—Ken Schrader crashing in Turn 4—it was clear this was going to be a long and messy afternoon. Wrecks piled up faster than the laps. By the time the checkered flag flew, we’d seen:
• Four-car wrecks, spins, debris,
• A flaming crash from Bobby Hillin Jr.,
• Three separate spins from Phil Parsons,
The last caution of the day was the cherry on top—Darrell Waltrip getting spun out by none other than his own brother, Michael Waltrip. Each crash brought the pace car back out, each yellow slowing the race but not the drama.
And while 20 cautions might seem like overkill, this was Bristol, where tight corners and aggressive driving make for pure chaos—and pure entertainment.
Every time the green flag came back out, fans barely had time to breathe before another yellow showed up. And somehow, through the flu and an ear infection Rusty Wallace fought through the madness and took the win for Blue Max Racing.
It was his 13th career Cup win and third victory in just six races that season. By the end of the year, Wallace would go on to win the entire 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship.
A Race That Will Never Be Forgotten
With 34 lead changes and all kinds of carnage, this race had everything—crashes, drama, brotherly spinouts, and one tough-as-nails winner. And while other races since have seen more, like the 1992 Mountain Dew 400 Busch Series race with 26 cautions, the 1989 Bristol showdown remains a Cup Series benchmark.
And if that wasn’t enough drama, the race also saw 34 lead changes, making it the third-highest total in Cup Series history. Only two other races, both also at Bristol in 1991 and 2024, had more than this, with 40 and 54 respectively.
Wallace didn’t just survive Bristol that day—he owned it. And even with today’s next gen cars and safer rules, the Valleydale Meats 500 still stands out as one of the most jaw-dropping Cup races ever. Sometimes, chaos makes the best kind of history.