The twentieth annual Winchester 400 motor race (run yearly since 1970) was held under American Speed Association sanction on October 1, 1989, at the Winchester Speedway, in Indiana (USA).
Butch Miller led on three separate occasions to win his second Winchester 400 in three years. The two-time defending ASA National Champion passed Dave Jackson on lap 253 and then cruised to his seventh ASA victory of th3 1989 season on the 20th running of the fall classic.
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Kenny Wallace was the fastest of 34 qualifiers who attempted to earn a starting spot in the 30-car field. Wallace, in the Raven Boats Pontiac, darted into the early lead and controlled much of the early portion of the race. A multi-car pileup happened on lap 71 when Bruce VanderLaan, Bobby Dotter and Todd Forbes came together. Miller grabbed his first lead of the race on lap 80 by passing Wallace. Bob Senneker and Harold Fair would trade the lead several times in the first half of the even while Wallace would retire on lap 126. Running near the lead, two-time winner Mike Eddy experienced mechanical problems when his Howe Racing Enterprises Buick began trailing white smoke on lap 138. Although able to return to the race, Eddy lost 28 laps replacing a broken shock.
With Eddy in the pits, Miller took the lead from Fair on lap 163. Dave Jackson then took a turn at the front when he made the pass for the lead on lap 236. After dropping back a few spots, Miller leaped from third to the lead all on lap 253 and then dominated the remaining circuits of the 400-lap race. Jackson’s strong run came to an abrupt halt when he lost an engine and pounded the fourth turn wall with 27 laps to go. Miller collected $10,150 for the win. Ted Musgrave backed up his 1988 win by finishing second. Tony Raines placed third with Fair, and Glenn Allen, Jr. rounding out the top-five.
| Results of the 20th Annual Winchester 400 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Start | Car # | Driver/Hometown | Sponsor/Make | Laps | Winnings (in US$) |
Status | |
| 1 | 2 | 52 | Butch Miller / Coopersville, MI | Lane Automotive / Chevrolet | 400 | $10,150 | running | |
| 2 | 6 | 98 | Ted Musgrave / Grand Marsh, WI | Peterbuilt of Wisconsin / Buick | 400 | $6,259 | running | |
| 3 | 25 | 25 | Tony Raines / LaPorte, IN | ATD Tools/Montgomery Ward / Buick | 398 | $4,650 | running | |
| 4 | 3 | 81 | Harold Fair / Detroit, MI | Hutter/Huisken / Pontiac | 395 | $3,850 | running | |
| 5 | 15 | 66 | Glenn Allen, Jr. / Cincinnati, OH | Baystone Construction / Pontiac | 393 | $2,700 | running | |
| 6 | 22 | 53 | Scott Hansen / Green Bay, WI | Baker Motorsports / Chevrolet | 393 | $2,500 | running | |
| 7 | 27 | 51 | Dennis Vogel / Manitowoc, WI | Pietroske Buick/Nelson Auto / Buick | 391 | $1,840 | running | |
| 8 | 20 | 90 | Kent Stauffer / Elyria, OH | Kinetic Racing Engines/Flex Tech. / Ford | 390 | $2,350 | running | |
| 9 | 16 | 35 | Buddy Schrock / Plain City, OH | Schrock Performance / Chevrolet | 390 | $2,150 | running | |
| 10 | 24 | 2 | Jerry Churchill / Detroit, MI | Churchill Transport / Pontiac | 385 | $1,150 | running | |
| 11 | 7 | 1 | Jay Sauter / Necedah, WI | Justice Brothers/Gillund / Pontiac | 382 | $2,050 | engine | |
| 12 | 11 | 7 | Gary St. Amant / Columbus, OH | A-1 Auto Service/Stuphen / Chevrolet | 380 | $2,050 | running | |
| 13 | 8 | 0 | Tom Jones / Highland Park, IL | FelPro/Dillon/Prototype / Ford | 376 | $1,680 | accident | |
| 14 | 4 | 88 | Mike Eddy / Midland, MI | Howe Enterprises/Buick Motor Division / Buick | 372 | $2,200 | running | |
| 15 | 26 | 14 | John Wilson / Springfield, OH | Baumgardner Racing Engines / Chevrolet | 353 | $1,525 | running | |
| 16 | 23 | 85 | Tim Steele / Marne, MI | H.S. Die & Engineering/GHP / Chevrolet | 320 | $800 | overheating | |
| 17 | 29 | 86 | Dick Barker / Port Huron, MI | Auto-Site / Chevrolet | 306 | $625 | transmission | |
| 18 | 10 | 84 | Bob Senneker / Dorr, MI | B & P Associates / Chevrolet | 294 | $1,950 | accident | |
| 19 | 9 | 6 | Don Bickford / Selma, IN | Bickford Racing / Pontiac | 288 | $1,245 | running | |
| 20 | 5 | 45 | Dave Jackson / Loveland, OH | Redbank/Trauth Dairy/Lykins Oil / Chevrolet | 272 | $1,700 | engine | |
| 21 | 13 | 17 | Troy Sweet / Kalamazoo, MI | Hill Machinery / Pontiac | 218 | $775 | a-frame | |
| 22 | 30 | 77 | Lonnie Rush, Jr. / Worthington, OH | Indy Auto Auction/Chariot Vans / Chevrolet | 144 | $820 | stalled | |
| 23 | 18 | 95 | Royce Mason / Fort Wayne, IN | Ohio Auto Auction / Pontiac | 141 | $1,005 | accident | |
| 24 | 1 | 3 | Kenny Wallace / St. Louis, MO | Raven Boats / Pontiac | 126 | $2,200 | piston | |
| 25 | 17 | 40 | Bruce VanderLaan / Grand Rapids, MI | Able Grinding/Barnhart & Son / Chevrolet | 68 | $1,085 | accident | |
| 26 | 21 | 8 | Bobby Dotter / North Miami, FL | Team R Racing / Chevrolet | 68 | $1,250 | accident | |
| 27 | 19 | 70 | Todd Forbes / Bryan, OH | Noah Yoder Ford, Inc. / Ford | 62 | $930 | accident | |
| 28 | 12 | 11 | Dick Dunlevy, Jr. / Dayton, OH | St. Clair Racing / Chevrolet | 41 | $650 | oil pan | |
| 29 | 14 | 5 | Jeff Neal / Grayslake, IL | Zerex/Victor Ford/Hanley / Ford | 33 | $1,450 | rear end | |
| 30 | 28 | 50 | Chas Howe / Beaverton, MI | Howe Enterprises/Buick Motor Division / Buick | 10 | $700 | handling | |
| Preceded by 1988 Winchester 400 |
1989 Winchester 400 Winner: Butch Miller |
Succeeded by 1990 Winchester 400 |