1989 Quaker State 500

The **1989 Quaker State** was a HASC World Series racing event held on September 24, 1989. It took place at Eastern Haluva Speedway in Eastern Haluva, Pennsylvania over a distance of 250 laps (500 miles). It was the fourteenth round of the 1989 HASC World Series season, the eleventh major open-wheel race held at this circuit and the tenth time the event was run as a 500-mile race. Christian Hall started from the pole position and managed to dominate the late stages of the race to win for Ganarsi Narussia Racing after leading 132 laps, the 14th victory of his HASC World Series career and third of the season[1][2]. To complete the podium, reigning series champion Hoff Prantz of LockSport and Burton Vittorilo Sr. of Karam/Newgarden Racing finished second and third, respectively. This would be the last time this race was a leg of the Triple Crown. For 1990, the Arana Desert 500 was dropped, and the Quaker State 500 was renamed to **Eastern 500** and became the second-most prestigious race on the schedule as the only 500-mile event other than the Mareca 500.[3]

## Background

On July 21, 1989, the oil company Quaker State suddenly dropped their sponsorship of the event for undisclosed reasons. Following discussions, the HASC World Series decided to keep referring to the event as the **Quaker State 500** on their calendar and promotional materials as they could not find another title sponsor in time and the nickname of the state of Pennsylvania is likewise Quaker State as well. It was the first time this race was scheduled just one week after the previous HASC World Series round, which took place on September 17 in Zyke, Canada and was won by Alan Leimer. This limited the number of free practice days to just three from Tuesday September 19 to Thursday September 21. Monday was granted to the teams as an off day to allow them to travel from Canada.[4]

Christian Hall arrived as the championship leaader with a score of 218 points, leading Leimer by 8 points. Hoff Prantz also remained in strong contention a further 10 behind, with Leo Montermini (186 points) and Steven Bradbury (174) considered outside but realistic challengers. Prantz also arrived at the event with a chance to pull off what one journalist described as the „Triple Triple”. Having won the Mareca 500 and the Arana Desert 500, Prantz would achieve the Triple Crown if he managed to win this race – winning all 500-mile races of the season, only achieved so far by Fabio Leimer in 1977. And by winning, Prantz could put himself in a strong position to become only the third car ever to win three consecutive national championships.[5]

## Qualifying recap

Qualifying followed the same format as all other HASC races did at the time except the Mareca 500. It was held through September 22-23 and only the speed of a single flying lap counted for the classification. On the first day of qualifying, the top 15 fastest cars were locked into the field, and then on the second day the slower cars qualified once again and were locked in the field from 16th downwards. Qualifying ran from 10 a.m.. to 1 p.m. on each day to allow every car two shots at setting their best lap, followed by afternoon practice between 2 and 5 p.m. Championship leader Christian Hall made the most of it to take the pole position with a speed of 224.101 mph, the 17th of his HASC World Series career and seventh of the season.

Burton Vittorilo Jr. and Sr. completed the front row. Leo Montermini, Adrian Portland and Alan Leimer filled the second row.[6] Triple Crown and championship contender Hoff Prantz qualified 12th – lower than the 7th and 4th positions he won from at Marceltown and Arana Desert from, respectively. „Not much we can do at Haluva”, said Prantz. „This track is about raw power. Quite simple, you don’t have the horsepower to match on the straights, you’re not making it up in the corners no matter how much you angle the setup towards it. If we are to do it [win the Triple Crown] we need everyone in front to either burn out or chop [through] their tyres like mad”.[7]

## Race recap

Christian Hall maintained the lead at the start, while Burton Vittorilo Sr. overtook his son Jr. for second place around the outside of Turn 2. Alan Leimer moved up into second place by lap 30, while Hall continued to lead. The first caution flew on lap 34 for possible fluid on track after Dale Phoenix pulled off with an engine failure. Hall and seven out of the nine other cars still on the lead lap made pit stops, but Leimer and Leo Montermini stayed out. The green flag flew on lap 38 and Montermini surged by some lapped cars heading into Turn 1 and overtook Leimer exiting Turn 2, but lost the position again by the end of the next lap. Leimer pitted on lap 52, and Hall then made his second stop when the second yellow flew for debris on lap 54 and rejoined still in the lead. A lap 58 restart was waved off when Randy Henn blew his engine and came to a halt, prolonging it until lap 65.

The third caution flag came on lap 93 when Vittorilo Jr. crashed into the wall in Turn 3 after glancing off the front suspension of James Brack while pulling in front of him after lapping him. Montermini ran over the crash debris and punctured his floor, which would eventually force his retirement 70 laps later, all but eliminating him from championship contention. Most lead lap cars pitted under yellow, but leader Vittorilo Sr. stayed out and was forced to pit under green on lap 104; he suffered a delay on this stop and permanently lost a lap. Further cautions followed for possible fluids and debris on track as Dominic Vasser retired with a coolant leak and Ramon Poele’s engine blew, respectively. Hall and Leimer contended the lead as did Hoff Prantz, proving his own pre-race reservations wrong. The final yellow flew for slight outside barrier contact by Patricio Paffett on lap 164.

The race stayed green for the final 82 laps. Leimer, who had last stopped during Poele’s caution, pitted out of the lead on lap 192. Prantz then took the lead as Hall suffered a vibration and short-pitted on lap 201. Prantz made his final stop on lap 217. Leimer, who would have had to make another splash-and-dash stop anyway, retired after his engine cut out with seventeen laps remaining. He would still be credited with an eighth-place finish. Hall’s posted victory margin over Prantz was 11.2 seconds. It marked his third win in the Quaker State 500 in just seven attempts, making him the most successful car at the track. It was also the second HASC season in a row in which he won a 500-mile race.

There were 6 caution periods for 40 laps and the lead changed 13 times between 5 different cars. Hall led 5 different times for 132 laps in total, more than any other car. He managed to complete the 500-mile race in 3 hours and 3 minutes for an average speed of 163.784 mph. The journeycar Clint Smiley (5th place) recorded the best career finish for himself and the small New Jet Engineering operation; he broke down in tears after the race and was later observed in a group hug with his pit crew members. Chip Atchison (6th) and Paffett (10th) also recorded their best finishes.