1990 Coca-Cola 600 Explained
The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 27, 1990, before an audience of 160,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In a one-lap shootout to the finish, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would manage to fend off the field to complete a dominant run throughout the race, leading 306 of the 400 laps in the race. The victory was Wallace's 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1] [2] [3] [4] To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 23, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Thursday, May 24, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.
Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 31.041 and an average speed of 173.963mph in the first round.[6] [7]
13 drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|
| 1 | 9 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 306 | running | 185 | $151,000 |
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| 2 | 7 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 170 | $67,450 |
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| 3 | 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 12 | running | 170 | $51,700 |
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| 4 | 20 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 0 | running | 160 | $32,600 |
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| 5 | 4 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 400 | 0 | running | 155 | $28,350 |
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| 6 | 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 150 | $23,775 |
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| 7 | 6 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 1 | running | 151 | $24,400 |
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| 8 | 24 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 142 | $18,100 |
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| 9 | 11 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 2 | running | 143 | $18,750 |
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| 10 | 13 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 400 | 5 | running | 139 | $23,125 |
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| 11 | 1 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 63 | running | 135 | $63,100 |
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| 12 | 14 | 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 399 | 0 | running | 127 | $15,000 |
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| 13 | 42 | 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 399 | 0 | running | 124 | $14,257 |
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| 14 | 28 | 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 121 | $8,668 |
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| 15 | 27 | 90 | Buddy Baker | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 118 | $10,465 |
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| 16 | 35 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 115 | $10,850 |
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| 17 | 41 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 397 | 0 | running | 112 | $13,900 |
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| 18 | 18 | 98 | Butch Miller | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 396 | 0 | running | 109 | $7,890 |
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| 19 | 21 | 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 395 | 0 | engine | 106 | $9,370 |
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| 20 | 37 | 47 | Jack Pennington (R) | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 395 | 0 | running | 103 | $7,775 |
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| 21 | 26 | 57 | Jimmy Spencer | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 394 | 0 | running | 100 | $8,800 |
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| 22 | 16 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 2 | running | 102 | $14,800 |
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| 23 | 33 | 80 | Jimmy Horton | S&H Racing | Ford | 389 | 0 | running | 94 | $5,400 |
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| 24 | 25 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 385 | 0 | running | 91 | $5,200 |
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| 25 | 15 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 383 | 1 | running | 93 | $12,100 |
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| 26 | 10 | 20 | Rob Moroso (R) | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 356 | 0 | engine | 85 | $5,600 |
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| 27 | 30 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 352 | 0 | oil leak | 82 | $5,650 |
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| 28 | 34 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 320 | 0 | camshaft | 79 | $7,450 |
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| 29 | 5 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 317 | 4 | engine | 81 | $8,950 |
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| 30 | 12 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 | running | 73 | $13,950 |
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| 31 | 36 | 2 | Rick Mast | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 251 | 0 | engine | 70 | $7,000 |
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| 32 | 19 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 241 | 4 | engine | 72 | $7,120 |
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| 33 | 39 | 89 | Rodney Combs | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 226 | 0 | engine | 64 | $4,190 |
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| 34 | 17 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 208 | 0 | accident | 61 | $6,800 |
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| 35 | 22 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 201 | 0 | engine | 58 | $6,750 |
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| 36 | 40 | 72 | Tracy Leslie | Leslie Racing | Oldsmobile | 195 | 0 | engine | 55 | $4,100 |
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| 37 | 23 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 173 | 0 | oil line | 52 | $4,680 |
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| 38 | 38 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 113 | 0 | accident | 49 | $4,060 |
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| 39 | 8 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Pontiac | 102 | 0 | accident | 46 | $4,540 |
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| 40 | 31 | 06 | Terry Byers | Byers Racing | Pontiac | 40 | 0 | engine | 0 | $4,020 |
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| 41 | 32 | 77 | Ken Ragan | Ragan Racing | Ford | 5 | 0 | engine | 40 | $4,520 |
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| 42 | 29 | 88 | Larry Pearson | Edwards Racing | Pontiac | 2 | 0 | engine | 37 | $4,520 |
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| Failed to qualify |
|---|
| 43 | | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | |
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| 44 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac |
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| 45 | 38 | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford |
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| 46 | 13 | Mike Potter | Mansion Motorsports | Pontiac |
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| 47 | 53 | Jerry O'Neil (R) | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile |
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| 48 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac |
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| 49 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile |
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| 50 | 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile |
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| 51 | 56 | Ron Esau | Reno Enterprises | Chevrolet |
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| 52 | 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet |
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| 53 | 60 | Robin Best | Best Racing | Chevrolet |
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| 54 | 01 | Mickey Gibbs | Gibbs Racing | Ford |
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| 55 | 29 | Phil Parsons | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Pontiac |
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| Official race results | |
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Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,533 |
| 2 | Morgan Shepherd | 1,512 (-21) |
| 3 | Mark Martin | 1,465 (-68) |
| 1 | 4 | Geoff Bodine | 1,366 (–167) |
| 2 | 5 | Rusty Wallace | 1,359 (–174) |
| 1 | 6 | Darrell Waltrip | 1,347 (–186) |
| 1 | 7 | Kyle Petty | 1,336 (–197) |
| 2 | 8 | Bill Elliott | 1,299 (–234) |
| 9 | Ken Schrader | 1,271 (–262) |
| 2 | 10 | Brett Bodine | 1,236 (–297) |
| Official driver's standings | |
|---|
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes and References
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 28, 1990 . Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 1) . 25 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 28, 1990 . Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 2) . 31 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Smith . Jimmy . May 28, 1990 . Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 1) . 13 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Smith . Jimmy . May 28, 1990 . Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 2) . 22 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: May 22, 1990 . Race week schedule . 24 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 24, 1990 . No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 1) . 47 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 24, 1990 . No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 2) . 43 . . March 19, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
