1991 Coca-Cola 600 Explained
The 1991 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 26, 1991, 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. On the final restart with nine to go, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to hold off the field to complete a dominant run in the race, earning him his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1] [2] [3] [4] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt 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.
*Before the race, owner
Junior Johnson, along with the team's crew chief,
Tim Brewer, were suspended for 12 weeks. As a result, the team would change ownership for the race, changing the owner to Flossie Johnson, Junior's wife, along with changing the car's number to 97.
[5] [6] Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 22, 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 23, at 1:00 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,[7] 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. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.889 and an average speed of 174.82mph in the first round.[8] [9]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|
| 1 | 10 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 263 | running | 185 | $137,100 |
|---|
| 2 | 3 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 60 | running | 175 | $84,850 |
|---|
| 3 | 14 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 26 | running | 170 | $53,650 |
|---|
| 4 | 7 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 400 | 11 | running | 165 | $37,700 |
|---|
| 5 | 12 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 3 | running | 160 | $27,400 |
|---|
| 6 | 30 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 400 | 19 | running | 155 | $25,400 |
|---|
| 7 | 6 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | running | 146 | $24,200 |
|---|
| 8 | 18 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | running | 142 | $15,500 |
|---|
| 9 | 17 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | running | 138 | $21,500 |
|---|
| 10 | 13 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 399 | 0 | running | 134 | $21,750 |
|---|
| 11 | 4 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 130 | $15,000 |
|---|
| 12 | 21 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 127 | $19,700 |
|---|
| 13 | 19 | 42 | Kenny Wallace | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 398 | 1 | running | 129 | $17,700 |
|---|
| 14 | 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 121 | $17,000 |
|---|
| 15 | 2 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 397 | 9 | running | 123 | $20,200 |
|---|
| 16 | 34 | 97 | Tommy Ellis | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 0 | $8,800 |
|---|
| 17 | 37 | 55 | Ted Musgrave (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 395 | 0 | running | 112 | $11,000 |
|---|
| 18 | 28 | 8 | Rick Wilson | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 394 | 0 | running | 109 | $11,255 |
|---|
| 19 | 31 | 20 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 390 | 0 | engine | 106 | $8,500 |
|---|
| 20 | 24 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 383 | 0 | accident | 103 | $10,000 |
|---|
| 21 | 35 | 75 | Joe Ruttman | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 359 | 0 | running | 100 | $9,200 |
|---|
| 22 | 9 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 353 | 5 | engine | 102 | $7,000 |
|---|
| 23 | 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 339 | 3 | engine | 99 | $55,400 |
|---|
| 24 | 40 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 336 | 0 | running | 91 | $5,600 |
|---|
| 25 | 23 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 329 | 0 | engine | 88 | $6,450 |
|---|
| 26 | 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 315 | 0 | engine | 85 | $13,200 |
|---|
| 27 | 29 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 310 | 0 | engine | 82 | $5,350 |
|---|
| 28 | 5 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 300 | 0 | overheating | 79 | $9,350 |
|---|
| 29 | 16 | 66 | Lake Speed | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 296 | 0 | engine | 76 | $7,650 |
|---|
| 30 | 15 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 287 | 0 | running | 73 | $8,500 |
|---|
| 31 | 33 | 98 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 278 | 0 | engine | 70 | $7,375 |
|---|
| 32 | 25 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 270 | 0 | engine | 67 | $7,275 |
|---|
| 33 | 41 | 90 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 254 | 0 | transmission | 64 | $4,550 |
|---|
| 34 | 27 | 24 | Mickey Gibbs | Team III Racing | Pontiac | 251 | 0 | running | 61 | $4,500 |
|---|
| 35 | 8 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 205 | 0 | engine | 58 | $11,965 |
|---|
| 36 | 32 | 49 | Stanley Smith (R) | BS&S Motorsports | Buick | 128 | 0 | brakes | 55 | $4,435 |
|---|
| 37 | 36 | 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 58 | 0 | cylinder | 52 | $4,415 |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 32 | 0 | engine | 49 | $5,520 |
|---|
| 39 | 26 | 47 | Greg Sacks | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 21 | 0 | accident | 46 | $4,980 |
|---|
| 40 | 38 | 34 | Dick Trickle | AAG Racing | Buick | 19 | 0 | accident | 43 | $4,360 |
|---|
| 41 | 22 | 41 | Larry Pearson | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 12 | 0 | overheating | 40 | $4,360 |
|---|
| Failed to qualify |
|---|
| 42 | | 44 | Bobby Labonte | Labonte Motorsports | Oldsmobile | |
|---|
| 43 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac |
|---|
| 44 | 03 | Kerry Teague | Teague Racing | Oldsmobile |
|---|
| 45 | 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet |
|---|
| 46 | 82 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford |
|---|
| 47 | 86 | Jeff Green | Pinnacle Racing | Chevrolet |
|---|
| 48 | 87 | Randy Baker | Buck Baker Racing | Chevrolet |
|---|
| 49 | 13 | Mike Skinner | Mansion Motorsports | Chevrolet |
|---|
| Official race results | |
|---|
Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,536 |
| 2 | Ricky Rudd | 1,500 (-33) |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 1,423 (-116) |
| 1 | 4 | Harry Gant | 1,350 (–186) |
| 2 | 5 | Davey Allison | 1,342 (–194) |
| 2 | 6 | Ken Schrader | 1,331 (–205) |
| 1 | 7 | Ernie Irvan | 1,329 (–207) |
| 4 | 8 | Michael Waltrip | 1,311 (–225) |
| 9 | Morgan Shepherd | 1,253 (–283) |
| 1 | 10 | Sterling Marlin | 1,220 (–316) |
| Official driver's standings | |
|---|
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes and References
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 27, 1991 . Another 600, another Allison (Part 1) . 11 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 27, 1991 . Another 600, another Allison (Part 2) . 17 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Foreman Jr. . Tom . May 27, 1991 . Allison's Ford flies at Charlotte (Part 1) . 25 . . February 15, 2023.
- News: Foreman Jr. . Tom . May 27, 1991 . Allison's Ford flies at Charlotte (Part 2) . 28 . . February 15, 2023.
- News: Johnson . Mark . May 25, 1991 . New racing twist: Go, Flossie, go! . 20 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 26, 1991 . Johnson's crew looking for win for 'Team Floss' . 55 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: May 22, 1991 . Charlotte race week schedule . 103 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 23, 1991 . 600 pole is set (Part 1) . 28 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . May 23, 1991 . 600 pole is set (Part 2) . 32 . . February 15, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
