1991 Peak Antifreeze 500 Explained

Type:NASWINSTON
Scheduled Km:804.672
Official Name:21st Annual Peak Antifreeze 500
Caption:The 1991 Peak Antifreeze 500 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip.
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Network:TNN
First Team:Leo Jackson Motorsports
Most Team:Leo Jackson Motorsports
First Driver:Harry Gant
Most Driver:Harry Gant
Pole Team:AK Racing
Pole Driver:Alan Kulwicki
Most Laps:326
Car:5
Distance Km:804.672
Location:Dover, Delaware, Dover Downs International Speedway
Scheduled Laps:500
Scheduled Mi:500
Distance Laps:500
Avg:110.179mph
Date:September 15
Pole Time:24.519
Course Km:1.6
Course Mi:1
Race Name:Peak Antifreeze 500
Year:1991
Season No:29
Race No:23
Distance Mi:500
Announcers:Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett
Attendance:77,000

The 1991 Peak Antifreeze 500 was the 23rd stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 21st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 15, 1991, before an audience of 77,000 in Dover, Delaware at Dover Downs International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to dominate a majority of the race, lapping the field to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his fourth victory of the season, and his third straight victory.[1] [2] [3] To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Geoff Bodine and Bud Moore Engineering driver Morgan Shepherd would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Dover Downs International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordFolgers
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuickSnickers
9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordCoors Light
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuickRaybestos
15Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
19Chad LittleLittle RacingFordTyson Foods
21Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMaxwell House
24Dick TrickleTeam III RacingPontiacTeam III Racing
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingBuickQuaker State
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
41Larry PearsonLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
48James HyltonHylton MotorsportsBuickHylton Motorsports
49Stanley Smith (R)BS&S MotorsportsBuickInterstate Batteries
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacAlka-Seltzer
55Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiacJasper Engines & Transmissions
56Jerry HillHill MotorsportsPontiacHill Motorsports
58Brian RossRoss RacingChevroletRoss Racing
59Andy BelmontPat Rissi RacingFordSlick 50
66Lake SpeedCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiacPhillips 66 TropArtic
68Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletBig Apple Market
75Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobileDinner Bell Foods
90Steve PerryDonlavey RacingFordDonlavey Racing
94Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobileSunoco
98Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevroletBanquet Foods

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 13, 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 Saturday, September 14, at 11:30 AM 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,[4] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified on time 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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.519 and an average speed of 146.825mph in the first round.[5] [6]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
17Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord24.519146.825
228Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord24.548146.651
311Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord24.583146.443
46Mark MartinRoush RacingFord24.584146.437
54Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet24.621146.217
625Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet24.676145.891
72Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac24.702145.737
821Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFord24.702145.737
922Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord24.705145.719
1033Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile24.710145.690
1124Dick TrickleTeam III RacingPontiac24.752145.443
123Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet24.767145.355
1330Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac24.779145.284
1417Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet24.793145.202
1541Larry PearsonLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet24.803145.144
1668Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile24.923144.445
1755Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiac24.955144.260
1842Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac24.982144.104
1912Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuick24.988144.069
201Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile24.996144.023
Failed to lock in Round 1
2115Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFord24.898144.590
228Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuick24.923144.445
2394Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobile25.011143.937
245Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25.036143.793
2519Chad LittleLittle RacingFord25.081143.535
2626Brett BodineKing RacingBuick25.105143.398
2766Lake SpeedCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiac25.159143.090
2810Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet25.171143.022
2943Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac25.177142.988
309Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord25.213142.783
3171Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet25.245142.602
3249Stanley Smith (R)BS&S MotorsportsBuick25.248142.586
3375Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobile25.385141.816
3498Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet25.438141.521
3552Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac25.799139.540
3658Brian RossRoss RacingChevrolet26.582135.430
3790Steve PerryDonlavey RacingFord26.987133.398
3856Jerry HillHill MotorsportsPontiac27.511130.857
3948James HyltonHylton MotorsportsBuick27.858129.227
4059Andy BelmontPat Rissi RacingFord28.226127.542
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
11033Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile500326running185$67,100
2311Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord4992running175$42,225
32115Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFord4990running165$31,250
41912Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuick4990running160$20,350
51330Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac4980running155$17,625
61124Dick TrickleTeam III RacingPontiac4960running150$11,850
7245Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet4931running151$15,800
81668Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile4930running142$10,950
9201Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile4930running138$11,450
103171Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet4900running134$13,050
11309Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord4880running130$14,400
121842Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac4700crash127$12,900
133375Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobile4630running124$9,200
141755Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiac4540running121$6,850
15123Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet44721running123$16,700
162519Chad LittleLittle RacingFord4430running115$5,950
17922Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord4290running112$5,750
183498Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet4020crash109$7,485
191417Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet3950camshaft106$5,300
202943Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac3890engine103$6,200
2146Mark MartinRoush RacingFord3660overheating100$13,450
223249Stanley Smith (R)BS&S MotorsportsBuick3640overheating97$4,400
233552Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac3450overheating94$4,350
2417Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord3238crash96$15,800
2572Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac32228crash93$5,025
262394Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobile3020engine85$6,850
273790Steve PerryDonlavey RacingFord2440engine82$4,150
2854Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet2020overheating79$11,100
29228Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuick1650crash76$6,675
301541Larry PearsonLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet1590steering73$4,000
31228Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord115114engine75$14,200
322626Brett BodineKing RacingBuick1150crash67$6,500
33625Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet680crash64$5,850
34821Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFord680crash61$5,800
352766Lake SpeedCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiac670crash58$5,600
362810Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet670crash55$11,975
373948James HyltonHylton MotorsportsBuick540flagged52$3,550
383856Jerry HillHill MotorsportsPontiac390vibration49$3,500
393658Brian RossRoss RacingChevrolet370steering46$3,475
404059Andy BelmontPat Rissi RacingFord110flagged43$3,450
Official race results

Standings after the results

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Dale Earnhardt3,400
2Ricky Rudd3,364 (-36)
3Ernie Irvan3,223 (-177)
4Davey Allison3,195 (–205)
15Mark Martin3,065 (–335)
16Ken Schrader3,037 (–363)
27Harry Gant3,021 (–379)
18Sterling Marlin2,981 (–419)
19Darrell Waltrip2,971 (–429)
10Rusty Wallace2,853 (–547)
Official driver's standings

Notes and References

  1. News: Higgins . Tom . September 16, 1991 . Gant, crew find right buttons to push at Dover (Part 1) . 25 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Higgins . Tom . September 16, 1991 . Gant, crew find right buttons to push at Dover (Part 2) . 27 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: McKee . Sandra . September 16, 1991 . House builder Gant, at 51, can construct streak for ages, too . 29 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: September 13, 1991 . NASCAR today . 47 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Higgins . Tom . September 14, 1991 . Kulwicki takes latest pole at Dover Downs (Part 1) . 37 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: Higgins . Tom . September 14, 1991 . Kulwicki takes latest pole at Dover Downs (Part 2) . 39 . . February 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.