1993 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 Explained

Type:NASWINSTON
Location:Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Distance Mi:499.216
Pole Time:30.653
Course Mi:1.522
Course Km:2.449
Scheduled Km:803.41
Distance Km:803.41
Scheduled Mi:499.216
Distance Laps:328
Scheduled Laps:328
Year:1993
Race Name:Motorcraft Quality Parts 500
Official Name:34th Annual Motorcraft Quality Parts 500
Race No:4
Season No:30
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Date:March 20
Network:TNN
Announcers:Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett
Car:21
Pole Team:Penske Racing South
Most Driver:Mark Martin
First Team:Wood Brothers Racing
First Driver:Morgan Shepherd
Most Team:Roush Racing
Most Laps:140
Pole Driver:Rusty Wallace
Avg:150.442mph
Attendance:82,000

The 1993 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 14, 1993, but was postponed by nearly a week due to the 1993 Storm of the Century that affected a majority of the American East Coast.[1] The race was run on Saturday, March 20, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522miles permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. Depending on fuel mileage, Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd would manage to conserve enough fuel on the final green flag stint to take his fourth and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[2] [3] To fill out the top three, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54miles where before it was 1.522miles. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFordSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFordRaybestos
9P. J. Jones
  • (R)
Melling RacingFordMelling Racing
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Jimmy SpencerBobby Allison MotorsportsFordMeineke
14Terry LabonteHagan RacingChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
15Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFordKeystone
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
20Joe RuttmanMoroso RacingFordFINA
21Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Bobby Labonte (R)Bill Davis RacingFordMaxwell House
24Jeff Gordon (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingFordQuaker State
27Hut StricklinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMcDonald's
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
32Jimmy HortonActive MotorsportsChevroletActive Trucking
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal Bandit
40Kenny Wallace (R)SABCO RacingPontiacDirt Devil
41Phil ParsonsLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletManheim Auctions
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
44Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
45Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFordKraft, Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
48James HyltonHylton MotorsportsPontiacRumple Furniture
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingFordHurley Limo
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFordUSAir, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
57Bob SchachtStringer MotorsportsOldsmobilePronto Auto Parts
61Rick CarelliChesrown RacingChevroletChesrown Racing
68Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsFordCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletSouthwest Technical Group
75Dick TrickleButch Mock MotorsportsFordCarolina Pottery
83Lake SpeedSpeed RacingFordPurex
84Rick CrawfordCircle Bar RacingFordCircle Bar Truck Corral
90Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
98Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordBojangles
*Driver switched to Greg Sacks for the race due to Jones having prior commitments in the IMSA GT Championship.[4]

Qualifying

Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 12, at 2:30 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, March 13. However, due to a major snowstorm and nor'easter, the second round was cancelled. As a result, qualifying was set using the results from the first round.[5]

Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.653 and an average speed of 178.749mph in the first round.[6]

Four drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
12Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac30.653178.749
23Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.693178.516
36Mark MartinRoush RacingFord30.717178.377
424Jeff Gordon (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.796177.919
54Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet30.817177.798
626Brett BodineKing RacingFord30.846177.631
721Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord30.873177.475
814Terry LabonteHagan RacingChevrolet30.924177.183
955Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFord30.928177.160
1025Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.931177.143
1198Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord30.956176.977
1275Dick TrickleButch Mock MotorsportsFord30.968176.931
131Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFord30.980176.862
145Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet31.001176.743
1511Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord31.004176.726
1633Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet31.055176.435
1722Bobby Labonte (R)Bill Davis RacingFord31.056176.430
1812Jimmy SpencerBobby Allison MotorsportsFord31.088176.248
1990Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFord31.094176.214
208Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFord31.097176.197
2115Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFord31.099176.186
2230Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac31.127176.027
2368Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsFord31.139175.959
2444Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiac31.149175.903
2541Phil ParsonsLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet31.152175.886
2640Kenny Wallace (R)SABCO RacingPontiac31.156175.863
2742Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac31.178175.745
2883Lake SpeedSpeed RacingFord31.189175.678
297Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord31.252175.323
3020Joe RuttmanMoroso RacingFord31.257175.295
3128Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord31.338174.842
3232Jimmy HortonActive MotorsportsChevrolet31.373174.647
3318Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet31.443174.258
3427Hut StricklinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord31.485174.026
3517Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet31.488174.009
3616Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFord31.496173.965
3752Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingFord31.588173.458
3871Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet31.673172.993
3957Bob SchachtStringer MotorsportsOldsmobile31.695172.873
409P. J. Jones (R)Melling RacingFord31.859171.983
Failed to qualify
4145Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFord-*-*
4284Rick CrawfordCircle Bar RacingFord-*-*
4348James HyltonHylton MotorsportsPontiac-*-*
4461Rick CarelliChesrown RacingChevrolet-*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1721Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord32846running180$70,350
254Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet3284running175$45,950
312Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac32871running170$41,550
4424Jeff Gordon (R)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32754running165$32,000
5145Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet3270running155$26,550
62115Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFord3273running155$23,575
72742Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac3275running151$20,525
8626Brett BodineKing RacingFord3270running142$17,625
91511Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord3260running138$21,025
101812Jimmy SpencerBobby Allison MotorsportsFord3250running134$22,125
1123Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet3250running130$15,595
12208Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFord3250running127$17,575
133128Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord3250running124$19,055
142230Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac3250running121$16,635
151990Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFord3240running118$9,155
162640Kenny Wallace (R)SABCO RacingPontiac3240running115$10,895
171198Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord3240running112$14,035
181722Bobby Labonte (R)Bill Davis RacingFord3240running109$9,915
19955Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFord3210running106$14,755
203427Hut StricklinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord3210running103$14,685
211633Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet3210running100$17,075
223752Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingFord3210running97$18,865
23409Greg SacksMelling RacingFord3200running94$10,305
242444Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiac3170running91$9,645
253616Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFord3172running93$12,540
262368Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsFord3160running85$9,285
273232Jimmy HortonActive MotorsportsChevrolet3090running82$7,525
282883Lake SpeedSpeed RacingFord3080running79$7,455
291025Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2883running81$12,240
30131Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFord2660running73$11,780
313318Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet2470running70$15,145
3236Mark MartinRoush RacingFord225140engine77$19,985
33814Terry LabonteHagan RacingChevrolet2130running64$11,540
343871Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet1860engine61$8,480
353517Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet1570camshaft58$16,720
36297Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord1330crash55$18,030
371275Dick TrickleButch Mock MotorsportsFord1310crash52$6,865
383020Joe RuttmanMoroso RacingFord1190crash49$6,850
392541Phil ParsonsLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet290valve46$8,325
403957Bob SchachtStringer MotorsportsOldsmobile60engine43$6,785
Failed to qualify
4145Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFord
4284Rick CrawfordCircle Bar RacingFord
4348James HyltonHylton MotorsportsPontiac
4461Rick CarelliChesrown RacingChevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
11Dale Earnhardt619
22Geoff Bodine600 (-19)
23Rusty Wallace592 (-27)
34Dale Jarrett560 (–59)
55Jeff Gordon536 (–83)
36Mark Martin533 (–86)
77Ernie Irvan527 (–92)
98Morgan Shepherd510 (–109)
19Davey Allison509 (–110)
310Hut Stricklin501 (–118)
Official driver's standings

Notes and References

  1. News: Clarke . Liz . March 14, 1993 . Snow puts brakes on race, not fun . 51 . The Charlotte Observer . December 29, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Thompson . Chuck . March 21, 1993 . Shepherd wins Motorcraft as contenders run out of gas . 23 . Ledger-Enquirer . December 29, 2022.
  3. News: Harris . Mike . March 21, 1993 . Fuelish decision wise for Shepherd . 15 . Messenger-Inquirer . December 29, 2022.
  4. News: Thompson . Chuck . March 20, 1993 . Snowstorm slows NASCAR drivers . 41 . The Macon Telegraph . December 30, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Williams . Chuck . March 14, 1993 . Snow wins in Atlanta . 19 . Ledger-Enquirer . December 30, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: Martin . Gerald . March 13, 1993 . Wallace edges out Earnhardt at Atlanta . 24 . The News and Observer . December 30, 2022 . Newspapers.com.