| Year: | 1993 |
| Race Name: | The Winston |
| Details Ref: | [1] |
| Type: | CUST |
| Description: | Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series |
| Location: | Concord, North Carolina |
| Course: | Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Course Mi: | 1.5 |
| Course Km: | 2.4 |
| Distance Laps: | 70 |
| Distance Mi: | 105 |
| Distance Km: | 169 |
| Weather: | Temperatures around 58.8F, with winds gusting to 10.01mph[2] |
| Avg: | 132.678mph |
| Pole Driver: | Ernie Irvan |
| Pole Team: | Morgan–McClure Motorsports |
| Most Driver: | Ernie Irvan |
| Most Team: | Morgan–McClure Motorsports |
| Most Laps: | 30 |
| Car: | 3 |
| First Driver: | Dale Earnhardt |
| First Team: | Richard Childress Racing |
| Network: | TNN |
| Announcers: | Mike Joy, Neil Bonnett, and Buddy Baker |
The 1993 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 22, 1993. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 70-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Ernie Irvan of Morgan–McClure Motorsports won the pole and led the most laps, but it was Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing who won the race and became the first three-time All-Star Race winner. This was also the final appearance of Davey Allison at The Winston, as he died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash on July 13, 1993.[3] [4]
The Winston was open to winning drivers and team owners from last season through the Save Mart Supermarkets 300K at Sears Point Raceway and all previous All-Star race winners and past NASCAR Winston Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 1993. The top five finishers of The Winston Open advanced to complete the starting grid.
Alan Kulwicki, who was the defending 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, was killed in a plane crash in Blountville, Tennessee on April 1, 1993. Jimmy Hensley substituted for him in this race.
Ernie Irvan won the pole for the all-star event with a lap time of 137.835mph. Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, Brett Bodine, Michael Waltrip, and Rick Mast transferred from The Winston Open to make the field. Mark Martin and Geoff Bodine served as the onboard camera cars throughout the race. At the drop of the green flag, Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace battled for second place while Geoff Bodine charged hard from 10th to fifth place in two laps and Dale Jarrett dropped from seventh to 20th. Irvan crossed the finish line to win the caution-free Segment 1 and the bonus while Martin, who started 14th, finished second.
During the 10-minute break between segments, the fan balloting on whether or not to invert the field for the second 30-lap segment was unveiled. The fans had spoken and the result flashed on the Winston Cup scoreboard — INVERT!
Kyle Petty, who was supposed to lead the field after finishing last on Segment 1, retired before the restart due to catastrophic valve issues; as a result, Morgan Shepherd assumed the point. On lap 31, Michael Waltrip spun and hit the turn 2 outside wall after contact with Harry Gant; in the midst of the chaos, Jimmy Hensley scraped the No. 30 while Jarrett lost control, hit Marlin on the right side, and collided with Hensley before hitting the outside wall head-on. After a seven-lap caution, Mast took the lead from Shepherd on lap 40. Earnhardt then overtook Shepherd for second while drivers from the back of the field aggressively charged towards the front. Ricky Rudd took his car to the garage on lap 43 as a result of engine failure. Mast kept the lead away from Earnhardt until the end of Segment 2 to collect the bonus.
For the final 10-lap shootout, Mast lost momentum at the drop of the green flag while Martin rushed from the inside line to lead for eight laps while Earnhardt and Irvan closed in on Martin before Terry Labonte lost his engine and spun towards the turn 4 outside wall before colliding with Bill Elliott to trigger the caution on lap 69. Caution flags do not count in the final segment, setting up a two-lap dash. The restart was aborted after Earnhardt jumped the gun before the line, prompting another yellow flag. On the final restart, Earnhardt took the lead from Martin and took the checkered flag to win the bonus and his third All-Star Race.
| + Race results | ||||||||
| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Owner | Manufacturer | Laps run | Laps led | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 70 | 2 | |
| 2 | 14 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 70 | 8 | |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 70 | 30 | |
| 4 | 17 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | |
| 5 | 10 | 15 | Geoff Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 70 | 0 | |
| 6 | 8 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | |
| 7 | 16 | 8 | Sterling Marlin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 70 | 0 | |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | Pontiac | 70 | 0 | |
| 9 | 5 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 70 | 0 | |
| 10 | 18 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 70 | 0 | |
| 11 | 20 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 70 | 21 | |
| 12 | 9 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 70 | 9 | |
| 13 | 12 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 70 | 0 | |
| 14 | 4 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 70 | 0 | |
| 15 | 13 | 14 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 0 | |
| 16 | 11 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 43 | 0 | |
| 17 | 15 | 7 | Jimmy Hensley | AK Racing | Ford | 32 | 0 | |
| 18 | 19 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 31 | 0 | |
| 19 | 7 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 31 | 0 | |
| 20 | 6 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 30 | 0 | |