1994 The Winston Select Explained

Year:1994
Race Name:The Winston Select
Details Ref:[1]
Type:CUST
Description:Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 1994 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 59.4F, with winds gusting to 20.83mph[2]
Avg:132.678mph
Pole Driver:Rusty Wallace
Pole Team:Penske Racing South
Most Driver:Ernie Irvan
Most Team:Robert Yates Racing
Most Laps:24
Car:7
First Driver:Geoff Bodine
First Team:Geoff Bodine Racing
Network:TNN
Announcers:Mike Joy and Buddy Baker

The 1994 edition of The Winston Select was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 21, 1994. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 70-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Rusty Wallace of Penske Racing South won the pole, while Ernie Irvan of Robert Yates Racing led the most laps, but it was Geoff Bodine of Geoff Bodine Racing who won the race.

Background

The Winston Select was open to winning drivers and team owners from last season through the Save Mart Supermarkets 300 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 1994. The top six finishers of The Winston Select Open advanced to complete the starting grid of 20 cars.

The 1994 season saw the second of two tire wars between Goodyear and Hoosier.

The earnings for The Winston Select were as follows:

The Winston Select earnings
Total purse
Qualifying pole winner
Segment 1 & 2 winner(s)
Segment 3 winner
The Winston Select Open winner

1994 The Winston drivers and eligibility

Race winners in 1993 and 1994

Winning team owners in 1993 and 1994

Previous NASCAR Winston Cup Champions

Top six finishers of The Winston Open

Race summary

Segment 1

Rusty Wallace won the pole for the all-star event to collect the bonus. Jeff Gordon, Greg Sacks, Ken Schrader, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton, and Joe Nemechek transferred from The Winston Select Open to make the field. Mark Martin, Geoff Bodine, and Lake Speed served as the onboard camera cars throughout the race. At the drop of the green flag, Wallace led the field until the yellow flag waved on lap 4 when Speed blew a right-front tire and scraped the turn 3 outside wall after bumping Morgan Shepherd. When the race resumed on lap 7, Ernie Irvan took the lead from Wallace and kept it until the second yellow flag waved on lap 14 when Bodine spun on the frontstretch after contact with Marlin. Irvan retained the lead at the restart and crossed the finish line to win Segment 1 and the bonus while Marlin and Dale Jarrett completed the top-three.

Segment results
  1. 28-Ernie Irvan ($50,000)
  2. 4-Sterling Marlin ($15,000)
  3. 18-Dale Jarrett ($7,500)

Segment 2

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!

During the warmup lap, Speed, who was supposed to lead the field, surrendered it to Sacks and moved to the back of the field due to handling issues. At the drop of the green flag, Sacks led the field for 13 laps. On lap 36, Terry Labonte retired from the race due to transmission issues. Schrader took the lead from Sacks on lap 44, but the yellow flag waved when Ward Burton spun on the frontstretch after contact with Dale Earnhardt. When the race resumed on lap 49, Sacks resumed the lead, but on lap 50, a multi-car accident on turn 4 involving Wallace, Earnhardt, Marlin, and Gordon triggered the caution; Wallace and Earnhardt's night was over. The race restarted on lap 54 with Bodine taking the lead, but the yellow flag waved again on lap 56 when Martin and Sacks collided and hit the turn 1 wall hard while Jarrett spun beneath the white line. The green flag waved on lap 58 for a two-lap shootout, with Bodine outgunning Irvan to win Segment 2 and collect the bonus. In an attempt to take the lead from Bodine on the frontstretch, Irvan ran over the infield grass and spun before crashing on the outside wall, ending his chances to win the final segment.

Segment results
  1. 7-Geoff Bodine ($50,000)
  2. 28-Ernie Irvan ($15,000)
  3. 25-Ken Schrader ($7,500)

Segment 3

For the final 10-lap shootout, Schrader outgunned Bodine to lead for four laps before alternating with Marlin between laps 65 and 67. On lap 68, Bodine retook the lead from Schrader and took the checkered flag to win the bonus while Marlin beat Schrader for second place. Bodine turned the car around to do a Polish victory lap in memory of Alan Kulwicki, who was killed in a plane crash on April 1, 1993, and whose team was purchased by Bodine at the end of the 1993 season.

+ Race results
PosGridCarDriverOwnerManufacturerLaps runLaps led
147Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord7010
2144Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet702
31725Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet7010
41317Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet700
5610Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord700
6188Jeff BurtonStavola Brothers RacingChevrolet700
7318Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet700
8821Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord700
91931Ward BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsChevrolet700
102041Joe NemechekLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet700
11942Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac700
12711Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord700
131015Lake SpeedBud Moore EngineeringFord700
141524Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet700
15228Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord6024
16126Mark MartinRoush RacingFord550
171677Greg SacksU.S. Motorsports Inc.Ford5418
18113Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet490
812Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord496
2055Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet360

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1994 The Winston Select. Racing-Reference . September 28, 2023.
  2. Web site: Weather information for the 1994 The Winston Select . The Old Farmers' Almanac . September 28, 2023.