1991 Daytona 500

First race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series June 2023 NASWINSTON 33rd Annual Daytona 500 By STP The 1991 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. 1991 2 17 148.148 mph km/h 29 1 4.0 200 804.672 2.5 Daytona 500 By STP Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway Ken Squier, David Hobbs, Ned Jarrett Motor Racing Network CBS Morgan–McClure Motorsports Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing SABCO Racing Davey Allison Kyle Petty 51 4 1991 500 45.929 1991 Daytona 500 program cover and logo.jpg 145,000 The 1991 Daytona 500 By STP was the first stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 17, 1991, before an audience of 145,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Following a period of three late-race cautions, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan took the lead from Dale Earnhardt with six laps left in the race. With three laps to go, Earnhardt spun and collected Davey Allison and Kyle Petty, bringing out the final caution with two laps left. Coasting to the finish on fumes, Irvan was able to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his only Daytona 500 victory.Higgins Tom February 18, 1991 Irvan's Victory A Gas 25 The Charlotte Observer https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-irvans-victory-a/126490473/ June 16, 2023 Newspapers.com Zeller Bob February 18, 1991 Irvan's win simply smashing (Part 1) 11 The Roanoke Times https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-irvans-win-simply-sma/126490610/ June 16, 2023 Newspapers.com Zeller Bob February 18, 1991 Irvan's win simply smashing (Part 2) 14 The Roanoke Times https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-irvans-win-simply-sma/126490692/ June 16, 2023 Newspapers.com To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin and RahMoc Enterprises driver Joe Ruttman finished second and third, respectively. Background thumb|The layout of Daytona International Speedway, the venue where the race was held. Daytona International Speedway is one of two superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other being Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. Pit rules This race began a series of changes to pit road procedure after the death of a Melling Racing rear tire changer in a pit road accident at Atlanta the previous November. Changing tires under caution was banned, under any circumstances. Any tire changed under caution (even if it was flat) resulted in a one-lap penalty. The signboard man was banned from standing in the pit lane. Instead, teams would utilize signboards on a long pole (i.e. the "lollipop") held by a crew member behind the wall. Each car was given a sticker based on their starting position. The sticker was placed on the steering wheel for easy reference. The pit stall selection was staggered to prevent drivers in neighboring stalls from pitting at the same time: Cars starting in odd-numbered positions were given a blue sticker with a white 1 on it; their pit stalls were selected from the odd-numbered stalls. Cars starting in even-numbered positions were given an orange sticker with a white 2 on it; their pit stalls were selected from the even-numbered stalls. After a restart from a caution, the pits would be closed. On the second green lap, a blue flag was waved at the entrance of pit road, allowing only the cars with the blue stickers (odd) to pit for tires. On the next time around, an orange flag would be waved, allowing the cars with orange stickers (even) to pit for tires. A new pit road speed limit was implemented at all times. During cautions, a second pace car was added, which would lead the cars entering the pits, and set the speed down the pit lane. Penalties were severe: a 1-lap penalty for changing tires during a caution or pitting with the wrong group (blue/orange). A 15-second penalty for overshooting the pit stall, or for crew members jumping over the wall too soon. The new pit procedures changed the complexity of the race. Teams considered it too time-consuming to change four tires since it had to be done under green (at the time, a four-tire pit stop would take roughly 20–25 seconds). For an example of how the rules adversely affected the racing, Kyle Petty ran the entire 500 miles on the same left side tires. Bill Elliott suffered a flat tire early on, and was forced to limp around the track at a reduced pace for two laps before he was allowed to pit, effectively eliminating him from the competition. By April, the rules were changed. At Bristol, the blue/orange procedure was used only for cautions. The pits were closed at the onset of caution, then opened after the pace car had picked up the leader and the field was sufficiently "packed-up" (that usually took one lap). Once the pits were opened, blue sticker cars would pit the first lap by, with orange sticker cars pitting the next time around. On the restarts, blue sticker cars started on the inside and orange sticker cars on the outside. Lapped cars went to the rear. The blue/orange rule was eliminated during green flag stops. By the next week at North Wilkesboro, the blue/orange rule was scrapped. In its place, once the pits were opened during a yellow, lead lap cars only were allowed to pit on the first lap under caution, while lapped cars had to wait until the second lap. After a few weeks, the rules were relaxed further. The pit road speed limit and use of the "lollipop" style signboard were the significant changes made permanent (and remain to this day). The second pace car for the pit lane was eliminated. Drivers would be required to gauge their own pit lane speed (by monitoring their RPMs) and officials enforced the infractions with a system similar to VASCAR. The rule closing pit road when the caution comes out also remained in place, as well as only permitting lead lap cars to pit on the first caution lap (lapped cars on the second). Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. #DriverTeamMake0Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingFord1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord8Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuick9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet11Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuick13Brian RossLinro MotorsportsBuick15Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFord17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet18Greg SacksHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet19Chad LittleLittle RacingFord20Sammy SwindellMoroso RacingOldsmobile21Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFord22Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord23Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobile24Mickey GibbsTeam III RacingPontiac25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26Brett BodineKing RacingBuick27Bobby Hillin Jr.Moroso RacingOldsmobile28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile34Gary BaloughAAG RacingChevrolet35Bill VenturiniVenturini MotorsportsChevrolet39Blackie WangerinWangerin RacingFord42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac45Philip DuffieFulcher RacingOldsmobile47Rich BickleClose RacingOldsmobile51Jeff Purvis (R)Phoenix RacingOldsmobile52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac55Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiac65Dave Mader IIIFolsom RacingChevrolet66Dick TrickleCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiac68Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile69Dorsey SchroederLC RacingFord70J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet72Chuck BownTex RacingOldsmobile73Phil BarkdollBarkdoll RacingOldsmobile75Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobile80Jimmy HortonS&H RacingChevrolet82Mark StahlStahl RacingFord88Buddy BakerOsterlund RacingPontiac89Jim SauterMueller Brothers RacingPontiac90Robby GordonDonlavey RacingFord94Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobile95Rick JeffreySadler Brothers RacingChevrolet96Phil ParsonsItalian Connection RacingChevrolet98Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet99Brad TeagueBall MotorsportsChevrolet A notable absentee was 1972 Daytona 500 winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt was badly injured in the Texaco-Havoline 200 IndyCar race at Road America in the fall of 1990. He suffered severe injuries to his feet and legs, and spent several months out of a racecar before returning to action at Indianapolis in May 1991. Foyt missed his first Daytona 500 since 1965. Qualifying Qualifying was set by the 1991 Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifiers. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Twin 125 Qualifiers held on Saturday, February 9, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting was set in the Twin 125 Qualifiers, held on Thursday, February 14 during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, would set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, would set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers would set positions 31-40 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Saturday. If needed, up to two extra provisionals were given to teams high enough in the previous season's owner's standings that did not qualify for the race by either qualifying speed or from the Twin 125 Qualifiers. Davey Allison, driving for Robert Yates Racing, won the pole with a time of 45.929 and an average speed of 195.955 mph km/h in Saturday's session.Higgins Tom February 10, 1991 Davey Allison Speeds To Daytona Pole 43 The Charlotte Observer https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-davey-allison-spe/126500555/ May 12, 2023 Newspapers.com 16 drivers failed to qualify. Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeReason128Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordQualified on pole24Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletQualified on outside pole343Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSecond in Twin 125 #143Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletFirst in Twin 125 #2512Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuickThird in Twin 125 #1642Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacThird in Twin 125 #271Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileFourth in Twin 125 #182Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacFourth in Twin 125 #295Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFifth in Twin 125 #11017Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFifth in Twin 125 #21133Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSixth in Twin 125 #11222Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordSixth in Twin 125 #21330Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacSeventh in Twin 125 #11475Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobileSeventh in Twin 125 #2159Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordEighth in Twin 125 #11688Buddy BakerOsterlund RacingPontiacEighth in Twin 125 #21721Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFordNinth in Twin 125 #1186Mark MartinRoush RacingFordNinth in Twin 125 #21911Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordTenth in Twin 125 #12068Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileTenth in Twin 125 #22189Jim SauterMueller Brothers RacingPontiac11th in Twin 125 #12251Jeff Purvis (R)Phoenix RacingOldsmobile11th in Twin 125 #22398Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet12th in Twin 125 #12425Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet12th in Twin 125 #22518Greg SacksHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet13th in Twin 125 #1268Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuick13th in Twin 125 #2277Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord14th in Twin 125 #12866Dick TrickleCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiac14th in Twin 125 #22973Phil BarkdollBarkdoll RacingOldsmobile15th in Twin 125 #13019Chad LittleLittle RacingFord15th in Twin 125 #23194Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (193.228)3220Sammy SwindellMoroso RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (192.740)3310Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletSpeed provisional (192.336)3415Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFordSpeed provisional (192.254)3590Robby GordonDonlavey RacingFordSpeed provisional (192.238)3627Bobby Hillin Jr.Moroso RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (192.160)3755Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (192.127)3824Mickey GibbsTeam III RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (192.053)3952Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacSpeed provisional (191.697)4023Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobileSpeed provisional (191.608)4126Brett BodineKing RacingBuickOwner's points provisional4271Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletOwner's points provisionalFailed to qualify4347Rich BickleClose RacingOldsmobile19th in Twin 125 #14495Rick JeffreySadler Brothers RacingChevrolet19th in Twin 125 #24513Brian RossLinro MotorsportsBuick20th in Twin 125 #14634Gary BaloughAAG RacingChevrolet20th in Twin 125 #24780Jimmy HortonS&H RacingChevrolet21st in Twin 125 #14870J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac21st in Twin 125 #24965Dave Mader IIIFolsom RacingChevrolet22nd in Twin 125 #15096Phil ParsonsItalian Connection RacingChevrolet22nd in Twin 125 #25169Dorsey SchroederLC RacingFord23rd in Twin 125 #15235Bill VenturiniVenturini MotorsportsChevrolet23rd in Twin 125 #25345Philip DuffieFulcher RacingOldsmobile25th in Twin 125 #15472Chuck BownTex RacingOldsmobile24th in Twin 125 #2550Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingFord28th in Twin 125 #15699Brad TeagueBall MotorsportsChevrolet25th in Twin 125 #25782Mark StahlStahl RacingFord29th in Twin 125 #15839Blackie WangerinWangerin RacingFord28th in Twin 125 #2Official Twin 125s Qualifiers resultsOfficial starting lineup Race The start Davey Allison led the first lap, but was soon passed on lap two by Dale Earnhardt, who took the lead entering Turn 1. Shortly into the race, Earnhardt hit a seagull with the left-front corner of his car. This adversely affected his car's water temperature, raising it at one point to 240 F C or. It forced Earnhardt's team to make emergency repairs under one of the many early cautions in the race. Early yellows Sprint car champion Sammy Swindell spun on the backstretch to bring out the first yellow flag. Five laps after the restart, Rick Wilson and Greg Sacks collided in Turn 1, ending Sacks' day. Just after the restart, Bill Elliott cut a tire, but had to wait for the proper lap for a pit stop. On lap 31, Jimmy Spencer's engine blew, filling the car with smoke. A fire also erupted just after Jimmy Spencer climbed out to catch his breath. Meanwhile, turn 4 was coated with oil, gathering Jeff Purvis, Jimmy Means, Phil Barkdoll, and again Sammy Swindell. Barkdoll would soon spin again in Turn 4, blowing out his windshield in the spin and nearly flipping. The windshield slid across the track and into Ken Schrader's bumper and air dam, puncturing the radiator and causing a lengthy repair that eliminated the three-time Daytona 500 polesitter from contention. 1990 Winston Cup runner-up Mark Martin moved through the field quickly in the early going, but was also eliminated from contention as the center section of the car's rear gearing sheared completely off the driveshaft, causing him to spend many laps behind the wall. Long green flag run On Lap 75, Geoff Bodine, Eddie Bierschwale and Phil Barkdoll ran three-wide coming out of turn 4. Bierschwale slid up the track and into Bodine's left-rear quarter panel, sending Bodine into a spin and into Jim Sauter, who was slowing to enter the pits. The caution flag came out and all four cars continued in the race. However, Bodine spent several laps in the pits because the rim of his left-rear wheel had been so badly warped in the collision that the crew could not remove the lug nuts to change the now flat left-rear tire. This incident effectively eliminated Bodine from contention and he later retired with an oil leak. This would be the last caution flag for over 100 laps, and the new pit rules confused the running order during the long green flag run. The lead changed hands many times, as Dale Earnhardt, Joe Ruttman, Davey Allison, Sterling Marlin, Rick Mast, Kyle Petty, Ernie Irvan, and Darrell Waltrip had all pitted on varying laps. Late-race drama With 16 laps to go, Richard Petty and off-road racer Robby Gordon tangled on the backstretch. Polesitter and leader Davey Allison pitted with the leaders, allowing Rusty Wallace to take the lead. He was quickly shuffled off the lead on the restart, and was touched by Kyle Petty in Turn 4, which broke the car loose and sent him into a spin. Rick Mast narrowly avoided Wallace, but Darrell Waltrip, unsighted, collided with Wallace's left rear quarter panel, before Wallace slammed into the inside retaining wall, eliminating both cars. Seconds later, Derrike Cope lost control entering the tri-oval while trying to avoid Waltrip's damaged car. Cope spun across the infield and back across the track almost at the start/finish line and into the path of Hut Stricklin. With nowhere to go, Stricklin slammed nearly head-on into the rear of Cope's car, sending him bouncing off Harry Gant's car and down the straightaway with no brakes and virtually no steering. At the final restart on lap 193, the order was Earnhardt, Irvan, Petty, Ruttman, Marlin, Mast, and Allison, the only cars remaining on the lead lap. Leader Dale Earnhardt was passed by Ernie Irvan a lap after the green flag returned, and Davey Allison made up four positions in one lap to run third. Irvan began to pull away while Earnhardt spent several laps battling Davey Allison for 2nd. With 2 laps to go, Earnhardt got loose while running side by side under Allison exiting turn 2. The two cars tapped each other, pushing Allison into the outside wall briefly before the car spun into the infield towards Lake Lloyd, slamming into the earthen embankment as Allison had done early in the 1989 race. Earnhardt spun down the backstretch and into the path of Kyle Petty, who slammed into Earnhardt's right front fender, launching the car into the air briefly before it landed back on its wheels. Ernie Irvan coasted to the checkers to become the first Californian since Marvin Panch in 1961 to win the Daytona 500. Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings124Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet20029running180$233,00021222Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord2007running175$133,92531475Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobile20011running170$111,450471Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobile20014running165$100,900543Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet20046running160$113,85061721Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFord1990running150$74,90073627Bobby Hillin Jr.Moroso RacingOldsmobile1990running146$50,9258277Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord1990running142$52,450995Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1990running138$52,600102068Bobby Hamilton (R)TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobile1990running134$43,500112866Dick TrickleCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiac1990running130$39,525124023Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobile1990running127$31,550133194Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobile1980running124$34,355143019Chad LittleLittle RacingFord1980running121$29,54015128Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFord19726running123$77,35016642Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiac19751accident125$41,580173824Mickey GibbsTeam III RacingPontiac1970running112$24,560183590Robby GordonDonlavey RacingFord1960running109$23,74019343Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac1950running106$43,120202973Phil BarkdollBarkdoll RacingOldsmobile1940running103$24,16021186Mark MartinRoush RacingFord1930running100$31,955224126Brett BodineKing RacingBuick1930running97$23,400232189Jim SauterMueller Brothers RacingPontiac1920running94$21,845241017Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet19013accident96$25,540251133Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobile1900accident88$26,385263310Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevrolet1890accident85$28,1802782Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiac1883accident87$26,42528159Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord1880running79$28,67029512Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuick1850accident76$33,865303755Ted Musgrave (R)U.S. RacingPontiac1800running73$18,710312425Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1760running70$22,330321911Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord1500oil leak67$28,15033268Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuick1370running64$21,545343415Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFord700piston61$23,490354271Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet400valve58$19,185362251Jeff Purvis (R)Phoenix RacingOldsmobile370overheating55$18,360371688Buddy BakerOsterlund RacingPontiac350engine52$18,800381330Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac350piston49$21,520393952Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac290accident46$17,660402398Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevrolet290fire43$20,200413220Sammy SwindellMoroso RacingOldsmobile280accident40$16,500422518Greg SacksHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet200accident37$17,450Failed to qualify4347Rich BickleClose RacingOldsmobile4495Rick JeffreySadler Brothers RacingChevrolet4513Brian RossLinro MotorsportsBuick4634Gary BaloughAAG RacingChevrolet4780Jimmy HortonS&H RacingChevrolet4870J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac4965Dave Mader IIIFolsom RacingChevrolet5096Phil ParsonsItalian Connection RacingChevrolet5169Dorsey SchroederLC RacingFord5235Bill VenturiniVenturini MotorsportsChevrolet5345Philip DuffieFulcher RacingOldsmobile5472Chuck BownTex RacingOldsmobile550Delma CowartH. L. Waters RacingFord5699Brad TeagueBall MotorsportsChevrolet5782Mark StahlStahl RacingFord5839Blackie WangerinWangerin RacingFordOfficial race results Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 10px 1 Ernie Irvan 180 10px 2 Sterling Marlin 175 (-5) 10px 3 Joe Ruttman 170 (-10) 10px 4 Rick Mast 165 (–15) 10px 5 Dale Earnhardt 160 (–20) 10px 6 Dale Jarrett 150 (–30) 10px 7 Bobby Hillin Jr. 146 (–34) 10px 8 Alan Kulwicki 142 (–38) 10px 9 Ricky Rudd 138 (–42) 10px 10 Bobby Hamilton 134 (–46)Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings. References 1990 Atlanta Journal 500 1991 1991 Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Daytona 500 Daytona 500 Daytona 500 Category:NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway