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1991 Heinz Southern 500

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1991 Heinz Southern 500
Race details
Race 21 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Heinz Southern 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1991 Heinz Southern 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date September 1, 1991
Official name 42nd Annual Heinz Southern 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.221 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Scheduled Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Average speed 133.508 miles per hour (214.860 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 30.261
Most laps led
Driver Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports
Laps 152
Winner
No. 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1991 Heinz Southern 500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 1, 1991, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. At race's end, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to dominate the late stages of the race, leading the final 70 laps of the race to take his 13th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Folgers
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Hooters
8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Snickers
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick Raybestos
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac Team III Racing
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick Quaker State
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile Kanawha Insurance
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac Jasper Engines & Transmissions
66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Auto Bell Car Wash
87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet Armour Classics
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, August 29, 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 Friday, August 30, at 2:00 PM 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[5] 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 provisionals 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.

Davey Allison, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.261 and an average speed of 162.506 miles per hour (261.528 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]

No drivers would fail to qualify,

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.261 162.506
2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 30.480 161.339
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.484 161.317
4 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.499 161.238
5 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.574 160.843
6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 30.580 160.811
7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 30.584 160.790
8 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.622 160.590
9 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.688 160.245
10 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.773 159.802
11 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.814 159.590
12 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 30.841 159.450
13 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 30.894 159.177
14 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 30.933 158.976
15 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.963 158.822
16 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 30.976 158.755
17 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 31.003 158.617
18 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.006 158.602
19 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.010 158.581
20 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 31.028 158.489
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.832 159.497
22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.055 158.351
23 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 31.065 158.300
24 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 31.079 158.229
25 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 31.124 158.000
26 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 31.153 157.853
27 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 31.298 157.122
28 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 31.330 156.961
29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.342 156.901
30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.388 156.671
31 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.393 156.646
32 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet 31.537 155.931
33 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 31.665 155.301
34 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 31.782 154.729
35 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet 31.802 154.632
36 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 32.225 152.602
37 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 33.801 145.487
38 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick 34.329 143.249
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 5 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 367 152 running 185 $179,450
2 6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 367 14 running 175 $40,525
3 9 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 0 running 165 $26,940
4 17 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 366 0 running 160 $24,330
5 23 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 366 0 running 155 $19,515
6 15 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 365 0 running 150 $12,875
7 4 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 365 0 running 146 $18,230
8 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 365 22 running 147 $20,470
9 32 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet 365 0 running 138 $11,990
10 21 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 364 5 running 139 $14,250
11 24 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 364 8 running 135 $11,015
12 1 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 363 151 running 132 $21,120
13 22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 363 0 running 124 $10,930
14 27 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 363 0 running 121 $9,940
15 18 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 363 0 running 118 $14,100
16 30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 363 0 running 115 $9,380
17 26 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 363 0 running 112 $9,110
18 2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 362 0 running 109 $13,935
19 11 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 361 0 running 106 $12,755
20 31 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 360 1 running 108 $7,785
21 33 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 358 0 running 100 $5,260
22 16 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 357 0 engine 97 $12,140
23 14 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 354 0 running 94 $5,770
24 12 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 351 1 running 96 $5,605
25 8 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 350 1 running 93 $7,545
26 35 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet 343 0 running 85 $4,585
27 29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 333 0 running 82 $7,150
28 34 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 309 0 engine 79 $4,365
29 10 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 303 12 engine 81 $14,255
30 19 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 244 0 engine 73 $4,195
31 20 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 220 0 valve 70 $6,660
32 13 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 214 0 engine 67 $5,045
33 36 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 173 0 engine 64 $6,455
34 25 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 156 0 engine 61 $5,820
35 7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 148 0 engine 58 $10,710
36 28 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 123 0 engine 55 $3,650
37 37 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 14 0 flagged 52 $3,580
38 38 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick 12 0 flagged 49 $3,540
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 2, 1991). "Darlington's good for Gant (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 21. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 2, 1991). "Darlington's good for Gant (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Hembree, Mike (September 2, 1991). "Gant 'aging' like fine wine at Darlington (Part 1)". The Greenville News. p. 27. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Hembree, Mike (September 2, 1991). "Gant 'aging' like fine wine at Darlington (Part 2)". The Greenville News. p. 32. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 1, 1991. p. 40. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 30, 1991). "Allison on track for cash (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 41. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 30, 1991). "Allison on track for cash (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 45. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1991 Bud 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Richmond)