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1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Richmond)

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1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400
Race details
Race 22 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date September 7, 1991
Official name 34th Annual Miller Genuine Draft 400
Location Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.75 mi (1.21 km)
Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Average speed 101.361 miles per hour (163.125 km/h)
Attendance 65,000
Pole position
Driver Penske Racing South
Time 22.390
Most laps led
Driver Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Laps 150
Winner
No. 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett, Ken Stabler
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 400 was the 22nd stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 7, 1991, before an audience of 69,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to make a late-race charge for the lead, passing for the lead with 19 to go in the race to take his 14th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his third victory of the season, and his second straight victory.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Richmond International Raceway, the venue where the race was at.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

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 Tyson Foods
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
24 Kenny Wallace 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 Ukrop's Food Group
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
73 Dale Fischlein Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile Barkdoll Racing
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Donlavey Racing
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 Friday, September 11, at 5:30 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 Saturday, September 12, at 3:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-34 would be decided on time,[4] 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 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.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.390 and an average speed of 120.590 miles per hour (194.071 km/h) in the first round.[5][6]

Dale Fischlein was the only driver to fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 22.390 120.590
2 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 22.434 120.353
3 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 22.451 120.262
4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 22.453 120.251
5 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 22.501 119.995
6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 22.512 119.936
7 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.561 119.676
8 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 22.567 119.644
9 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 22.587 119.538
10 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.669 119.105
11 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 22.717 118.854
12 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 22.755 118.655
13 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 22.759 118.634
14 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 22.779 118.530
15 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 22.825 118.291
16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.827 118.281
17 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 22.844 118.193
18 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 22.862 118.100
19 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 22.874 118.038
20 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 22.880 118.007
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 22.881 118.002
22 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 22.907 117.868
23 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 22.921 117.796
24 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.940 117.698
25 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22.964 117.575
26 90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 22.972 117.534
27 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 22.980 117.493
28 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 23.004 117.371
29 24 Kenny Wallace Team III Racing Pontiac 23.005 117.366
30 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 23.016 117.310
31 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 23.027 117.254
32 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 23.038 117.198
33 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 23.040 117.188
34 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 23.118 116.792
Provisionals
35 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 23.411 115.330
36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 23.916 112.895
Failed to qualify
37 73 Dale Fischlein Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
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 13 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 400 27 running 180 $63,650
2 3 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 400 150 running 180 $39,425
3 1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 400 124 running 170 $21,700
4 6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 400 80 running 165 $20,800
5 7 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 1 running 160 $18,125
6 2 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 400 10 running 155 $13,550
7 9 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 400 0 running 146 $9,750
8 10 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 2 running 147 $8,750
9 14 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 400 0 running 138 $11,950
10 15 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 399 0 running 134 $9,700
11 16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 398 5 running 135 $13,750
12 5 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 398 0 running 127 $6,400
13 27 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 397 0 running 124 $7,000
14 18 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 397 0 running 121 $11,500
15 17 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 397 0 running 118 $7,350
16 22 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 397 0 running 115 $10,925
17 28 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 397 0 running 112 $6,425
18 21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 396 0 running 109 $5,175
19 20 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 396 0 running 106 $6,000
20 25 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 396 0 running 103 $6,925
21 11 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 396 0 running 100 $5,800
22 35 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 395 0 running 97 $4,475
23 32 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 394 0 running 94 $9,175
24 19 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 393 1 running 96 $5,550
25 26 90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 391 0 running 88 $3,500
26 8 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 388 0 running 85 $9,075
27 12 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 377 0 running 82 $5,480
28 34 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 374 0 running 79 $5,325
29 33 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 370 0 running 76 $4,800
30 31 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 361 0 engine 73 $4,750
31 29 24 Kenny Wallace Team III Racing Pontiac 348 0 rear end 70 $3,200
32 23 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 256 0 overheating 67 $3,175
33 4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 253 0 running 64 $11,870
34 30 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 55 0 crash 61 $3,150
35 36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 36 0 engine 58 $3,150
36 24 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9 0 crash 55 $3,150
Failed to qualify
37 73 Dale Fischlein Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 8, 1991). "Gant makes it 2 straight with victory at Richmond (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 65. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 8, 1991). "Gant makes it 2 straight with victory at Richmond (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 79. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Macenka, Joe (September 8, 1991). "Gant captures second consecutive NASCAR victory". The State. p. 31. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 6, 1991. p. 38. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 7, 1991). "Wallace gets a boost from Richmond track (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 35. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 7, 1991). "Wallace gets a boost from Richmond track (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 42. Retrieved February 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1991 Heinz Southern 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Peak Antifreeze 500