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1991 Pontiac Excitement 400

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1991 Pontiac Excitement 400
Race details
Race 2 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1991 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date February 24, 1991
Official name 37th Annual Pontiac Excitement 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 105.937 miles per hour (170.489 km/h)
Attendance 51,000
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 22.420
Most laps led
Driver Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 154
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
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 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the second stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 24, 1991, before an audience of 51,000 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. Battling to the finish, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to defend against Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd in the final laps of the race to take his 49th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Rudd and Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant 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 racetrack 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 AK Racing
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
20 Sammy Swindell* Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Rob Moroso Memorial
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
24 Mickey Gibbs 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
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac U.S. Racing
66 Dick Trickle 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
90 Robby Gordon Donlavey Racing Ford Publix
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods

*Fired after first-round qualifying and replaced by Bobby Hillin Jr. for the race.[3]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 22, 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 Saturday, February 23, at 11:00 AM 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 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.

Davey Allison, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.420 and an average speed of 120.428 miles per hour (193.810 km/h) in the first round.[5]

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 22.420 120.428
2 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 22.425 120.401
3 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 22.491 120.048
4 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.521 119.888
5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.540 119.787
6 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 22.545 119.760
7 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 22.549 119.739
8 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 22.595 119.495
9 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 22.613 119.400
10 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 22.631 119.305
11 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 22.680 119.048
12 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 22.681 119.042
13 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22.715 118.864
14 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 22.733 118.770
15 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 22.746 118.702
16 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 22.783 118.509
17 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 22.823 118.302
18 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 22.844 118.193
19 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.851 118.157
20 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 22.854 118.141
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 22.563 119.665
22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 22.770 118.577
23 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 22.812 118.359
24 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 22.872 118.048
25 24 Mickey Gibbs Team III Racing Pontiac 22.901 117.899
26 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 22.931 117.745
27 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 22.941 117.693
28 20 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 22.947 117.662
29 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 22.958 117.606
30 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 22.980 117.493
31 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 22.984 117.473
32 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 23.006 117.361
33 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 23.037 117.203
34 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 23.039 117.193
Provisional
35 90 Robby Gordon Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
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 19 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 150 running 180 $67,950
2 4 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 154 running 180 $45,675
3 6 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 400 3 running 170 $25,500
4 20 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 400 3 running 165 $13,050
5 2 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 400 48 running 160 $19,025
6 14 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 0 running 150 $15,450
7 17 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 400 4 running 151 $5,650
8 21 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 399 0 running 142 $11,550
9 11 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 398 0 running 138 $5,150
10 5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 398 0 running 134 $11,700
11 23 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 398 0 running 130 $7,750
12 1 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 398 38 running 132 $15,350
13 7 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 397 0 running 124 $11,500
14 18 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 397 0 running 121 $7,200
15 10 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 396 0 running 118 $7,660
16 29 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 395 0 running 115 $5,225
17 15 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 394 0 running 112 $6,525
18 22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 394 0 running 109 $6,375
19 33 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 393 0 running 106 $5,500
20 28 20 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 392 0 running 103 $5,525
21 13 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 392 0 running 100 $5,825
22 26 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 391 0 crash 97 $5,750
23 25 24 Mickey Gibbs Team III Racing Pontiac 391 0 running 94 $3,375
24 3 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 390 0 crash 91 $6,575
25 9 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 390 0 running 88 $5,475
26 35 90 Robby Gordon Donlavey Racing Ford 388 0 running 85 $3,525
27 8 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 379 0 running 82 $8,950
28 32 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 372 0 running 79 $3,225
29 27 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 367 0 running 76 $6,250
30 24 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 365 0 running 73 $9,870
31 31 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 356 0 engine 70 $3,750
32 12 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 309 0 running 67 $10,225
33 34 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 256 0 axle 64 $4,610
34 30 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 236 0 steering 61 $4,600
35 16 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 221 0 running 58 $4,600
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 25, 1991). "Earnhardt In Groove In 400 Win". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Macenka, Joe (February 25, 1991). "Earnhardt Outduels Rudd In Clean Finish in Virginia". The Scranton Times-Tribune. p. 16. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Macenka, Joe (February 24, 1991). "Swindell fired by Moroso; Hillin will take over driving duties". The State. p. 11. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. February 22, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 23, 1991). "Allison Nips Kulwicki To Win 2nd Straight Pole". The Charlotte Observer. p. 41. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1991 Daytona 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 GM Goodwrench 500