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1991 Tyson Holly Farms 400

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1991 Tyson Holly Farms 400
Race details
Race 25 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Tyson Holly Farms 400 program cover, featuring Chad Little. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1991 Tyson Holly Farms 400 program cover, featuring Chad Little. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date September 29, 1991
Official name 42nd Annual Tyson Holly Farms 400
Location North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
0.625 mi (1.006 km)
Distance 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km)
Average speed 94.113 miles per hour (151.460 km/h)
Attendance 43,500
Pole position
Driver Leo Jackson Motorsports
Time 19.252
Most laps led
Driver Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports
Laps 350
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
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 Tyson Holly Farms 400 was the 25th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 29, 1991, before an audience of 43,500 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 miles (1.006 km) oval short track. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, taking advantage of a brake failure of the dominant driver of the day, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would mount a late-race charge to the lead, passing Gant with nine laps to go in the race to take the victory, breaking Gant's streak of four consecutive victories.[1][2][3] The victory was Earnhardt's 52nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Harry Gant and Bud Moore Engineering driver Morgan Shepherd would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of North Wilkesboro Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about five miles east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures 0.625 mi (1.006 km) and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch. It has previously held races in NASCAR's top three series, including 93 Winston Cup Series races. The track, a NASCAR original, operated from 1949, NASCAR's inception, until the track's original closure in 1996. The speedway briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted several stock car series races before closing again in the spring of 2011. It was re-opened in August 2022 for grassroots racing.

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 Jimmy Hensley 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 Jasper Engines & Transmissions
66 Chuck Bown 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
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 27, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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 28, at 12:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-30 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.

Harry Gant, driving for Leo Jackson Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.252 and an average speed of 116.871 miles per hour (188.086 km/h) in the first round.[5][6]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 19.252 116.871
2 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 19.256 116.846
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 19.264 116.798
4 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 19.316 116.484
5 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 19.348 116.291
6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 19.358 116.231
7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 19.366 116.183
8 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 19.370 116.159
9 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 19.395 116.009
10 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.398 115.991
11 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 19.415 115.890
12 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 19.426 115.824
13 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 19.432 115.788
14 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 19.450 115.681
15 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 19.457 115.640
Failed to lock in Round 1
16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.421 115.854
17 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 19.454 115.657
18 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 19.462 115.610
19 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 19.462 115.610
20 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 19.474 115.539
21 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 19.493 115.426
22 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.503 115.367
23 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 19.512 115.314
24 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 19.524 115.243
25 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 19.525 115.237
26 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet 19.541 115.143
27 24 Jimmy Hensley Team III Racing Pontiac 19.544 115.125
28 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 19.596 114.819
29 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 19.632 114.609
30 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 19.663 114.428
Provisionals
31 66 Chuck Bown Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 20.046 112.242
32 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Oldsmobile 19.692 114.260
Champion’s Provisional
33 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 19.876 113.202
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 16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 9 running 180 $69,350
2 1 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 400 350 running 180 $40,575
3 9 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 400 41 running 170 $25,375
4 2 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 400 0 running 160 $19,600
5 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 0 running 155 $18,875
6 7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 400 0 running 150 $8,950
7 11 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 400 0 running 146 $9,280
8 10 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 0 running 142 $8,425
9 5 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 400 0 running 138 $7,975
10 4 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 400 0 running 134 $13,355
11 27 24 Jimmy Hensley Team III Racing Pontiac 399 0 running 130 $5,975
12 22 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0 running 127 $9,950
13 20 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 398 0 running 124 $5,500
14 19 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 398 0 running 121 $6,750
15 14 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 398 0 running 118 $12,050
16 21 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 397 0 running 115 $9,550
17 17 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 397 0 running 112 $6,475
18 13 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 397 0 running 109 $5,375
19 33 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 396 0 running 106 $5,875
20 15 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 395 0 running 103 $5,350
21 25 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 394 0 running 100 $3,450
22 30 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 394 0 running 97 $4,375
23 12 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 393 0 running 94 $5,425
24 8 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 392 0 running 91 $9,925
25 18 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 391 0 running 88 $5,400
26 31 66 Chuck Bown Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 391 0 running 85 $5,225
27 28 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 391 0 running 82 $4,550
28 32 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Oldsmobile 390 0 running 79 $2,985
29 26 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet 353 0 running 76 $4,450
30 23 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 320 0 running 73 $10,075
31 24 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 315 0 rear end 70 $4,400
32 29 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 240 0 accident 67 $4,425
33 6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 164 0 accident 64 $9,225
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 30, 1991). "Gant's streak broken (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 30, 1991). "Gant's streak broken (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Harris, Mike (September 30, 1991). "Gant's remarkable winning streak ends". Rocky Mount Telegram. p. 11. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1991. p. 11. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 28, 1991). "Gant leads the pack once again (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 19. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 28, 1991). "Gant leads the pack once again (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 20. Retrieved March 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1991 Goody's 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Mello Yello 500