The 1990 AC Delco 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 21, 1990, before an audience of 55,800 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. At race's end, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would finish second and third, respectively.

1990 AC Delco 500
Race details
Race 27 of 29 in the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1990 AC Delco 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
The 1990 AC Delco 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
Date October 21, 1990
Official name 26th Annual AC Delco 500
Location Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Average speed 126.452 miles per hour (203.505 km/h)
Attendance 55,800
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 24.769
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Petty SABCO Racing
Laps 207
Winner
No. 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In the driver's championship, second-place driver in the standings, Dale Earnhardt, was able to gain four points over first-place driver Mark Martin, dropping Martin's lead down to 45 points.[5]

Background

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

North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.

Entry list

edit
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford Masters Inn Economy
1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Rick Jeffrey U.S. Racing Chevrolet KFC
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Folgers
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. 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
13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet Glidden
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
20 Jimmy Hensley Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Crown Central Petroleum
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
40 Tommy Kendall Reno Enterprises Chevrolet Electronic Data Systems
41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet General Motors Auctions
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile Sandoz Chemicals
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac Hylton Motorsports
50 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Chevrolet RaDiUs Motorsports
51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Plasti-Kote
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac McDuffie Racing
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
72 Tracy Leslie Parker Racing Oldsmobile Detroit Gasket
75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Dinner Bell Foods
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Hooters
93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Buick Baker Racing
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, October 18, at 2:30 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 Friday, October 19, 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,[6] 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.

Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.769 and an average speed of 147.817 miles per hour (237.888 km/h) in the first round.[7][8]

Four drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 24.769 147.817
2 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 24.880 147.154
3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 24.909 146.983
4 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 25.003 146.430
5 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 25.018 146.343
6 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 25.036 146.237
7 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 25.057 146.115
8 98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 25.064 146.074
9 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 25.069 146.045
10 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 25.098 145.876
11 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.121 145.743
12 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 25.154 145.551
13 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 25.174 145.436
14 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 25.176 145.424
15 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 25.222 145.159
16 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 25.247 145.015
17 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 25.255 144.969
18 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 25.265 144.912
19 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 25.266 144.906
20 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 25.282 144.814
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 24.922 146.908
22 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 24.935 146.830
23 20 Jimmy Hensley Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 25.154 145.551
24 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 25.186 145.366
25 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 25.288 144.780
26 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 25.326 144.563
27 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 25.410 144.085
28 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.425 144.000
29 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 25.435 143.943
30 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.448 143.870
31 47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile 25.464 143.779
32 2 Rick Jeffrey U.S. Racing Chevrolet 25.487 143.650
33 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Buick 25.527 143.425
34 40 Tommy Kendall Reno Enterprises Chevrolet 25.601 143.010
35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 25.609 142.965
36 50 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Chevrolet 25.790 141.962
37 72 Tracy Leslie Parker Racing Oldsmobile 25.803 141.890
38 57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac 25.809 141.857
39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 25.868 141.534
40 93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Buick 26.043 140.583
Failed to qualify
41 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
42 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
43 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford -* -*
44 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

edit
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 492 151 running 180 $53,300
2 5 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 492 82 running 175 $40,775
3 4 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 492 0 running 165 $23,575
4 7 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 492 4 running 165 $23,625
5 1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 492 31 running 160 $26,025
6 29 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 491 0 running 150 $12,882
7 11 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 491 0 running 146 $10,925
8 28 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 491 3 running 147 $15,425
9 9 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 490 0 running 138 $10,325
10 20 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 490 0 running 134 $19,750
11 21 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 490 0 running 130 $13,350
12 22 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 490 0 running 127 $10,025
13 12 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 490 0 running 124 $9,175
14 27 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 490 0 running 121 $8,875
15 16 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 489 0 running 118 $9,050
16 10 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 489 0 running 115 $8,525
17 18 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 489 0 running 112 $10,825
18 17 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 487 0 running 109 $7,475
19 30 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 487 0 running 106 $4,275
20 6 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 485 207 running 113 $13,850
21 35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 485 0 running 100 $5,350
22 8 98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 484 0 running 97 $4,650
23 25 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 483 2 running 99 $6,950
24 31 47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile 482 0 running 91 $4,400
25 26 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 479 0 running 88 $3,675
26 34 40 Tommy Kendall Reno Enterprises Chevrolet 477 0 running 85 $3,525
27 38 57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac 477 0 running 82 $4,175
28 39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 471 0 running 79 $4,100
29 2 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 470 12 running 81 $14,700
30 32 2 Rick Jeffrey U.S. Racing Chevrolet 467 0 running 73 $5,300
31 23 20 Jimmy Hensley Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 452 0 running 70 $3,850
32 19 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 421 0 engine 67 $14,075
33 15 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 268 0 valve 64 $7,975
34 13 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 236 0 engine 61 $4,050
35 33 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Buick 230 0 rear end 58 $2,825
36 14 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 217 0 engine 55 $6,350
37 36 50 Ted Musgrave RaDiUs Motorsports Chevrolet 93 0 engine 52 $2,700
38 24 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 75 0 engine 49 $2,690
39 37 72 Tracy Leslie Parker Racing Oldsmobile 67 0 engine 46 $2,650
40 40 93 Charlie Baker Baker Racing Buick 35 0 engine 43 $2,600
Failed to qualify
41 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac
42 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
43 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
44 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 22, 1990). "Kulwicki Carves Win From 'Rock' (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 22, 1990). "Kulwicki Carves Win From 'Rock' (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ King, Randy (October 22, 1990). "Kulwicki wins Delco 500 (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 11. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ King, Randy (October 22, 1990). "Kulwicki wins Delco 500 (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 15. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 22, 1990). "Earnhardt Creeps Closer To Martin, But Not By Much". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. October 18, 1991. p. 29. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 19, 1990). "Radials Not So Radical As Schrader Wins Pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 19, 1990). "Radials Not So Radical As Schrader Wins Pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 29. Retrieved April 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1990 Mello Yello 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1990 season
Next race:
1990 Checker 500