The 1991 Bud 500 was the 20th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 24, 1991, before an audience of 60,500 in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki, after suffering a flat tire early into the race, would manage to mount a comeback and dominate the late stages of the race to take his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.

1991 Bud 500
Race details
Race 20 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Bud 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1991 Bud 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date August 24, 1991
Official name 31st Annual Bud 500
Location Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Average speed 82.028 miles per hour (132.011 km/h)
Attendance 60,500
Pole position
Driver Melling Racing
Time 16.406
Most laps led
Driver Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises
Laps 206
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

Background

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The layout of Bristol International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

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 Bobby Hillin Jr. 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 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
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, August 23, at 7:35 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, August 24, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 15-30 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.

Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 16.406 and an average speed of 116.957 miles per hour (188.224 km/h) in the first round.[6]

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 16.406 116.957
2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 16.490 116.361
3 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 16.521 116.143
4 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 16.525 116.115
5 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 16.530 116.080
6 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 16.580 115.730
7 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 16.587 115.681
8 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 16.588 115.674
9 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 16.590 115.660
10 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 16.607 115.542
11 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 16.612 115.507
12 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 16.614 115.493
13 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 16.620 115.451
14 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 16.622 115.437
15 42 Bobby Hillin Jr. SABCO Racing Pontiac 16.637 115.333
Failed to lock in Round 1
16 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 16.641 115.306
17 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.644 115.285
18 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 16.644 115.285
19 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 16.646 115.271
20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 16.656 115.202
21 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 16.668 115.119
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 16.687 114.988
23 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 16.705 114.864
24 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 16.709 114.836
25 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 16.721 114.754
26 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 16.748 114.569
27 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.771 114.412
28 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 16.834 113.984
29 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 16.850 113.875
30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 16.852 113.862
Provisionals
31 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac -* -*
32 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick -* -*
Failed to qualify
33 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
34 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
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 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 500 137 running 180 $61,400
2 14 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 500 42 running 175 $30,275
3 27 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 0 running 165 $22,950
4 10 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 499 0 running 160 $19,700
5 17 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 499 0 running 155 $16,450
6 18 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 498 0 running 150 $13,125
7 13 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 498 0 running 146 $16,025
8 3 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 498 41 running 147 $9,275
9 28 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 493 33 running 143 $9,225
10 32 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 493 0 running 134 $11,875
11 23 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 492 0 running 130 $8,425
12 30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 491 0 running 127 $8,125
13 6 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 490 0 running 124 $7,125
14 4 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 489 0 running 121 $5,025
15 11 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 489 206 running 128 $20,375
16 19 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 488 0 running 115 $5,925
17 24 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 483 0 running 112 $6,975
18 26 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 449 0 running 109 $10,775
19 25 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 436 0 running 106 $6,865
20 12 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 409 0 suspension 103 $7,750
21 1 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 404 0 running 100 $13,575
22 9 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 403 0 running 97 $6,450
23 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 400 0 running 94 $6,375
24 7 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 377 11 engine 96 $11,550
25 31 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 350 14 running 93 $6,205
26 8 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 344 0 crash 85 $5,575
27 21 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 313 0 ignition 82 $4,050
28 16 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 253 0 crash 79 $5,500
29 20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 239 0 engine 76 $11,075
30 15 42 Bobby Hillin Jr. SABCO Racing Pontiac 220 0 running 73 $9,625
31 29 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 183 0 crash 70 $11,425
32 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 88 16 crash 72 $4,425
Failed to qualify
33 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet
34 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 25, 1991). "Victory drought ends (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 41. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 25, 1991). "Victory drought ends (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 49. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Bruce, Kenny (August 25, 1991). "Kulwicki clicks to claim Bud 500 race (Part 1)". Kingsport Times-News. p. 29. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Bruce, Kenny (August 25, 1991). "Kulwicki clicks to claim Bud 500 race (Part 2)". Kingsport Times-News. p. 32. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. August 23, 1991. p. 45. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 24, 1991). "Elliott rolls to Bristol pole; Wallace in front row". The Charlotte Observer. p. 35. Retrieved February 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1991 Champion Spark Plug 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Heinz Southern 500