The 1994 Slick 50 300 was the 16th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 10, 1994, in Loudon, New Hampshire, at New Hampshire International Speedway, a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) permanent, oval-shaped, low-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. On the final restart of the race with eight laps to go, Ricky Rudd, driving for his own Rudd Performance Motorsports team would manage to hold off the field to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2] Meanwhile, second-place finisher, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would retake the overall driver's championship lead after a poor finish from then-points leader Ernie Irvan.[3] To fill out the top three, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish third.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1994 Slick 50 300 program cover, featuring Harry Gant. | |||
| Date | July 10, 1994 | ||
| Official name | 2nd Annual Slick 50 300 | ||
| Location | Loudon, New Hampshire, New Hampshire International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.058 mi (1.704 km) | ||
| Distance | 300 laps, 317.4 mi (510.805 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 300 laps, 317.4 mi (510.805 km) | ||
| Average speed | 87.599 miles per hour (140.977 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 72,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 29.944 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 176 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Kenny Wallace | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval. The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 8, at 3:30 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, July 9, 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 21-40 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 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.
Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.944 and an average speed of 127.197 miles per hour (204.704 km/h) in the first round.[5] In the second round, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott would manage to beat his time with a time of 29.755; however, since the time was in the second round, Elliott would only garner the 21st starting position.[6]
Fiver drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ Harris, Mike (July 11, 1994). "Rudd edges Earnhardt". The Ithaca Journal. p. 14. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lessels, Allen (July 11, 1994). "Rudd finally earns a victory all his own". Daily Press. p. 42. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2nd means first for Earnhardt". The La Crosse Tribune. July 11, 1994. p. 24. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. July 8, 1994. p. 18. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Mike (July 9, 1994). "Irvan not entirely happy with showing". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 28. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (July 10, 1994). "Elliott sets mark in 2nd-round run of 128.005 mph". The Charlotte Observer. p. 103. Retrieved December 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
