1994 Winston Select 500

The 1994 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 1, 1994, before an audience of 150,000 in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would make a charge to the front with six to go, defending the lead for the final five laps to take his 62nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1][2] Earnhardt dedicated his win to the late Ayrton Senna, who lost his life earlier that day in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan and Bahari Racing driver Michael Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.

1994 Winston Select 500
Race details
Race 9 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1994 Winston Select 500 program cover.
The 1994 Winston Select 500 program cover.
Date May 1, 1994
Official name 25th Annual Winston Select 500
Location Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Scheduled Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Average speed 157.478 miles per hour (253.436 km/h)
Attendance 150,000
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 49.540
Most laps led
Driver Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing
Laps 78
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

Background

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The layout of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford Masters Inn Economy
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
02 Ronnie Sanders Taylor Racing Ford Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford Exide
8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Rich Bickle (R) Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford ReLife
14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet Hagan Racing
15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford Ford Quality Care
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford Hooters
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Maxwell House
23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford Smokin' Joe's
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford McDonald's
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Diamond Ridge Motorsports
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet Hardee's
32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet ATS Wood Recycling
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac Kendall
41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Meineke
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Country Time
52 Kirk Shelmerdine Jimmy Means Racing Ford NAPA Auto Parts, Williams Companies
53 Ritchie Petty Petty Brothers Racing Ford Le Bleu Bottled Water
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Petron Plus
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Southwest Technical Group
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford US Airways
80 Jimmy Horton Hover Motorsports Ford Hover Motorsports
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Racing Ford Mueller Racing
90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
95 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Sadler Brothers Racing Ford Shoney's Inn
98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Fingerhut

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 29, at 4:00 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, April 30, at 11:30 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,[3] 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 49.540 and an average speed of 193.298 miles per hour (311.083 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Seven drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 49.540 193.298
2 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 49.567 193.193
3 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 49.649 192.874
4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.687 192.726
5 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 49.837 192.146
6 77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 49.861 192.054
7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.929 191.792
8 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 49.972 191.627
9 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 50.008 191.489
10 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 50.022 191.436
11 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 50.150 190.947
12 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.176 190.848
13 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 50.184 190.818
14 12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 50.310 190.340
15 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 50.321 190.298
16 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 50.343 190.215
17 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 50.407 189.974
18 15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 50.439 189.853
19 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 50.441 189.846
20 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 50.499 189.628
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.208 190.727
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 50.420 189.925
23 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 50.473 189.725
24 95 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Sadlers Brothers Racing Ford 50.544 189.459
25 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 50.547 189.447
26 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 50.591 189.283
27 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 50.599 189.253
28 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 50.613 189.200
29 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 50.652 189.055
30 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 50.655 189.044
31 98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 50.659 189.029
32 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 50.669 188.991
33 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 50.680 188.950
34 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 50.684 188.935
35 43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 50.708 188.846
36 14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 50.755 188.671
37 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.782 188.571
38 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 50.789 188.545
39 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 50.792 188.534
40 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.892 188.163
Provisionals
41 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 51.023 187.680
42 52 Kirk Shelmerdine Jimmy Means Racing Ford 51.099 187.401
Failed to qualify
43 53 Ritchie Petty Petty Brothers Racing Ford 50.904 188.119
44 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Racing Ford 50.977 187.849
45 9 Rich Bickle (R) Melling Racing Ford 51.016 187.706
46 80 Jimmy Horton Hover Motorsports Ford 51.052 187.573
47 02 Ronnie Sanders Taylor Racing Ford 52.010 184.118
48 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 52.634 181.936
49 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford 56.325 170.013
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 4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 64 running 180 $94,865
2 1 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 188 78 running 180 $67,990
3 8 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 188 0 running 165 $50,995
4 5 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 188 14 running 165 $32,570
5 7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 1 running 160 $33,540
6 6 77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 188 1 running 155 $19,905
7 18 15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 188 0 running 146 $28,300
8 10 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 188 10 running 147 $26,850
9 12 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 188 1 running 143 $25,550
10 11 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0 running 134 $18,600
11 17 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 188 0 running 130 $20,495
12 39 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 188 1 running 132 $21,915
13 27 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 188 0 running 124 $23,185
14 16 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0 running 121 $19,005
15 19 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 188 0 running 118 $15,325
16 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 188 5 running 120 $14,235
17 28 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 188 0 running 112 $17,420
18 26 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 187 0 running 109 $10,180
19 30 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 187 0 running 106 $16,790
20 25 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 187 0 running 103 $17,130
21 9 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 186 0 running 100 $20,860
22 41 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 186 0 running 97 $15,940
23 13 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 184 0 running 94 $15,730
24 40 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 184 3 running 96 $15,525
25 33 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 180 0 running 88 $9,045
26 42 52 Kirk Shelmerdine Jimmy Means Racing Ford 179 0 running 85 $11,265
27 14 12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 168 0 running 82 $15,110
28 3 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 160 10 running 84 $11,155
29 36 14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 128 0 engine 76 $14,800
30 29 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 121 0 crash 73 $10,745
31 31 98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 115 0 crash 70 $10,115
32 21 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 112 0 crash 67 $19,060
33 20 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 112 0 crash 64 $20,730
34 35 43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 112 0 crash 61 $8,500
35 32 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 112 0 crash 58 $8,470
36 38 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 112 0 crash 55 $8,440
37 24 95 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Sadlers Brothers Racing Ford 110 0 crash 52 $8,360
38 15 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 103 0 crash 49 $20,106
39 34 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 102 0 crash 46 $12,250
40 2 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 102 0 crash 43 $8,720
41 23 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 76 0 crash 40 $12,220
42 37 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 0 engine 37 $8,720
Failed to qualify
43 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet
44 9 Rich Bickle (R) Melling Racing Ford
45 80 Jimmy Horton Hover Motorsports Ford
46 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Racing Ford
47 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
48 53 Ritchie Petty Petty Brothers Racing Ford
49 02 Ronnie Sanders Taylor Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Mike (May 2, 1994). "Earnhardt wins a Talladega classic". Intelligencer Journal. p. 18. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 2, 1994). "After 30 lead changes, Earnhardt scrambles into first place". Muncie Evening Press. p. 26. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. April 29, 1994. p. 28. Retrieved January 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Harris, Mike (April 30, 1994). "Irvan captures Talladega pole". Daily Press. p. 4. Retrieved January 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1994 Hanes 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 season
Next race:
1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300