The 1990 Checker 500 was the 28th and penultimate stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the ninth and final race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston West Series season, and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 4, 1990, before an audience of 75,000 in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 312 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate the majority of the race, leading 262 laps of the race en route to his 48th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his ninth and final victory of the season.[1][2][3][4]

1990 Checker 500
Race details
Race 28 of 29 in the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1990 Checker 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1990 Checker 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date November 4, 1990
Official name 3rd Annual Checker 500
Location Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Scheduled Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Average speed 96.786 miles per hour (155.762 km/h)
Attendance 75,000
Pole position
Driver Blue Max Racing
Time 28.929
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 262
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

With the victory and a poor finish from championship contender in the driver's championship, Mark Martin, Earnhardt would manage to take the driver's championship lead, leading Martin by six points heading into the final race of the season, the 1990 Atlanta Journal 500.[5][6]

Background

edit
 
The layout of Phoenix International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

Entry list

edit
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
2 Ted Musgrave U.S. Racing Chevrolet Wide World of Maps
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac U.S. Bank
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
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SlimFast
20 Chad Little Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Crown Central Petroleum
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 St. James Davis St. James Racing Chevrolet St. James Racing
23 Mike Chase Freymiller Racing Buick Freymiller Trucking
24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet Gear Engineering
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
29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
34 Ted Kennedy Emerson Racing Oldsmobile Power Burst
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick Coca-Cola
51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Plasti-Kote
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet All-Pro Auto Parts
66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
69 Brent Kaeding Smith Racing Chevrolet Los Gatos Ferrari
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet AM Plumbing
73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet Bank of California
75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Dinner Bell Foods
76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet Spears Manufacturing
89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick Taco Bell
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
97 Chuck Bown Tex Racing Oldsmobile Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods
99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac Skoal

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 2, at 5:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, November 3, 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 26-40 would be decided on time,[7] 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; which was up to two for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and up to two extra provisionals for the cars in the NASCAR Winston West Series.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.929 and an average speed of 124.443 miles per hour (200.272 km/h) in the first round.[8][9]

Six drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 28.929 124.443
2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.958 124.318
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.990 124.181
4 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.035 123.988
5 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 29.088 123.762
6 18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.169 123.419
7 98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 29.188 123.338
8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.190 123.330
9 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.197 123.300
10 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.234 123.144
11 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 29.243 123.106
12 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 29.258 123.043
13 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 29.297 122.879
14 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 29.356 122.633
15 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 29.408 122.416
16 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 29.412 122.399
17 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.424 122.349
18 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 29.466 122.175
19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 29.477 122.129
20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 29.497 122.046
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.416 122.382
22 20 Chad Little Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 29.504 122.017
23 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 29.508 122.001
24 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 29.513 121.980
25 2 Ted Musgrave U.S. Racing Pontiac 29.520 121.951
26 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 29.533 121.898
27 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 29.574 121.729
28 97 Chuck Bown Tex Racing Oldsmobile 29.588 121.671
29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 29.592 121.655
30 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 29.618 121.548
31 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 29.618 121.548
32 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 29.631 121.494
33 72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet 29.749 121.012
34 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 29.760 120.968
35 23 Mike Chase Freymiller Racing Buick 29.799 120.809
36 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.834 120.668
37 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick 29.884 120.466
38 69 Brent Kaeding Smith Racing Chevrolet 29.968 120.128
39 29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile 30.029 119.884
40 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 30.046 119.816
Winston Cup provisionals
41 57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac -* -*
42 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
Winston West provisional
43 99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac -* -*
45 34 Ted Kennedy Emerson Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
46 24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet -* -*
47 61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick -* -*
49 22 St. James Davis St. James Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

edit
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 262 running 185 $72,100
2 2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 170 $32,900
3 30 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 312 0 running 165 $23,357
4 10 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 160 $21,500
5 12 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 312 0 running 155 $19,775
6 11 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 312 0 running 150 $12,225
7 7 98 Rick Mast Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 312 0 running 146 $10,250
8 13 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 312 0 running 142 $14,950
9 17 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 138 $10,150
10 8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 312 0 running 134 $14,875
11 4 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 312 0 running 130 $13,350
12 6 18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 0 running 127 $4,850
13 23 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 312 0 running 124 $8,650
14 20 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 311 0 running 121 $9,450
15 16 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 311 0 running 118 $8,625
16 15 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 310 0 running 115 $7,525
17 19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 310 0 running 112 $7,200
18 40 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 310 0 running 109 $4,875
19 24 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 310 0 running 106 $6,650
20 32 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 310 0 running 103 $5,300
21 22 20 Chad Little Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 309 0 running 100 $4,450
22 25 2 Ted Musgrave U.S. Racing Pontiac 309 0 running 97 $5,375
23 36 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 308 0 running 94 $4,300
24 28 97 Chuck Bown Tex Racing Oldsmobile 307 0 running 91 $3,300
25 42 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 307 0 running 88 $4,275
26 18 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 306 0 running 85 $4,175
27 31 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 305 0 running 82 $3,300
28 41 57 Jim Bown Osterlund Racing Pontiac 304 0 running 79 $3,950
29 38 69 Brent Kaeding Smith Racing Chevrolet 304 0 running 76 $3,230
30 21 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 299 0 accident 73 $6,395
31 43 99 John Krebs Krebs Racing Pontiac 293 0 running 70 $3,835
32 9 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 293 0 running 67 $5,780
33 39 29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile 280 0 running 64 $3,125
34 33 72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet 269 0 ignition 61 $3,100
35 37 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick 263 0 accident 58 $3,085
36 34 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 256 0 brakes 55 $3,055
37 26 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 152 0 tires 52 $10,045
38 1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 77 50 engine 54 $15,975
39 35 23 Mike Chase Freymiller Racing Buick 70 0 accident 46 $3,000
40 5 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 68 0 engine 43 $6,575
41 27 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 48 0 accident 40 $9,975
42 14 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 47 0 accident 37 $4,975
43 29 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 47 0 accident 34 $4,975
Failed to qualify
44 04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac
45 34 Ted Kennedy Emerson Racing Oldsmobile
46 24 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet
47 61 Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet
48 44 Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick
49 22 St. James Davis St. James Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 5, 1990). "Phoenix Victory Gives Earnhardt Points Lead (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 29. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 5, 1990). "Phoenix Victory Gives Earnhardt Points Lead (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 34. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Armijo, Mark (November 5, 1990). "Earnhardt cruises (Part 1)". The Arizona Republic. p. 39. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Armijo, Mark (November 5, 1990). "Earnhardt cruises (Part 2)". The Arizona Republic. p. 48. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Ward, Larry (November 5, 1990). "Martin fades in heavy traffic, loses points lead". The Arizona Republic. p. 48. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 5, 1990). "Duel Goes Down To Final Race". The Charlotte Observer. p. 34. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. November 2, 1990. p. 38. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 3, 1990). "Wallace Tops Schrader For Pole At Phoenix (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 73. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 3, 1990). "Wallace Tops Schrader For Pole At Phoenix (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 75. Retrieved April 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1990 AC Delco 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1990 season
Next race:
1990 Atlanta Journal 500