1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500

The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 was the 16th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 19th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 21, 1991, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race was shortened from its scheduled 200 laps to 179 laps due to rain. In the final laps of the race, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to conserve enough fuel to run until the last caution flag was given on lap 174. After the red flag was given out on lap 176, a two-hour rain delay would delay the restart. After the rain delay, NASCAR mandated that all drivers start their cars and run behind the pace car until lap 179, where NASCAR would declare the race official, handing Wallace the victory. The victory was Wallace's 20th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Junior Johnson & Associates driver Geoff Bodine would finish second and third, respectively.

1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500
Race details
Race 16 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date July 21, 1991
Official name 19th Annual Miller Genuine Draft 500
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 179 laps, 447.5 mi (720.181 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 115.459 miles per hour (185.813 km/h)
Pole position
Driver AK Racing
Time 55.737
Most laps led
Driver Ernie Irvan Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Laps 65
Winner
No. 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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

The race was held at Pocono International Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

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
13 Gary Balough Linro Motorsports Buick Linro Motorsports
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Tyson Foods
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
35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet Nestea Plunge
42 Bobby Hillin Jr. SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile High Point Bedding
47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile Kanawha Insurance
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
53 John Paul Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet Team Ireland
55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac Jasper Engines & Transmissions
64 Gary Wright White Racing Chevrolet Action Rent-to-Own
66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Classic Trophies
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet James Omar Landis Auctions
86 Walter Surma Surma Racing Oldsmobile Surma Racing
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, July 19, at 3:00 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, July 20, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-40 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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 55.737 and an average speed of 161.473 miles per hour (259.866 km/h) in the first round.[5][6]

Three drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 55.737 161.473
2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 55.801 161.287
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 56.085 160.471
4 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 56.165 160.242
5 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 56.276 159.926
6 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 56.303 159.849
7 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56.454 159.422
8 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 56.501 159.289
9 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 56.534 159.196
10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 56.556 159.134
11 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 56.591 159.036
12 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 56.693 158.750
13 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 56.722 158.669
14 42 Bobby Hillin Jr. SABCO Racing Pontiac 56.758 158.568
15 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 56.808 158.428
Failed to lock in Round 1
16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 56.828 158.373
17 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 56.830 158.367
18 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 56.840 158.339
19 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 56.869 158.258
20 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 56.987 157.931
21 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 57.054 157.745
22 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 57.098 157.624
23 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 57.129 157.538
24 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 57.189 157.373
25 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 57.204 157.332
26 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 57.212 157.310
27 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 57.246 157.216
28 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 57.259 157.181
29 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 57.296 157.079
30 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 57.315 157.027
31 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 57.629 156.171
32 44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile 57.894 155.457
33 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 57.998 155.178
34 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 58.250 154.506
35 13 Gary Balough Linro Motorsports Buick 58.611 153.555
36 53 John Paul Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 58.711 153.293
37 64 Gary Wright White Racing Chevrolet 58.747 153.199
38 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 59.347 151.650
39 35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 59.540 151.159
40 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 1:00.424 148.947
Failed to qualify
41 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick 1:01.234 146.977
42 86 Walter Surma Surma Racing Oldsmobile 1:03.785 141.099
43 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet - -
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 10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 179 29 running 180 $34,100
2 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 179 23 running 175 $41,475
3 8 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 179 1 running 170 $32,350
4 6 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 179 7 running 165 $21,750
5 11 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 179 0 running 155 $14,100
6 12 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 179 3 running 155 $13,700
7 13 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 179 65 running 156 $16,700
8 24 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 179 0 running 142 $11,500
9 4 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 178 0 running 138 $15,000
10 19 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 178 0 running 134 $12,650
11 22 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 178 0 running 130 $6,900
12 33 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 178 0 running 127 $5,900
13 31 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 178 0 running 124 $7,750
14 5 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 178 1 running 126 $14,100
15 23 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 178 0 running 118 $9,550
16 1 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 177 1 running 120 $17,425
17 34 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 177 0 running 112 $5,100
18 27 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 177 1 running 114 $8,300
19 32 44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile 177 0 running 106 $4,850
20 7 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 177 0 running 103 $12,725
21 38 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 176 1 running 105 $4,500
22 16 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 175 0 running 97 $15,350
23 2 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 171 47 running 99 $9,650
24 25 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 165 0 running 91 $7,250
25 40 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 152 0 running 88 $4,300
26 15 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 150 0 running 85 $7,100
27 18 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 145 0 brakes 82 $7,450
28 14 42 Bobby Hillin Jr. SABCO Racing Pontiac 132 0 running 79 $11,050
29 9 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 115 0 crash 76 $4,750
30 30 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 99 0 valve 73 $6,650
31 17 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 97 0 crash 70 $6,575
32 36 53 John Paul Jr. Team Ireland Chevrolet 77 0 engine 67 $3,850
33 37 64 Gary Wright White Racing Chevrolet 63 0 transmission 64 $3,750
34 26 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 38 0 engine 61 $10,675
35 29 24 Dick Trickle Team III Racing Pontiac 29 0 crash 58 $4,250
36 21 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 20 0 crash 55 $12,925
37 28 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 20 0 crash 52 $6,075
38 20 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 14 0 crash 49 $6,010
39 39 35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 7 0 drivetrain 46 $3,375
40 35 13 Gary Balough Linro Motorsports Buick 2 0 crash 43 $3,300
Failed to qualify
41 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Buick
42 86 Walter Surma Surma Racing Oldsmobile
43 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 22, 1991). "Friendly shove helps Wallace to a soggy victory (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 13. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 22, 1991). "Friendly shove helps Wallace to a soggy victory (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Owen, MIke (July 22, 1991). "Wallace overcomes several obstacles to win abbreviated Miller 500 race". Pottsville Republican. p. 12. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. July 18, 1991. p. 27. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 20, 1991). "Inspection only thing to slow Kulwicki (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 33. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 20, 1991). "Inspection only thing to slow Kulwicki (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 35. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1991 Pepsi 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 DieHard 500