1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400

The 1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 was the 21st stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, August 21, 1994, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Geoff Bodine, driving for his own Geoff Bodine Racing team, would manage to dominate the race to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Precision Products Racing driver Rick Mast would finish second and third, respectively.

1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400
Race details
Race 21 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date August 21, 1994
Official name 25th Annual GM Goodwrench Dealer 400
Location Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed 139.914 miles per hour (225.170 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Geoff Bodine Racing
Time 39.761
Most laps led
Driver Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing
Laps 160
Winner
No. 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The race weekend was marred when on Saturday, a near-fatal crash involving championship contender Ernie Irvan would occur in the race's first Saturday practice session. Irvan would suffer a basilar skull fracture and a collapsed lung, and it would take over a year for Irvan to get back into the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[3]

Background

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

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
02 Jeff Purvis Taylor Racing Ford Kendall
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 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford Farmer Peet
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
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 Active Motorsports
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
34 Bob Brevak Brevak Racing Ford Scaffidi Truck Centers
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 John Andretti (R) Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford Buss Fuses
45 Rich Bickle (R) Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford Terminal Trucking
47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford Johnson Standridge Racing
52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
54 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Manheim Auctions
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford RaDiUs Motorsports
59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford Metal Arrester
61 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet Total Petroleum
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Terramite
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford US Airways
82 Laura Lane Miskotten Racing Ford Adesa Auto Auction
90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
98 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Fingerhut

*Withdrew due to injuries sustained in the race weekend's second practice.

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 19, 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, August 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 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.

Geoff Bodine, driving for his own Geoff Bodine Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 39.761 and an average speed of 181.082 miles per hour (291.423 km/h) in the first round.[5]

Eight drivers would fail to qualify, in addition to one withdrawn entry.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 39.761 181.082
2 43 John Andretti (R) Petty Enterprises Pontiac 39.770 181.041
3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.012 179.946
4 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 40.012 179.946
5 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 40.025 179.888
6 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.030 179.865
7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 40.076 179.659
8 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 40.093 179.582
9 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 40.105 179.529
10 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 40.123 179.448
11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40.150 179.328
12 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 40.162 179.274
13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 40.182 179.185
14 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 40.194 179.131
15 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 40.271 178.789
16 77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 40.290 178.704
17 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.291 178.700
18 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 40.291 178.700
19 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.310 178.656
Failed to lock in Round 1
20 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 40.034 179.847
21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 40.132 179.408
22 45 Rich Bickle (R) Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford 40.278 178.758
23 02 Jeff Purvis Taylor Racing Ford 40.305 178.638
24 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 40.373 178.337
25 47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 40.396 178.235
26 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 40.400 178.218
27 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 40.403 178.205
28 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 40.405 178.196
29 15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 40.410 178.174
30 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 40.410 178.174
31 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 40.438 178.050
32 44 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford 40.439 178.046
33 9 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford 40.443 178.028
34 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 40.446 178.015
35 61 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 40.481 177.861
36 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 40.524 177.672
37 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 40.545 177.580
38 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 40.591 177.379
39 98 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 40.642 177.157
Provisionals
40 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac -* -*
41 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford -* -*
Failed to qualify or withdrew
42 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 40.691 176.943
43 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 40.790 176.514
44 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 40.793 176.501
45 54 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 40.869 176.173
46 59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford 41.103 175.170
47 82 Laura Lane Miskotten Racing Ford 41.387 173.968
48 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 41.847 172.055
49 34 Bob Brevak Brevak Racing Ford - -
WD 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 40.295 178.682
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Ernie Irvan practice crash

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At around 8:40 AM EST, nearing the end of the first practice session that occurred on Saturday, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan was told to go for a practice run of 10 laps. The weather was extremely foggy and hazy according to Irvan's crew chief Larry McReynolds. In an interview for a documentary, McReynolds would say that Irvan would have a tendency to run a couple extra laps in order to "feel the car out". Irvan had completed his 10 lap run when he decided to run one more lap, as McReynolds had anticipated.[6] According to the driver behind Irvan, Ted Musgrave, when Irvan exited the second turn of the track, Irvan's car would suffer a right front tire failure at around 170 miles per hour (270 km/h). Musgrave would then say that Irvan tried to lock the brakes up in vain, as the car careened towards the outside wall. In another report by Ricky Rudd's crew chief, Bill Ingle, he had seen Irvan's car slip onto its left side before flipping back onto all four wheels and stopping.[7]

When first responders had arrived at the crash scene, they saw Irvan's mouth filled and spilling with blood, along with his nose also spilling blood; with this, his brain could not get enough oxygen in order to live. The doctor at the scene, Dr. John Maino, ordered an emergency tracheotomy to be performed on Irvan while he was in the car. The kit Maino had was missing his surgical knife, so he used a pocket knife in order to perform the tracheotomy, which was successful. After inserting a tube to let air into Irvan's system,[8] he was airlifted to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan where the doctor at the hospital, Dr. Errol Erlandson had reported that Irvan had suffered "severe major injuries in two organ areas, either of which could be fatal."[9] Erlandson would report that Irvan had suffered a skull fracture along with bruised lungs that had filled with fluid.[10] According to Ernie's wife, Kim, the doctor gave a 10-15% chance of survival to live through the night.[6] He would manage to make it through the night, but was unconscious for the next two days in critical condition. On Monday, his medication was reduced when he would regain some consciousness, with Irvan being able to move all of his extremities; but he was still in critical condition.[11] After around a month of recovery, Erlandson had reported that the condition of Irvan had been upgraded to "good", with his lungs back to normal and his brain recovering fast in a "miraculous" recovery. With this report, Irvan was allowed to head back to his home in Charlotte, North Carolina and enter the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation for further recovery.[12]

One week later, Irvan would make his first public appearance, making a news conference. In the conference, Irvan stated that he had hopes of returning to racing at the 1995 Daytona 500, and stated that his rehabilitation had been going well.[13] While he would not be featured on the entry list for that year's Daytona 500, he would eventually be cleared to race on September 5, and would eventually race his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in the 1995 Tyson Holly Farms 400.[14][15]

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 200 160 running 185 $89,595
2 13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 4 running 175 $50,320
3 9 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 200 7 running 170 $38,320
4 7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 200 2 running 165 $34,070
5 5 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 155 $28,415
6 40 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 150 $36,690
7 4 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 199 13 running 151 $23,015
8 17 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 142 $24,640
9 30 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 199 1 running 143 $21,190
10 15 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 199 0 running 134 $17,940
11 19 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 130 $17,690
12 21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 199 0 running 127 $17,190
13 29 15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 199 0 running 124 $21,790
14 10 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 199 0 running 121 $18,190
15 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 198 8 engine 123 $21,565
16 27 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 198 0 running 115 $14,240
17 2 43 John Andretti (R) Petty Enterprises Pontiac 198 0 running 112 $13,690
18 24 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 197 0 running 109 $16,590
19 20 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0 running 106 $11,815
20 41 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 197 5 running 108 $12,640
21 6 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 196 0 running 100 $11,665
22 14 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 196 0 running 97 $9,365
23 39 98 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 196 0 running 94 $11,365
24 38 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 189 0 running 91 $15,165
25 18 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 179 0 engine 88 $15,015
26 36 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 168 0 running 85 $18,815
27 35 61 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 162 0 wheel bearing 82 $8,765
28 23 02 Jeff Purvis Taylor Racing Ford 139 0 engine 79 $8,715
29 26 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 133 0 running 76 $8,615
30 31 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 133 0 running 73 $19,965
31 33 9 Phil Parsons Melling Racing Ford 132 0 running 70 $8,415
32 16 77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 126 0 engine 67 $9,865
33 28 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 121 0 running 64 $12,315
34 12 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 112 0 engine 61 $18,265
35 22 45 Rich Bickle (R) Terminal Trucking Motorsports Ford 106 0 engine 58 $8,215
36 37 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 76 0 engine 55 $8,190
37 11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 54 0 crash 52 $22,915
38 8 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 54 0 running 49 $8,140
39 25 47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 0 0 crash 46 $8,115
40 32 44 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford 0 0 crash 43 $8,065
41 34 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 0 0 crash 40 $8,565
Failed to qualify
42 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac
43 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford
44 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
45 54 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet
46 59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford
47 82 Laura Lane Miskotten Racing Ford
48 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford
49 34 Bob Brevak Brevak Racing Ford
WD 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Mike (August 22, 1994). "Competitor on Bodine's mind during winning ride". The Indianapolis Star. p. 28. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 22, 1994). "The long run". Evansville Press. p. 19. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Irvan clings to life". Wausau Daily Herald. August 21, 1994. p. 33. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. August 18, 1994. p. 26. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 20, 1994). "Geoff Bodine survives Andretti's bid to take Goodwrench pole". The Times and Democrat. p. 18. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ a b Miracles Happen! The Ernie Irvan Comeback, February 21, 2021, retrieved December 12, 2022
  7. ^ Clarke, Liz; Higgins, Tom (August 21, 1994). "Practice crash leaves driver with head, lung injuries". The Charlotte Observer. p. 143. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Dalton, Kyle (January 30, 2021). "Ernie Irvan Saved From Drowning in His Own Blood by Pocketknife and Emergency Tracheotomy After Horrifying NASCAR Accident". Sportscasting. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  9. ^ Higgins, Tom (August 21, 1994). "Irvan's rise didn't follow normal path". The Charlotte Observer. p. 143. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ "NASCAR's Irvan Injured in Crash : Motor racing: Driver is in critical condition with head and lung injuries after hitting the wall during practice at the Michigan International Speedway". Los Angeles Times. August 21, 1994. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Clarke, Liz (August 24, 1994). "Doctors encouraged by driver's progress". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ Clarke, Liz (September 16, 1994). "Ernie Irvan's race for recovery turns toward home". The Charlotte Observer. p. 12. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  13. ^ Clarke, Liz (September 23, 1994). "One miracle to go". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  14. ^ Caldwell, Clayton (June 11, 2009). "Ernie Irvan's Most Memorable Moment". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  15. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 2, 1995). "Irvan's outing answers some critics". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1994 The Bud at The Glen
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 season
Next race:
1994 Goody's 500 (Bristol)