1994 Budweiser 500

1994 Budweiser 500
Race details
Race 12 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1994 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
The 1994 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
Date June 5, 1994
Official name 26th Annual Budweiser 500
Location Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 500 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 102.529 miles per hour (165.004 km/h)
Attendance 94,000
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 23.691
Most laps led
Driver Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing
Laps 313
Winner
No. 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Mike Joy, Dick Berggren, Kenny Wallace
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1994 Budweiser 500 was the 12th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 45th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 5, 1994, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace was able to defend against a late race charge against Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan to take his 34th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his third victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Ernie Irvan and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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

Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

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
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
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Teletron
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
47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford Johnson Standridge Racing
52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Petron Plus
59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford Metal Arrester
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
84 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile 84 Lumber
90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
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, June 3, at 3:00 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, June 4, 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 21-34 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; which was usually two. 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 23.691 and an average speed of 151.956 miles per hour (244.549 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

[edit]
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 23.691 151.956
2 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 23.724 151.745
3 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.774 151.426
4 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 23.956 150.276
5 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 24.019 149.881
6 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 24.049 149.694
7 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 24.099 149.384
8 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 24.109 149.322
9 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 24.113 149.297
10 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 24.124 149.229
11 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 24.135 149.161
12 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 24.181 148.877
13 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 24.184 148.859
14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 24.236 148.539
15 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 24.237 148.533
16 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 24.244 148.490
17 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 24.245 148.484
18 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 24.249 148.460
19 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 24.251 148.447
20 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 24.258 148.404
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 24.009 149.944
22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 24.043 149.732
23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 24.160 149.007
24 98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 24.212 148.687
25 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 24.213 148.680
26 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 24.258 148.405
27 43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 24.273 148.313
28 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 24.278 148.282
29 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 24.292 148.197
30 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 24.293 148.191
31 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 24.306 148.112
32 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 24.315 148.057
33 14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 24.361 147.777
34 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 24.375 147.692
35 12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 24.439 147.306
36 77 Greg Sacks Jasper Motorsports Ford 24.485 147.029
37 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 24.489 147.005
38 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 24.510 146.879
39 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 24.520 146.819
40 15 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 24.562 146.568
Provisionals
41 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
42 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 84 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
44 59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford -* -*
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 6 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 500 150 running 180 $70,605
2 1 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 500 313 running 180 $54,830
3 20 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 0 running 165 $35,605
4 32 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 500 1 running 165 $29,765
5 23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 0 running 155 $33,570
6 16 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 499 0 running 150 $22,365
7 34 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 499 2 running 151 $20,515
8 30 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 498 0 running 142 $22,415
9 38 23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 498 0 running 138 $17,165
10 27 43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 497 0 running 134 $16,865
11 31 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 497 0 running 130 $21,615
12 40 15 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 497 0 running 127 $20,115
13 41 90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 496 0 running 124 $14,015
14 3 41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 496 0 running 121 $13,115
15 39 19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 495 0 running 118 $9,665
16 12 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 494 0 running 115 $12,065
17 10 55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 493 1 running 117 $8,965
18 29 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 490 5 running 114 $11,650
19 18 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 489 0 running 106 $11,465
20 4 22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 482 0 crash 103 $15,965
21 35 12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 482 0 running 100 $15,165
22 33 14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 482 0 running 97 $12,615
23 24 98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 481 0 running 94 $10,965
24 36 77 Greg Sacks Jasper Motorsports Ford 476 0 running 91 $10,815
25 9 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 444 0 crash 88 $19,465
26 22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 438 0 running 85 $18,415
27 15 29 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 428 0 running 82 $10,565
28 14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 425 0 running 79 $22,065
29 13 18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 424 0 running 76 $19,665
30 17 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 402 0 handling 73 $14,315
31 5 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 397 0 engine 70 $14,165
32 21 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 376 14 running 72 $14,605
33 26 8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 365 0 running 64 $13,555
34 8 40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 359 0 crash 61 $12,005
35 7 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 358 0 crash 58 $11,805
36 25 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 339 0 running 55 $7,780
37 11 31 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 218 0 crash 52 $7,780
38 19 32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 171 0 crash 49 $7,780
39 28 27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 95 0 crash 46 $7,780
40 42 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 84 0 axle 43 $7,780
41 2 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 68 14 crash 45 $12,180
42 37 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 14 0 crash 37 $12,180
Failed to qualify
43 84 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile
44 59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Brinster, Dick (June 6, 1994). "Wallace holds off Irvan for Budweiser 500 win". The Times and Democrat. p. 11. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Treffinger, Dave (June 6, 1994). "Wallace wins Budweiser 500 in final 100 laps". Courier-Post. p. 36. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. June 3, 1996. p. 23. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Brinster, Dick (June 6, 1994). "Irvan grabs pole position for Budweiser 500". The Times and Democrat. p. 14. Retrieved November 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1994 Coca-Cola 600
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 season
Next race:
1994 UAW-GM Teamwork 500