The 1991 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 26, 1991, before an audience of 160,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. On the final restart with nine to go, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to hold off the field to complete a dominant run in the race, earning him his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

1991 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 10 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1991 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date May 26, 1991
Official name 32nd Annual Coca-Cola 600
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Average speed 138.951 miles per hour (223.620 km/h)
Attendance 160,000
Pole position
Driver Roush Racing
Time 30.889
Most laps led
Driver Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Laps 263
Winner
No. 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

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
03 Kerry Teague Teague Racing Oldsmobile Gunk Green Cleaner
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 Tommy Ellis* Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick Raybestos
13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet Glidden
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
20 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Rob Moroso Memorial
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile Bojangles
24 Mickey Gibbs 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
34 Dick Trickle AAG Racing Buick OnSat
41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kenny Wallace SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile Slim Jim
47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile Kanawha Insurance
49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick Interstate Batteries
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac Overton's
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 Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Stahl Racing
86 Jeff Green Pinnacle Racing Chevrolet Sea Ray
87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet Armour Classics
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Donlavey Racing
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods
99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet Traffic Engineering Services

*Before the race, owner Junior Johnson, along with the team's crew chief, Tim Brewer, were suspended for 12 weeks. As a result, the team would change ownership for the race, changing the owner to Flossie Johnson, Junior's wife, along with changing the car's number to 97.[5][6]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 22, 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 Thursday, May 23, at 1:00 PM 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,[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; up to two 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.

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.889 and an average speed of 174.820 miles per hour (281.346 km/h) in the first round.[8][9]

Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.889 174.820
2 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 30.931 174.582
3 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.942 174.520
4 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.991 174.244
5 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 31.057 173.874
6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 31.133 173.449
7 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.147 173.371
8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 31.173 173.227
9 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 31.255 172.772
10 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 31.265 172.717
11 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 31.274 172.667
12 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.311 172.463
13 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 31.351 172.243
14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.361 172.188
15 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 31.366 172.161
16 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 31.384 172.062
17 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.409 171.925
18 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 31.417 171.881
19 42 Kenny Wallace SABCO Racing Pontiac 31.488 171.494
20 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 31.505 171.401
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 31.524 171.298
22 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.530 171.265
23 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 31.545 171.184
24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.549 171.162
25 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.568 171.059
26 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 31.587 170.956
27 24 Mickey Gibbs Team III Racing Pontiac 31.599 170.891
28 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.602 170.875
29 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.633 170.708
30 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 31.647 170.632
31 20 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 31.658 170.573
32 49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick 31.680 170.455
33 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 31.685 170.428
34 97 Tommy Ellis Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 31.691 170.395
35 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 31.701 170.342
36 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 31.706 170.315
37 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.773 169.956
38 34 Dick Trickle AAG Racing Buick 31.925 169.146
39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 32.047 168.503
40 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 32.071 168.376
Provisional
41 90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 32.242 167.483
Failed to qualify
42 44 Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile -* -*
43 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
44 03 Kerry Teague Teague Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
45 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
46 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford -* -*
47 86 Jeff Green Pinnacle Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet -* -*
49 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports 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 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 400 263 running 185 $137,100
2 3 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 60 running 175 $84,850
3 14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 26 running 170 $53,650
4 7 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 400 11 running 165 $37,700
5 12 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 400 3 running 160 $27,400
6 30 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 400 19 running 155 $25,400
7 6 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0 running 146 $24,200
8 18 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0 running 142 $15,500
9 17 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0 running 138 $21,500
10 13 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 399 0 running 134 $21,750
11 4 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 398 0 running 130 $15,000
12 21 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 398 0 running 127 $19,700
13 19 42 Kenny Wallace SABCO Racing Pontiac 398 1 running 129 $17,700
14 20 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 397 0 running 121 $17,000
15 2 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 397 9 running 123 $20,200
16 34 97 Tommy Ellis Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 396 0 running 0 $8,800
17 37 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 395 0 running 112 $11,000
18 28 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 394 0 running 109 $11,255
19 31 20 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 390 0 engine 106 $8,500
20 24 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 383 0 accident 103 $10,000
21 35 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 359 0 running 100 $9,200
22 9 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 353 5 engine 102 $7,000
23 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 339 3 engine 99 $55,400
24 40 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 336 0 running 91 $5,600
25 23 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 329 0 engine 88 $6,450
26 11 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 315 0 engine 85 $13,200
27 29 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 310 0 engine 82 $5,350
28 5 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 300 0 overheating 79 $9,350
29 16 66 Lake Speed Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 296 0 engine 76 $7,650
30 15 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 287 0 running 73 $8,500
31 33 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 278 0 engine 70 $7,375
32 25 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 270 0 engine 67 $7,275
33 41 90 Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 254 0 transmission 64 $4,550
34 27 24 Mickey Gibbs Team III Racing Pontiac 251 0 running 61 $4,500
35 8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 205 0 engine 58 $11,965
36 32 49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick 128 0 brakes 55 $4,435
37 36 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 58 0 cylinder 52 $4,415
38 39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 32 0 engine 49 $5,520
39 26 47 Greg Sacks Close Racing Oldsmobile 21 0 accident 46 $4,980
40 38 34 Dick Trickle AAG Racing Buick 19 0 accident 43 $4,360
41 22 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 12 0 overheating 40 $4,360
Failed to qualify
42 44 Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile
43 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
44 03 Kerry Teague Teague Racing Oldsmobile
45 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet
46 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford
47 86 Jeff Green Pinnacle Racing Chevrolet
48 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet
49 13 Mike Skinner Mansion Motorsports Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 27, 1991). "Another 600, another Allison (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 27, 1991). "Another 600, another Allison (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 17. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Foreman Jr., Tom (May 27, 1991). "Allison's Ford flies at Charlotte (Part 1)". The Herald-Sun. p. 25. Retrieved February 15, 2023.  
  4. ^ Foreman Jr., Tom (May 27, 1991). "Allison's Ford flies at Charlotte (Part 2)". The Herald-Sun. p. 28. Retrieved February 15, 2023.  
  5. ^ Johnson, Mark (May 25, 1991). "New racing twist: Go, Flossie, go!". Sun-News. p. 20. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 26, 1991). "Johnson's crew looking for win for 'Team Floss'". The Charlotte Observer. p. 55. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ "Charlotte race week schedule". The Charlotte Observer. May 22, 1991. p. 103. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  8. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 23, 1991). "600 pole is set (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  9. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 23, 1991). "600 pole is set (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 32. Retrieved February 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1991 Winston 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1991 season
Next race:
1991 Budweiser 500