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.
| 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. | |||
| 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
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
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
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
Race results
| 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. July 18, 1991. p. 27. Retrieved February 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- 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.
- 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.