1991 Pyroil 500

The 1991 Pyroil 500 was the 28th and penultimate stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the ninth and the final race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston West Series season, and the fourth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 3, 1991, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 312 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to dominate the late stages of the race, leading 162 of the final 166 laps of the race to take his 13th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth and final victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin would finish second and third, respectively.

1991 Pyroil 500
Race details
Race 28 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Pyroil 500 program cover.
The 1991 Pyroil 500 program cover.
Date November 3, 1991
Official name 4th Annual Pyroil 500
Location Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Scheduled Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Average speed 95.746 miles per hour (154.088 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Junior Johnson & Associates
Time 28.220
Most laps led
Driver Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Laps 162
Winner
No. 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In the driver's championship for the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt was considered the extremely heavy favorite to win the championship, only needing to start the next race, the 1991 Hardee's 500, to win the championship.[4][5]

Background

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

Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.

Entry list

  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Oldsmobile Oliver Gravity Separators
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
04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac U.S. Bank
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
09 R. K. Smith Midgley Racing Pontiac Midgley Racing
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick Raybestos
14 Mike Chase A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet Copenhagen, Freymiller Trucking
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet All-Pro Auto Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Ford "Proud Sponsor of Team USA"
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Maxwell House
22W St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick St. James Racing
23 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac Gear Engineering
24 Kenny Wallace 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
29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile Justin Boots
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet Chesrown Automotive Group
41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile Labonte Motorsports
44W Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick Coca-Cola
49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick Interstate Batteries
51 Jeff Purvis (R) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
52 Mike Wallace Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac Jasper Engines & Transmissions
58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Oldsmobile Kell's Auto
66 Randy LaJoie Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile Country Time
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet Texaco, Havoline
73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford Motorcraft
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet Spears Manufacturing
86 Ron Hornaday Jr. Benison Racing Chevrolet National Cold Storage
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
91 Robert Sprague Rouse Racing Ford Area Glass & Mirror
93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick Taco Bell
94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
97 Billy Jac Shaw Beebe Racing Buick Taco Bell
98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Banquet Foods
99 John Krebs KC Racing Pontiac Skoal

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 1, at 5:30 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, November 2, at 2:00 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,[6] 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 one for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and two extra provisionals for the NASCAR Winston West Series. 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 Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.220 and an average speed of 127.569 miles per hour (205.302 km/h) in the first round.[7]

14 drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 28.220 127.569
2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 28.227 127.537
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 28.255 127.411
4 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 28.269 127.348
5 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 28.273 127.330
6 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 28.294 127.235
7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.328 127.083
8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 28.338 127.038
9 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 28.394 126.787
10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 28.429 126.631
11 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 28.442 126.573
12 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.460 126.493
13 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.514 126.254
14 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.535 126.161
15 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 28.548 126.103
16 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 28.583 125.949
17 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.632 125.733
18 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 28.713 125.379
19 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 28.722 125.339
20 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 28.730 125.305
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 28.733 125.291
22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 28.754 125.200
23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 28.759 125.178
24 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 28.770 125.130
25 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 28.792 125.035
26 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 28.801 124.996
27 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 28.802 124.991
28 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 28.803 124.987
29 66 Randy LaJoie Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 28.817 124.926
30 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 28.877 124.667
31 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.877 124.667
32 14 Mike Chase A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 28.891 124.606
33 49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick 28.916 124.499
34 51 Jeff Purvis (R) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 28.922 124.473
35 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 28.951 124.348
36 72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet 28.963 124.297
37 29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile 28.982 124.215
38 52 Mike Wallace Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 29.043 123.954
39 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford 29.099 123.716
40 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 29.122 123.618
Winston Cup provisional
41 24 Kenny Wallace Team III Racing Pontiac -* -*
Winston West provisionals
42 23 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac -* -*
43 04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 22W St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick -* -*
45 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac -* -*
46 99 John Krebs KC Racing Pontiac -* -*
47 37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Oldsmobile -* -*
49 86 Ron Hornaday Jr. Benison Racing Chevrolet -* -*
50 44W Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick -* -*
51 15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet -* -*
52 00 Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
53 97 Billy Jac Shaw Beebe Racing Buick -* -*
54 91 Robert Sprague Rouse Racing Ford -* -*
55 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick -* -*
56 44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile -* -*
57 09 R. K. Smith Midgley Racing Pontiac -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 13 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 312 162 running 185 $78,500
2 11 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 312 25 running 175 $37,225
3 9 22 Sterling Marlin Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 312 0 running 170 $25,000
4 5 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 312 1 running 165 $22,600
5 10 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Pontiac 312 0 running 155 $16,475
6 15 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2 running 155 $18,100
7 26 98 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 311 4 running 151 $12,850
8 1 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 311 53 running 147 $19,050
9 12 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 0 running 138 $18,200
10 19 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 311 0 running 134 $16,750
11 14 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 311 0 running 130 $13,250
12 35 94 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 311 0 running 127 $9,750
13 40 68 Bobby Hamilton (R) TriStar Motorsports Oldsmobile 311 1 running 129 $8,100
14 8 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 311 1 running 126 $9,050
15 22 8 Rick Wilson Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 311 10 running 118 $9,000
16 6 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 311 0 running 115 $12,950
17 7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 310 0 running 112 $7,750
18 21 55 Ted Musgrave (R) U.S. Racing Pontiac 310 0 running 109 $5,700
19 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 310 20 running 111 $13,550
20 18 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 309 2 running 108 $12,225
21 24 76 Bill Sedgwick Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 308 0 running 100 $5,050
22 27 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 308 0 running 97 $6,925
23 4 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 307 0 running 94 $7,050
24 30 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 307 0 running 91 $6,725
25 2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 307 0 running 88 $12,450
26 32 14 Mike Chase A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 305 0 running 85 $3,825
27 43 04 Hershel McGriff Lipseia Racing Pontiac 300 0 running 82 $3,800
28 25 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 299 0 running 79 $6,525
29 42 23 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Pontiac 299 0 running 76 $3,750
30 28 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 298 0 running 73 $4,925
31 38 52 Mike Wallace Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 246 0 running 70 $3,700
32 29 66 Randy LaJoie Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 203 0 engine 67 $6,100
33 31 41 Larry Pearson Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 178 0 accident 64 $3,400
34 36 72 Mark Reed Reed Racing Chevrolet 177 0 valve 61 $3,375
35 17 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 151 19 engine 63 $6,000
36 33 49 Stanley Smith (R) BS&S Motorsports Buick 150 12 accident 60 $3,325
37 39 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Ford 136 0 accident 52 $3,305
38 34 51 Jeff Purvis (R) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 127 0 engine 49 $3,295
39 16 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 105 0 accident 46 $5,910
40 23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 91 0 a-frame 43 $5,850
41 20 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 89 0 accident 40 $3,250
42 37 29 Gary Collins Collins Motorsports Oldsmobile 61 0 accident 37 $3,250
43 41 24 Kenny Wallace Team III Racing Pontiac 1 0 steering 34 $3,000
Failed to qualify
44 22W St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick
45 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac
46 99 John Krebs KC Racing Pontiac
47 37 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet
48 58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Oldsmobile
49 86 Ron Hornaday Jr. Benison Racing Chevrolet
50 44W Jack Sellers Emerson Racing Buick
51 15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet
52 00 Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Oldsmobile
53 97 Billy Jac Shaw Beebe Racing Buick
54 91 Robert Sprague Rouse Racing Ford
55 93 Troy Beebe Beebe Racing Buick
56 44 Irv Hoerr Labonte Motorsports Oldsmobile
57 09 R. K. Smith Midgley Racing Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. Higgins, Tom (November 4, 1991). "Allison overtakes Rudd, field in Phoenix (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. Higgins, Tom (November 4, 1991). "Allison overtakes Rudd, field in Phoenix (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. Harris, Mike (November 4, 1991). "Earnhardt has title within reach". The York Dispatch. p. 17. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Higgins, Tom (November 4, 1991). "Earnhardt a start from title (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. Higgins, Tom (November 4, 1991). "Earnhardt a start from title (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. November 1, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. Higgins, Tom (November 2, 1991). "G. Bodine leads record-breaking qualifying". The Charlotte Observer. p. 19. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com. open access
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