1993 Food City 500
The 1993 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 4, 1993, in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his 23rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and SABCO Racing driver Kyle Petty would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 30 in the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1993 Food City 500 program cover, featuring Larry Carrier. | |||
| Date | April 4, 1993 | ||
| Official name | 33rd Annual Food City 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 84.73 miles per hour (136.36 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 68,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske Racing South | ||
| Time | 15.866 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| Laps | 376 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| 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 by the death of Alan Kulwicki, last year's champion. Kulwicki had died while traveling to Bristol Motor Speedway in an airplane crash on the evening of Thursday, April 1. As a result, his team would withdraw from the race.[3][4]
Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
*Withdrew due to Kulwicki dying in a plane crash.[4]
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 2, 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, April 3, 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 21-32 would be decided on time,[5] 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.
Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.866 and an average speed of 120.938 miles per hour (194.631 km/h) in the first round.[6]
Two drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- Sharp, Tom (April 5, 1993). "Wallace dedicates win to Kulwicki - runs two 'Polish victory laps'". The Morning Call. p. 20. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Coble, Don (April 5, 1993). "Wallace gets emotional win". Clarion-Ledger. p. 20. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Lloyd, Leslie (April 2, 1993). "Kulwicki feared dead". Rapid City Journal. p. 13. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Clarke, Liz (April 3, 1993). "Friends look for answers in Kulwicki's death". Sun-News. p. 17. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. April 2, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 3, 1993). "Wallace wins pole, but thoughts with Kulwicki". The Charlotte Observer. p. 24. Retrieved January 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.