1993 TranSouth 500
The 1993 TranSouth 500 was the fifth stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 28, 1993, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to overcome a first half struggle and dominate the second half of the race to take his 54th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 30 in the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1993 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott. | |||
| Date | March 28, 1993 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual TranSouth 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Average speed | 139.958 miles per hour (225.241 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | Set by 1993 owner's points | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 212 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Two round of qualifying were scheduled to be held on Friday, March 26, and Saturday, March 27.[3] However, Friday's sessions were cancelled due to rain, with both rounds then scheduled to commence on Saturday.[4] However, Saturday's sessions would also be cancelled due to rain, leaving qualifying to be determined by a system of owner's points and postmarks on entry list blanks. The top 30 positions would be determined by the current 1993 owner's points, while the final nine spots would be determined by a system of provisionals that included past winners, and finally postmarks.[5] As a result, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would win the pole.[6]
John McFadden was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 212 | running | 185 | $64,815 |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 367 | 123 | running | 175 | $38,875 |
| 3 | 4 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 367 | 1 | running | 170 | $30,685 |
| 4 | 16 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 367 | 2 | running | 165 | $23,125 |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 366 | 0 | running | 155 | $20,400 |
| 6 | 14 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 366 | 2 | running | 155 | $25,725 |
| 7 | 15 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 366 | 19 | running | 151 | $17,345 |
| 8 | 2 | 15 | Geoff Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 366 | 2 | running | 147 | $17,515 |
| 9 | 17 | 14 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 366 | 1 | running | 143 | $14,435 |
| 10 | 8 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 365 | 0 | running | 134 | $16,930 |
| 11 | 9 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 365 | 1 | running | 135 | $18,325 |
| 12 | 19 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 364 | 0 | running | 127 | $13,995 |
| 13 | 22 | 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 363 | 0 | running | 124 | $13,715 |
| 14 | 28 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 363 | 0 | running | 121 | $17,910 |
| 15 | 31 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 363 | 0 | running | 118 | $13,505 |
| 16 | 25 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 363 | 3 | running | 120 | $17,135 |
| 17 | 23 | 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 360 | 0 | running | 112 | $12,680 |
| 18 | 36 | 22 | Bobby Labonte (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Ford | 353 | 0 | running | 109 | $8,545 |
| 19 | 13 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 353 | 0 | running | 106 | $12,100 |
| 20 | 32 | 75 | Dick Trickle | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 348 | 0 | running | 103 | $7,270 |
| 21 | 18 | 8 | Sterling Marlin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 346 | 0 | running | 100 | $11,600 |
| 22 | 7 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 315 | 0 | overheating | 97 | $16,080 |
| 23 | 27 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 311 | 0 | engine | 94 | $8,260 |
| 24 | 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 275 | 1 | handling | 96 | $7,740 |
| 25 | 34 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | engine | 88 | $7,970 |
| 26 | 30 | 44 | Rick Wilson | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 250 | 0 | engine | 85 | $7,755 |
| 27 | 35 | 57 | Bob Schacht | Stringer Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 246 | 0 | rear end | 82 | $5,940 |
| 28 | 10 | 27 | Hut Stricklin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 234 | 0 | engine | 79 | $10,530 |
| 29 | 11 | 12 | Jimmy Spencer | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 212 | 0 | crash | 76 | $10,370 |
| 30 | 12 | 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 188 | 0 | engine | 73 | $10,310 |
| 31 | 33 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | 170 | 0 | head gasket | 70 | $5,675 |
| 32 | 26 | 40 | Kenny Wallace (R) | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 169 | 0 | head gasket | 67 | $5,640 |
| 33 | 21 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | overheating | 64 | $10,130 |
| 34 | 37 | 48 | James Hylton | Hylton Motorsports | Pontiac | 62 | 0 | handling | 61 | $5,545 |
| 35 | 29 | 90 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 52 | 0 | engine | 58 | $5,510 |
| 36 | 24 | 41 | Phil Parsons | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | camshaft | 55 | $7,000 |
| 37 | 20 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20 | 0 | engine | 52 | $14,460 |
| 38 | 38 | 53 | Mike Potter | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | 4 | 0 | handling | 49 | $5,440 |
| 39 | 39 | 63 | Norm Benning | O'Neil Racing | Oldsmobile | 1 | 0 | handling | 46 | $5,410 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 40 | 62 | John McFadden | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- Iacobelli, Pete (March 29, 1993). "Earnhardt makes proper corrections, speeds to victory in TranSouth 500". The Daily Herald. p. 12. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (March 29, 1993). "Earnhardt dominates TranSouth 500 field". The Herald-Sun. p. 4. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. March 26, 1996. p. 41. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (March 27, 1993). "Rain dampens Earnhardt's hopes". The Charlotte Observer. p. 22. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (March 28, 1993). "Qualifying rain out puts old rivals at front of field at Darlington". The Charlotte Observer. p. 71. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harris, Mike (March 28, 1993). "Earnhardt has that look in his eyes". York Sunday News. p. 32. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.