1991 Pontiac Excitement 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1991 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | February 24, 1991 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual Pontiac Excitement 400 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 105.937 miles per hour (170.489 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 51,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 22.420 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 154 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett, Ken Stabler | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1991 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the second stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 24, 1991, before an audience of 51,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. Battling to the finish, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to defend against Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd in the final laps of the race to take his 49th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Rudd and Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[edit]
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt racetrack located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
*Fired after first-round qualifying and replaced by Bobby Hillin Jr. for the race.[3]
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 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 Saturday, February 23, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-34 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 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.
Davey Allison, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.420 and an average speed of 120.428 miles per hour (193.810 km/h) in the first round.[5]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
[edit]Race results
[edit]Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 25, 1991). "Earnhardt In Groove In 400 Win". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Macenka, Joe (February 25, 1991). "Earnhardt Outduels Rudd In Clean Finish in Virginia". The Scranton Times-Tribune. p. 16. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Macenka, Joe (February 24, 1991). "Swindell fired by Moroso; Hillin will take over driving duties". The State. p. 11. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. February 22, 1991. p. 39. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 23, 1991). "Allison Nips Kulwicki To Win 2nd Straight Pole". The Charlotte Observer. p. 41. Retrieved February 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.