1991 Mello Yello 500
The 1991 Mello Yello 500 was the 26th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 6, 1991, before an audience of 159,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. Running on fumes, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Geoff Bodine would manage to run the final 76 laps of the race on one tank of fuel to take his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison and owner-driver Alan Kulwicki would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 26 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1991 Mello Yello 500 program cover, featuring Kyle Petty. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | October 6, 1991 | ||
| Official name | 32nd Annual Mello Yello 500 | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Average speed | 138.984 miles per hour (223.673 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 159,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 30.595 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 198 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
With a poor finish from Dale Earnhardt's nearest competitor in the driver's championship standings, Ricky Rudd, Earnhardt was considered the favorite to win the driver's championship, having a 138-point lead over Rudd.[4]
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was originally scheduled to be held on Wednesday, October 2, at 5:00 PM EST, but was delayed to Thursday, October 3, at 8:30 AM EST due to rain.[5] 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 Thursday, October 3, at 1:30 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; 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.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.595 and an average speed of 176.499 miles per hour (284.048 km/h) in the first round.[7][8]
Six drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 334 | 23 | running | 180 | $92,200 |
| 2 | 2 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 334 | 57 | running | 175 | $69,350 |
| 3 | 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 333 | 0 | running | 165 | $47,250 |
| 4 | 17 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 333 | 0 | running | 160 | $31,350 |
| 5 | 13 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 155 | $25,100 |
| 6 | 24 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 330 | 0 | running | 150 | $20,300 |
| 7 | 11 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 330 | 0 | running | 146 | $17,700 |
| 8 | 19 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 330 | 0 | running | 142 | $16,000 |
| 9 | 12 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 329 | 0 | running | 138 | $12,500 |
| 10 | 27 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | 134 | $12,300 |
| 11 | 9 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | 130 | $16,700 |
| 12 | 39 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 329 | 0 | running | 127 | $11,400 |
| 13 | 18 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 329 | 0 | running | 124 | $10,600 |
| 14 | 31 | 55 | Ted Musgrave (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 328 | 0 | running | 121 | $9,050 |
| 15 | 7 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 327 | 0 | running | 118 | $13,625 |
| 16 | 32 | 75 | Joe Ruttman | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 326 | 0 | running | 115 | $8,200 |
| 17 | 23 | 8 | Rick Wilson | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 325 | 0 | running | 112 | $7,800 |
| 18 | 35 | 53 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Team Ireland | Chevrolet | 324 | 0 | running | 109 | $4,600 |
| 19 | 41 | 90 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R) | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 323 | 0 | running | 106 | $4,700 |
| 20 | 25 | 24 | Jimmy Hensley | Team III Racing | Pontiac | 323 | 0 | running | 103 | $6,150 |
| 21 | 38 | 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | 322 | 0 | running | 100 | $4,175 |
| 22 | 30 | 49 | Stanley Smith (R) | BS&S Motorsports | Buick | 321 | 0 | running | 97 | $4,050 |
| 23 | 33 | 98 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 319 | 0 | ignition | 94 | $6,700 |
| 24 | 29 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 313 | 0 | ignition | 91 | $3,850 |
| 25 | 15 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 302 | 56 | valve | 93 | $22,460 |
| 26 | 22 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 302 | 0 | valve | 85 | $6,380 |
| 27 | 8 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 296 | 0 | running | 82 | $4,775 |
| 28 | 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 292 | 0 | accident | 79 | $10,525 |
| 29 | 14 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 283 | 0 | engine | 76 | $4,100 |
| 30 | 4 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 263 | 0 | accident | 73 | $12,875 |
| 31 | 21 | 47 | Greg Sacks | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 252 | 0 | engine | 70 | $3,300 |
| 32 | 10 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 232 | 0 | accident | 67 | $10,550 |
| 33 | 26 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 225 | 0 | accident | 64 | $5,825 |
| 34 | 28 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 225 | 0 | accident | 61 | $11,575 |
| 35 | 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 212 | 198 | engine | 68 | $70,955 |
| 36 | 16 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 135 | 0 | piston | 55 | $5,740 |
| 37 | 37 | 95 | Kerry Teague | Sadler Brothers Racing | Oldsmobile | 124 | 0 | accident | 52 | $3,125 |
| 38 | 5 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 59 | 0 | piston | 49 | $6,615 |
| 39 | 34 | 27 | Gary Balough | Linro Motorsports | Pontiac | 42 | 0 | camshaft | 46 | $3,110 |
| 40 | 40 | 13 | Mike Skinner | Mansion Motorsports | Chevrolet | 12 | 0 | oil line | 43 | $3,105 |
| 41 | 36 | 66 | Dorsey Schroeder | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 2 | 0 | head gasket | 40 | $5,105 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 42 | 41 | Larry Pearson | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 43 | 20 | Buddy Baker | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | ||||||
| 44 | 51 | Jeff Purvis (R) | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 45 | 74 | Mike Potter | Wawak Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 46 | 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 47 | 87 | Randy Baker | Buck Baker Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (October 7, 1991). "Gas gamble pays dividend for Bodine (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 11. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 7, 1991). "Gas gamble pays dividend for Bodine (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 18. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Foreman Jr., Tom (October 7, 1991). "Geoff Bodine beats Allison". The Morning Call. p. 40. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Clarke, Liz; Higgins, Tom (October 7, 1991). "Earnhardt closing in on title?". The Charlotte Observer. p. 18. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 3, 1991). "Rain-delayed qualifying resumes today". The Charlotte Observer. p. 21. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Charlotte race week schedule". The Charlotte Observer. October 2, 1991. p. 14. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 4, 1991). "Martin manages a record (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 4, 1991). "Martin manages a record (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 17. Retrieved March 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.