17th race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Motor car race
The 1991 DieHard 500 was the 17th
stock car race of the
1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 23rd iteration of the
event . The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1991, before an audience of 95,000 in
Lincoln, Alabama at
Talladega Superspeedway , a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped
superspeedway . The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race,
Richard Childress Racing driver
Dale Earnhardt would manage to fend off the field, leading the final 28 laps of the race to take his 51st career
NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4] To fill out the top three,
Melling Racing driver
Bill Elliott and
Roush Racing driver
Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
The layout of
Talladega Superspeedway , the venue where the race was held.
Talladega Superspeedway , originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS) , is a
motorsports complex located north of
Talladega, Alabama . It is located on the former
Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of
Lincoln . The track is a
tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the
International Speedway Corporation , a business controlled by the
France family . Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the
NASCAR series such as the
NASCAR Cup Series ,
Xfinity Series and the
Camping World Truck Series . Talladega is the longest
NASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the
Daytona International Speedway , which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, July 24, at 4:30 PM
EST . Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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 Friday, July 25, at 4:30 PM
EST . As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-40 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 provisionals 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.
Sterling Marlin , driving for
Junior Johnson & Associates , would win the pole, setting a time of 49.853 and an average speed of 192.085 miles per hour (309.131 km/h) in the first round.
[6]
[7]
Two drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Fin
St
#
Driver
Team
Make
Laps
Led
Status
Pts
Winnings
1
4
3
Dale Earnhardt
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
188
101
running
185
$88,670
2
5
9
Bill Elliott
Melling Racing
Ford
188
1
running
175
$51,185
3
2
6
Mark Martin
Roush Racing
Ford
188
3
running
170
$46,390
4
18
5
Ricky Rudd
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
188
2
running
165
$29,400
5
1
22
Sterling Marlin
Junior Johnson & Associates
Ford
188
33
running
160
$27,075
6
8
2
Rusty Wallace
Penske Racing South
Pontiac
188
1
running
155
$16,250
7
13
30
Michael Waltrip
Bahari Racing
Pontiac
188
4
running
151
$16,050
8
40
21
Dale Jarrett
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
188
8
running
147
$14,400
9
7
28
Davey Allison
Robert Yates Racing
Ford
188
12
running
143
$19,120
10
19
75
Joe Ruttman
RahMoc Enterprises
Oldsmobile
188
0
running
134
$15,800
11
21
42
Bobby Hillin Jr.
SABCO Racing
Pontiac
188
0
running
130
$16,330
12
6
19
Chad Little
Little Racing
Ford
188
7
running
132
$8,250
13
34
20
Buddy Baker
Moroso Racing
Oldsmobile
188
0
running
124
$9,930
14
22
15
Morgan Shepherd
Bud Moore Engineering
Ford
188
0
running
121
$14,860
15
14
17
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports
Chevrolet
188
1
running
123
$10,135
16
10
7
Alan Kulwicki
AK Racing
Ford
187
0
running
115
$14,550
17
28
41
Larry Pearson
Larry Hedrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
187
0
running
112
$7,385
18
20
43
Richard Petty
Petty Enterprises
Pontiac
187
0
running
109
$10,880
19
33
47
Greg Sacks
Close Racing
Oldsmobile
186
0
running
106
$7,100
20
24
24
Dick Trickle
Team III Racing
Pontiac
186
0
running
103
$9,160
21
41
71
Dave Marcis
Marcis Auto Racing
Chevrolet
186
0
running
100
$9,980
22
32
73
Phil Barkdoll
Barkdoll Racing
Oldsmobile
185
0
running
97
$6,625
23
36
52
Jimmy Means
Jimmy Means Racing
Pontiac
185
0
running
94
$6,370
24
35
94
Terry Labonte
Hagan Racing
Oldsmobile
184
0
running
91
$9,215
25
31
14
Mike Chase
A. J. Foyt Racing
Oldsmobile
184
0
running
88
$6,110
26
27
55
Ted Musgrave (R)
U.S. Racing
Pontiac
182
0
running
85
$7,635
27
39
95
Eddie Bierschwale
Sadler Brothers Racing
Chevrolet
181
0
running
82
$5,865
28
17
1
Rick Mast
Precision Products Racing
Oldsmobile
166
10
crash
84
$8,645
29
15
12
Hut Stricklin
Bobby Allison Motorsports
Buick
150
5
crash
81
$8,475
30
11
11
Geoff Bodine
Junior Johnson & Associates
Ford
150
0
crash
73
$14,455
31
23
49
Stanley Smith (R)
BS&S Motorsports
Buick
147
0
oil pressure
70
$5,985
32
29
26
Brett Bodine
King Racing
Buick
146
0
oil pressure
67
$8,215
33
3
4
Ernie Irvan
Morgan–McClure Motorsports
Chevrolet
146
0
crash
64
$13,645
34
16
68
Bobby Hamilton (R)
TriStar Motorsports
Oldsmobile
130
0
running
61
$5,400
35
37
10
Derrike Cope
Whitcomb Racing
Chevrolet
117
0
oil pan
58
$13,755
36
12
66
Lake Speed
Cale Yarborough Motorsports
Pontiac
109
0
axle
55
$7,995
37
38
98
Jimmy Spencer
Travis Carter Enterprises
Chevrolet
102
0
engine
52
$7,945
38
30
8
Rick Wilson
Stavola Brothers Racing
Buick
102
0
crash
49
$7,895
39
9
33
Harry Gant
Leo Jackson Motorsports
Oldsmobile
90
0
crash
46
$7,815
40
25
25
Ken Schrader
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
77
0
valve
43
$7,150
41
26
90
Wally Dallenbach Jr. (R)
Donlavey Racing
Ford
2
0
crash
40
$5,150
Failed to qualify
42
51
Jeff Purvis (R)
Phoenix Racing
Oldsmobile
43
59
Mark Gibson
Gibson Racing
Pontiac
Official race results
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos
Driver
Points
1
Dale Earnhardt
2,635
2
Ricky Rudd
2,475 (-160)
1
3
Davey Allison
2,393 (-242)
1
4
Ernie Irvan
2,359 (–276)
1
5
Mark Martin
2,330 (–305)
1
6
Ken Schrader
2,279 (–356)
7
Darrell Waltrip
2,259 (–376)
1
8
Sterling Marlin
2,156 (–479)
1
9
Harry Gant
2,131 (–504)
10
Rusty Wallace
2,126 (–509)
Official driver's standings
Note : Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
^ Higgins, Tom (July 29, 1991).
"Earnhardt fends off slingshot conspiracy to win (Part 1)" .
The Charlotte Observer . p. 13. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Higgins, Tom (July 29, 1991).
"Earnhardt fends off slingshot conspiracy to win (Part 2)" .
The Charlotte Observer . p. 15. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Harris, Mike (July 29, 1991).
"Leader of the packs (Part 1)" .
The Paducah Sun . p. 13. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Harris, Mike (July 29, 1991).
"Leader of the packs (Part 2)" .
The Paducah Sun . p. 16. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"NASCAR today" .
The Charlotte Observer . July 26, 1991. p. 19. Retrieved February 22, 2023 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Higgins, Tom (July 26, 1991).
"Marlin edges Martin for Talladega pole (Part 1)" .
The Charlotte Observer . p. 39. Retrieved February 22, 2023 .
^ Higgins, Tom (July 26, 1991).
"Marlin edges Martin for Talladega pole (Part 2)" .
The Charlotte Observer . p. 44. Retrieved February 22, 2023 .
Points races Exhibition races