1991 Hanes 500

Race details
Race 8 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 Hanes 500 program cover, featuring Geoff Bodine.
Date	April 28, 1991
Official name	42nd Annual Hanes 500
Location	Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Scheduled Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Average speed	75.139 miles per hour (120.924 km/h)
Attendance	44,000
Pole position
Driver	Mark Martin	Roush Racing
Time	20.594
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	251
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

The 1991 Hanes 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 28, 1991, before an audience of 44,000 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. With the assist of a late caution, on the final restart with 38 laps to go in the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to mount a late-race charge to the lead on the ensuing restart to take his 50th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. ^{[1] [2] [3]} To fill out the top three, SABCO Racing driver Kyle Petty and owner-driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

Qualifying

Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 27, at 3:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-30 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, April 28. ^[4] However, due to rain, the second round was cancelled. As a result, the rest of the starting lineup was set using the results from the first round. 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. ^[5]

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.594 and an average speed of 91.949 miles per hour (147.978 km/h). ^[6]

Five drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Ricky Rudd 1,233 2 Dale Earnhardt 1,191 (-42) 3 Ernie Irvan 1,111 (-122) 1 4 Darrell Waltrip 1,106 (–127) 3 5 Davey Allison 1,055 (–178) 3 6 Michael Waltrip 1,028 (–205) 3 7 Mark Martin 1,027 (–206) 2 8 Morgan Shepherd 1,011 (–222) 2 9 Ken Schrader 1,005 (–228) 2 10 Harry Gant 1,005 (–228) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References