1994 Purolator 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1994 Purolator 500 program cover, featuring Morgan Shepherd, Bill Elliott, and David Pearson. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | March 13, 1994 | ||
| Official name | 35th Annual Purolator 500 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | ||
| Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Average speed | 146.136 miles per hour (235.183 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 102,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | TriStar Motorsports | ||
| Time | 30.405 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 207 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1994 Purolator 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 13, 1994, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would manage to complete a dominant performance for the majority of the race to take his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second victory of the season, and his second straight victory.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd and owner-driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[edit]
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
[edit]- (R) - denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 11, at 2:30 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, March 12, at 10:30 AM 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,[3] 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; which was usually two. 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.
Loy Allen Jr., driving for TriStar Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.405 and an average speed of 180.207 miles per hour (290.015 km/h) in the first round.[4]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
[edit]Race results
[edit]Standings after the race
[edit]
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References
[edit]- ^ Harris, Mike (March 14, 1994). "Irvan Captures Atlanta Victory". Valley News. p. 16. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Thompson, Chuck (March 14, 1994). "Irvan breaks new ground with second straight NASCAR win". Muncie Evening Press. p. 21. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. March 10, 1996. p. 31. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Mike (March 12, 1994). "Rookie Allen races to 2nd pole". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 17. Retrieved November 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
