1994 Coca-Cola 600

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1994 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 11 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 Coca-Cola 600.jpeg
The 1994 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date May 29, 1994 (1994-05-29)
Official name 35th Annual Coca-Cola 600
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 1.5 miles (2.41 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Average speed 139.445 miles per hour (224.415 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 29.762
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South
Laps 187
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Richard Petty
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

The 1994 Coca-Cola 600 was the 11th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 29, 1994, in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. Gambling with a two-tire stop 20 laps from the end of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to fend off the field for the final 20 laps of the race to take his first victory of the season and his first career win in a points-paying NASCAR Winston Cup Series race. [1] [2] [3] [4] To fill out the top three, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace and owner-driver Geoff Bodine would finish second and third, respectively.

Contents

Background

The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held. Charlotte Motor Speedway diagram.svg
The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

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

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
02 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Taylor Racing Ford Children's Miracle Network Hospitals
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford Exide
8 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Rich Bickle Melling Racing Ford Orkin
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Bobby Allison Motorsports
14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet Bryant Heating & Cooling
15 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford Ford Quality Care
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford Hooters
20 Randy LaJoie Moroso Racing Ford FINA
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Maxwell House
23 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford Smokin' Joe's
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford Quaker State
27 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford McDonald's
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Diamond Ridge Motorsports
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet Hardee's
32 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet Active Trucking
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
40 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac Kendall
41 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Meineke
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello
43 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford Buss Fuses
47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford Johnson Standridge Racing
52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Petron Plus
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Olive Garden
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford US Airways
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Ford Mueller Brothers Racing
90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Fingerhut

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 25, at 7:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, May 26, at 2:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-40 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 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.

Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.762 and an average speed of 181.439 miles per hour (291.998 km/h) in the first round. [6] [7]

Four drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
124 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.762181.439
241 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.958180.252
37 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 29.994180.036
425 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.028179.832
526 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 30.112179.330
677 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 30.125179.253
71 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 30.127179.241
831 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 30.225178.660
914 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 30.245178.542
105 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.247178.530
116 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 30.252178.501
1243 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 30.255178.483
1310 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 30.268178.406
1428 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.269178.400
158 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 30.287178.294
1618 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 30.288178.288
1721 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.337178.000
1833 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 30.396177.655
1902 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Taylor Racing Ford 30.398177.643
2012 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 30.403177.614
Failed to lock in Round 1
212 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 30.420177.515
2298 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 30.421177.509
2340 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 30.442177.387
243 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.457177.299
2522 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 30.459177.288
269 Rich Bickle Melling Racing Ford 30.503177.032
2720 Randy LaJoie Moroso Racing Ford 30.503177.032
2829 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 30.515176.962
2917 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 30.522176.922
3030 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 30.537176.835
3175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 30.537176.835
324 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 30.571176.638
3327 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.594176.505
3447 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 30.617176.373
3590 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 30.644176.217
3632 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 30.661176.120
3719 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 30.663176.108
3852 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 30.660176.074
3915 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.670176.068
4023 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 30.710175.838
Provisionals
4142 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac -*-*
4216 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford -*-*
Champion's Provisional
4311 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford -*-*
Failed to qualify
4455 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford -*-*
4571 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -*-*
4644 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford -*-*
4789 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Ford -*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1124 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40016running180$196,500
2212 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 400187running180$88,075
337 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 400101running170$75,500
41618 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 4009running165$54,600
51428 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 40023running160$47,800
61310 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 40010running155$28,700
71833 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 3990running146$32,500
83175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 3980running142$26,400
9243 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3970running138$37,950
103030 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 3970running134$26,800
113719 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 3970running130$22,700
124023 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 3960running127$18,700
132012 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 3960running124$22,600
143915 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 3960running121$24,500
15324 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 3950running118$23,850
164216 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 3950running115$18,950
172340 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 3940running112$17,900
182298 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 3940running109$13,040
193327 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 3940running106$12,300
202720 Randy LaJoie Moroso Racing Ford 3930running103$9,815
211902 Jeremy Mayfield (R) Taylor Racing Ford 3930running100$9,300
224311 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 3930running97$14,950
233590 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 3900running94$10,525
24425 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3880running91$16,620
251243 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 3840running88$9,800
264142 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 3790running85$18,400
27677 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 3780running82$7,950
281721 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 3540running79$17,110
29158 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 3490running76$13,080
302917 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 3360running73$12,850
3171 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 27646vibration75$13,350
32116 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 2700handling67$18,450
33241 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2610accident64$13,050
34269 Rich Bickle Melling Racing Ford 2350handling61$6,500
35105 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2200accident58$16,750
36914 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 2200crankshaft55$11,050
37831 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 1890accident52$6,850
383632 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 1860accident49$6,325
392829 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 1740accident46$6,300
402522 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 1560rear end43$10,275
413852 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 1480rocker arm40$6,275
42526 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 1478accident42$8,975
433447 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 1260overheating34$6,275
Failed to qualify
4455 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
4571 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
4644 Bobby Hillin Jr. Charles Hardy Racing Ford
4789 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. Higgins, Tom (May 30, 1994). "Young gun bags 600 win (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer . p. 15. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. Higgins, Tom (May 30, 1994). "Young gun bags 600 win (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer . p. 22. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. Martin, Gerald (May 30, 1994). "Gordon dials winning number (Part 1)". The News & Observer . p. 33. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. Martin, Gerald (May 30, 1994). "Gordon dials winning number (Part 2)". The News & Observer . p. 38. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. "600 pole night". The Charlotte Observer . May 24, 1994. p. 16. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. Higgins, Tom (May 26, 1994). "Gordon picks up pieces, wins pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer . p. 23. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Higgins, Tom (May 26, 1994). "Gordon picks up pieces, wins pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer . p. 28. Retrieved April 16, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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NASCAR Winston Cup Series
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