1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300

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1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300
Race details
Race 10 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300.jpeg
The 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover.
DateMay 15, 1994
Official name 6th Annual Save Mart Supermarkets 300
Location Sonoma, California, Sears Point Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.52 miles (4.06 km)
Distance 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Scheduled distance 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Average speed 77.458 miles per hour (124.657 km/h)
Attendance 94,157
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 1:39.132
Most laps led
Driver Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing
Laps 68
Winner
No. 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates 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 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the 10th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the third race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series, and the sixth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 15, 1994, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would manage to dominate the race to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Geoff Bodine, driving for his own Geoff Bodine Racing, and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

Contents

Background

The layout of Sears Point Raceway used by NASCAR at the time. Infineon (Sears Point) with emphasis on Long track.svg
The layout of Sears Point Raceway used by NASCAR at the time.

Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long; [3] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout. [4] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km). [5]

Entry list

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
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 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Channellock
09 Charlie O'Brien O'Brien Racing Pontiac Qantas
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford
14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet
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 Gary Collins Venable Racing Ford Venable Racing
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 Motorsports
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
36 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet Gilliland Racing
37 Doug George Olson Technology Racing Ford Olson Technology
38 Tobey Butler Bill Stroppe Motorsports Ford American Racing Wheels
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
48 Jack Sellers Sellers Racing Chevrolet Bear Automotive
50 Mike Chase JTC Racing Chevrolet Star Race Computers
52 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Petron Plus
58 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino
61 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet Total Petroleum
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Health Management
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
76 Ron Hornaday Jr. Spears Motorsports Chevrolet Spears Manufacturing
77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford US Airways
81 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford Van-K Wheels
86 Rich Woodland Jr. Gilliland Racing Oldsmobile Gilliland Racing
90 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
90W Joe Heath Heath Racing Ford Miller
98 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Fingerhut

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 22, at 6:30 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 Saturday, April 23, at 1:00 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, [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; which was two for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and one extra provisional for the NASCAR Winston West Series. 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.

Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:39.132 and an average speed of 91.514 miles per hour (147.278 km/h) in the first round. [7]

12 drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
128 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 1:39.13291.514
26 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 1:39.28491.374
310 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 1:39.47091.203
43 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:39.87290.836
55 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:39.90590.806
624 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:39.92990.784
743 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1:40.04590.679
825 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:40.47890.288
930 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 1:40.55990.216
1042 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 1:40.58790.191
1111 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 1:40.63990.144
122 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 1:40.66490.122
134 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 1:40.86489.943
1436 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet 1:40.92389.890
1516 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 1:41.02089.804
1633 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 1:41.16689.674
1798 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 1:41.23689.612
1876 Ron Hornaday Jr. Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 1:41.29389.562
1921 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:41.30389.553
2018 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 1:41.35389.509
218 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 1:41.39589.472
2222 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 1:41.47989.398
2326 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 1:41.76789.145
241 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 1:41.80989.108
2527 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 1:41.84189.080
Failed to lock in Round 1
267 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 1:39.64291.046
2731 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 1:40.89889.913
2890 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 1:41.25289.598
2915 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 1:41.64989.248
3040 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 1:41.87389.052
3175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 1:42.12388.834
3241 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:42.12888.830
3317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 1:42.13088.828
349 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 1:42.15688.805
3550 Mike Chase JTC Racing Chevrolet 1:42.39688.597
3661 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 1:42.48088.525
3723 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 1:42.54188.472
3814 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 1:42.66088.369
3971 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1:42.75388.289
4029 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 1:42.76788.277
Winston Cup provisionals
4112 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford -*-*
4277 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports, Inc. Ford -*-*
Winston West provisional
4320 Gary Collins Venable Racing Ford -*-*
Failed to qualify
4452 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Ford 1:42.80888.242
4532 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 1:42.83188.222
4681 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford 1:42.96188.111
4737 Doug George Olson Technology Racing Ford 1:42.97288.102
4855 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 1:43.31887.807
4909 Charlie O'Brien O'Brien Racing Pontiac 1:43.54587.614
5090W Joe Heath Heath Racing Ford 1:45.36586.101
5119 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford 1:45.41286.062
5238 Tobey Butler Bill Stroppe Motorsports Ford 1:46.79184.951
5348 Jack Sellers Sellers Racing Chevrolet 1:51.20281.581
5458 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac --
5586 Rich Woodland Jr. Gilliland Racing Oldsmobile --
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1128 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 7468running185$78,810
2267 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 740running170$45,640
343 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 743running170$37,825
4743 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 740running160$24,920
5122 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 740running155$25,970
61516 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 740running150$20,370
71921 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 741running151$22,020
826 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 740running142$24,120
9825 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 740running138$18,170
101633 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 740running134$19,815
111042 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 740running130$16,755
122018 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 740running127$20,755
132326 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 740running124$16,355
14310 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 740running121$9,155
15218 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 740running118$16,705
16930 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 740running115$15,005
172222 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 740running112$14,730
183317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 740running109$14,580
193814 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 740running106$14,955
203723 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 740running103$8,480
214112 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 730running100$14,230
223241 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 730running97$10,105
232890 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 730running94$9,980
244277 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports, Inc. Ford 731running96$7,610
253971 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 730running88$9,900
262527 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 730running85$9,780
271436 Butch Gilliland Gilliland Racing Chevrolet 720running82$7,755
2855 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 720running79$17,680
29134 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 720running76$17,470
301111 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 710running73$13,540
313550 Mike Chase JTC Racing Chevrolet 700running70$7,355
322915 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 700running67$17,305
333040 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 680transmission64$13,255
34241 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 620transmission61$13,230
354029 Steve Grissom (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 610rear end58$7,205
362731 Ward Burton (R) A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 600running55$7,195
37624 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 590rearend52$12,675
383175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 560running49$7,155
391876 Ron Hornaday Jr. Spears Motorsports Chevrolet 530running46$7,125
404320 Gary Collins Venable Racing Ford 430running43$7,100
413661 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet 240engine40$7,100
42349 John Krebs Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 181accident42$8,100
431798 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 180accident34$8,600
Failed to qualify
4452 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Ford
4532 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet
4681 Jeff Davis Jeff Davis Racing Ford
4737 Doug George Olson Technology Racing Ford
4855 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
4909 Charlie O'Brien O'Brien Racing Pontiac
5090W Joe Heath Heath Racing Ford
5119 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford
5238 Tobey Butler Bill Stroppe Motorsports Ford
5348 Jack Sellers Sellers Racing Chevrolet
5458 Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac
5586 Rich Woodland Jr. Gilliland Racing Oldsmobile
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. Schiffmann, William (May 16, 1994). "Irvan's road-racing prowess shows as he dominates, wins". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 18. Retrieved November 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. Higgins, Tom (May 16, 1994). "Irvan speeds to convincing victory in Save Mart 300". Evansville Press. p. 16. Retrieved November 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Sears Point". www.gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  4. "Passing is tough in Chute | chronicle.augusta.com". June 7, 2011. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. "SEARS POINT BREAKS GROUND ON MODIFIED CHUTE - RacingWest". September 29, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  6. "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer . May 13, 1996. p. 34. Retrieved November 28, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Higgins, Tom (May 14, 1994). "Irvan stays course for Sears Point pole". The Charlotte Observer . p. 13. Retrieved November 28, 2022. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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1994 Winston Select 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 season
Next race:
1994 Coca-Cola 600
Previous race:
1994 Valvoline/Pit Lube 200
NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series
1994 season
Next race:
1994 Valencia Dodge 200