1994 TranSouth Financial 400

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1994 TranSouth Financial 400
Race details
Race 5 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 TranSouth Financial 400.jpeg
The 1994 TranSouth Financial 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
DateMarch 27, 1994
Official name 38th Annual TranSouth Financial 400
Location Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 1.366 miles (2.198 km)
Distance 293 laps, 400.238 mi (644.12 km)
Scheduled distance 293 laps, 400.238 mi (644.12 km)
Average speed 132.432 miles per hour (213.129 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Junior Johnson & Associates
Time 29.704
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 166
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 1994 TranSouth Financial 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 27, 1994, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 293 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate the majority of the race to take his 60th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Junior Johnson driver Bill Elliott would finish in the respective positions. [3]

Contents

Background

The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held. Darlington raceway.svg
The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Entry list

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
02 Curtis Markham 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 Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Rich Bickle (R) Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Lumberton Ford
14 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet Total
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
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
36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac Bailey Racing
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
47 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford Johnson Standridge Racing
52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford NAPA Auto Parts
55 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford Petron Plus
57 Bob Schacht Balough Racing Ford Balough Racing
59 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford Metal Arrester
61 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet Total
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Style Motorsports
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford US Airways
84 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile 84 Lumber
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 Friday, March 4, at 11:30 AM 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 5, at 12:15 PM 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, [4] 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.

Bill Elliott, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.704 and an average speed of 165.553 miles per hour (266.432 km/h) in the first round. [5]

Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
111 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 29.704165.553
24 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.751165.292
36 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.758165.253
412 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 29.798165.031
526 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 29.810164.965
625 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.811164.959
77 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 29.863164.672
82 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 29.894164.501
93 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.898164.479
101 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 29.909164.419
1128 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.944164.227
1298 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 29.947164.210
1324 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.016163.833
1418 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 30.017163.827
1523 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 30.022163.800
1622 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 30.043163.685
1721 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.046163.669
1814 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 30.054163.625
1955 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 30.064163.571
2016 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 30.083163.468
Failed to lock in Round 1
2133 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 30.085163.457
228 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 30.102163.365
2390 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 30.103163.359
245 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.105163.348
2510 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 30.105163.348
2671 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 30.138163.169
2727 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.163163.034
2829 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 30.212162.770
2941 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.235162.646
3030 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 30.310162.243
319 Rich Bickle Melling Racing Ford 30.310162.243
3240 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 30.335162.110
3342 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 30.337162.099
3452 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 30.340162.083
3515 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.349162.035
3617 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 30.359161.982
3743 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 30.379161.875
3831 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 30.404161.742
3932 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 30.448161.508
4077 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 30.530161.074
Provisional
4175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford -*-*
Failed to qualify
4219 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford -*-*
4361 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet -*-*
4447 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford -*-*
4502 Curtis Markham Taylor Racing Ford -*-*
4657 Bob Schacht Balough Racing Ford -*-*
4784 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile -*-*
4836 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac -*-*
4959 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford -*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
193 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 293166running185$70,190
236 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 2937running175$47,835
3111 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 2935running170$35,285
41418 Dale Jarrett Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 2939running165$27,550
53515 Lake Speed Bud Moore Engineering Ford 2930running155$26,300
61128 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 29324running155$22,875
7625 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2934running151$18,395
82133 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 2920running142$17,265
92510 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 2920running138$9,260
102016 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 2920running134$18,405
113342 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 2910running130$19,400
12412 Chuck Bown Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 2910running127$15,470
131955 Jimmy Hensley RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 2910running124$11,185
142829 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 2910running121$9,280
153030 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 2900running118$15,025
161298 Derrike Cope Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 2900running115$10,405
171523 Hut Stricklin Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 2900running112$7,250
182390 Mike Wallace (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 2900running109$10,415
192941 Joe Nemechek (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2900running106$9,670
20228 Jeff Burton (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 2860running103$14,040
213831 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 2850running100$6,670
224175 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 2830running97$9,050
23319 Rich Bickle Melling Racing Ford 2820running94$6,430
243452 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford 2790running91$9,335
253240 Bobby Hamilton SABCO Racing Pontiac 2770running88$12,490
263617 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 2740running85$12,275
272727 Jimmy Spencer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 2710engine82$8,110
282671 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 2694running84$7,950
293932 Dick Trickle Active Motorsports Chevrolet 2590running76$5,865
304077 Greg Sacks U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 2503running78$5,805
311324 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2360engine70$11,745
321721 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 2350running67$15,710
3382 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 21856running69$17,850
3424 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 19715engine66$16,765
35245 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1950engine58$15,580
36526 Brett Bodine King Racing Ford 1950engine55$11,045
37101 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 1780engine52$9,530
381814 John Andretti (R) Hagan Racing Chevrolet 1700engine49$9,510
391622 Bobby Labonte Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 1380crash46$9,480
4077 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 1340engine43$9,357
413743 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1310engine40$5,857
Failed to qualify
4219 Loy Allen Jr. (R) TriStar Motorsports Ford
4361 Rick Carelli Chesrown Racing Chevrolet
4447 Billy Standridge (R) Johnson Standridge Racing Ford
4502 Curtis Markham Taylor Racing Ford
4657 Bob Schacht Balough Racing Ford
4784 Norm Benning Norm Benning Racing Oldsmobile
4836 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac
4959 Andy Belmont Andy Belmont Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. Harris, Mike (March 28, 1994). "Earnhardt snaps 16-race drought". The Indianapolis Star . p. 14. Retrieved November 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. Higgins, Tom (March 28, 1994). "Earnhardt's win not without challenge". The Charlotte Observer . p. 12. Retrieved November 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "1994 TranSouth Financial 400". www.racing-reference.info.
  4. "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer . March 24, 1996. p. 25. Retrieved November 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  5. Martin, Gerald (March 26, 1994). "Elliott takes pole, one-lap record at Darlington". The News and Observer. p. 33. Retrieved November 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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1994 Purolator 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1994 season
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