1990 GM Goodwrench 500


The 1990 GM Goodwrench 500 was the third stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 4, 1990, before an audience of 52,700 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a permanent high-banked racetrack. At race's end, SABCO Racing driver Kyle Petty would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Geoff Bodine and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.
Terri O'Connell, driving a second car for Donlavey Racing, is credited with being the only openly transgender driver to ever race in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series to date, finishing last in a 38-car field.

Background

North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Terry LabontePrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
01Mickey GibbsGibbs RacingFordSpecial Days Inn
2Rick MastU.S. RacingPontiacPrego
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Phil ParsonsMorgan–McClure MotorsportsOldsmobileKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLevi Garrett
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordFolgers
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordZerex
8Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuickSnickers
9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordCoors Light
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Geoff BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Mike AlexanderBobby Allison MotorsportsBuickRaybestos
15Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Larry PearsonPearson RacingBuickPearson Racing
17Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
20Rob Moroso 'Moroso RacingOldsmobileCrown Central Petroleum
21Neil BonnettWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingBuickQuaker State
27Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacCountry Time
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacPeak Antifreeze
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacAlka-Seltzer
57Jimmy SpencerOsterlund RacingPontiacHeinz
66Dick TrickleCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiacPhillips 66 TropArtic
70J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiacMcDuffie Racing
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletBig Apple Market
75Rick WilsonRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobileDinner Bell Foods
82Mark StahlStahl RacingFordAuto Bell Car Wash
90Ernie IrvanDonlavey RacingFordDonlavey Racing
91Terri O'ConnellDonlavey RacingFordCrossroads City of Cornith
93Charlie BakerBaker RacingBuickBaker Racing
94Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobileSunoco
98Butch MillerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevroletBanquet Foods

Qualifying

Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, March 1, at 2:30 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined the following day on Friday, March 2. 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.
Kyle Petty, driving for SABCO Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.613 and an average speed of in the first round.
No drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standingsNote: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.