1991 Coca-Cola 600


The 1991 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 26, 1991, before an audience of 160,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. On the final restart with nine to go, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to hold off the field to complete a dominant run in the race, earning him his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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 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. with Marcus G. Smith as track president.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingOldsmobileSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
03Kerry TeagueTeague RacingOldsmobileGunk Green Cleaner
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordFolgers
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Rick WilsonStavola Brothers RacingBuickSnickers
9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordCoors Light
10Derrike CopeWhitcomb RacingChevroletPurolator Filters
11Tommy Ellis*Junior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Hut StricklinBobby Allison MotorsportsBuickRaybestos
13Mike SkinnerMansion MotorsportsChevroletGlidden
15Morgan ShepherdBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
19Chad LittleLittle RacingFordBull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
20Bobby Hillin Jr.Moroso RacingOldsmobileRob Moroso Memorial
21Dale JarrettWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Sterling MarlinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMaxwell House
23Eddie BierschwaleB&B RacingOldsmobileBojangles
24Mickey GibbsTeam III RacingPontiacTeam III Racing
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingBuickQuaker State
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsOldsmobileSkoal Bandit
34Dick TrickleAAG RacingBuickOnSat
41Larry PearsonLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
42Kenny WallaceSABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
44Bobby LabonteLabonte MotorsportsOldsmobileSlim Jim
47Greg SacksClose RacingOldsmobileKanawha Insurance
49Stanley Smith 'BS&S MotorsportsBuickInterstate Batteries
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacAlka-Seltzer
55Ted Musgrave 'U.S. RacingPontiacOverton's
66Lake SpeedCale Yarborough MotorsportsPontiacPhillips 66 TropArtic
68Bobby Hamilton 'TriStar MotorsportsOldsmobileCountry Time
70J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiacRumple Furniture
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletBig Apple Market
75Joe RuttmanRahMoc EnterprisesOldsmobileDinner Bell Foods
82Mark StahlStahl RacingFordStahl Racing
86Jeff GreenPinnacle RacingChevroletSea Ray
87Randy BakerBuck Baker RacingChevroletArmour Classics
89Jim SauterMueller Brothers RacingPontiacEvinrude Outboard Motors
90Wally Dallenbach Jr. Donlavey RacingFordDonlavey Racing
94Terry LabonteHagan RacingOldsmobileSunoco
98Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesChevroletBanquet Foods
99Brad TeagueBall MotorsportsChevroletTraffic Engineering Services

*Before the race, owner Junior Johnson, along with the team's crew chief, Tim Brewer, were suspended for 12 weeks. As a result, the team would change ownership for the race, changing the owner to Flossie Johnson, Junior's wife, along with changing the car's number to 97.

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 22, at 3:00 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 Thursday, May 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 21-40 would be decided on time, 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.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.889 and an average speed of in the first round.
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

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