1993 Champion Spark Plug 400


The 1993 Champion Spark Plug 400 was the 20th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the eighth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, August 15, 1993, before an audience of 110,000 in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Taking advantage of a blown engine on dominant driver Ricky Rudd's car, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would come to dominate the late stages of the race to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFordSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
02T. W. TaylorTaylor RacingFordChildren's Miracle Network Hospitals
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Jimmy HensleyAK RacingFordPurolator
8Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFordRaybestos
9P. J. Jones 'Melling RacingFordMelling Racing
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Jimmy SpencerBobby Allison MotorsportsFordMeineke
14Terry LabonteHagan RacingChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
15Geoff BodineBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFordKeystone
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
21Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Bobby Labonte 'Bill Davis RacingFordMaxwell House
24Jeff Gordon 'Hendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
26Brett BodineKing RacingFordQuaker State
27Hut StricklinJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordMcDonald's
28Lake SpeedRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
29John KrebsDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevroletDiamond Ridge Motorsports
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
32Jimmy HortonActive MotorsportsChevroletActive Trucking
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal Bandit
37Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFordNaturally Fresh Foods
39Dick TrickleRoulo Brothers RacingChevroletPedigree
40Kenny Wallace 'SABCO RacingPontiacDirt Devil
41Phil ParsonsLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletManheim Auctions
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
44Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
45Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFordTerminal Trucking
48Andy GenzmanGenzman RacingPontiacDe's LP Gas
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingFordMcGee Trucking
53Ritchie PettyPetty Brothers RacingFordLe Bleu Bottled Water
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFordUSAir, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
62Clay YoungJimmy Means RacingFordBelden Asphalt
68Greg SacksTriStar MotorsportsFordCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletSouthwest Technical Group
75Todd Bodine 'Butch Mock MotorsportsFordFactory Stores of America
76Ron Hornaday Jr.Spears MotorsportsChevroletSpears Manufacturing
81Jeff DavisJeff Davis RacingFordVan-K Karting Wheels
85Ken BouchardMansion MotorsportsFordBurger King "I Love This Place!"
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevroletCintas
89Jim SauterMueller Brothers RacingFordEvinrude
90Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
95Jeremy MayfieldSadler Brothers RacingFordShoney's
98Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordBojangles

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 13, at 3:30 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 Saturday, August 14 at 10:30 AM 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 provisionals 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.
Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 39.834 and an average speed of in the first round.
Ten drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

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