1993 Mello Yello 500


The 1993 Mello Yello 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 10, 1993, before an audience of 110,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would complete a dominant performance, leading 328 laps to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin 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 RacingFordSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
02T. W. TaylorTaylor RacingFordChildren's Miracle Network Hospitals
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Joe NemechekMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFordThe Family Channel
8Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFordRaybestos
11Bill ElliottJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordBudweiser
12Jimmy SpencerBobby Allison MotorsportsFordMeineke
14Terry LabonteHagan RacingChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
15Lake SpeedBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft
16Wally Dallenbach Jr.Roush RacingFordKeystone
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Dale JarrettJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
19Chad LittleMark Rypien MotorsportsFordKleenex
20Bobby HamiltonMoroso RacingFordFINA
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
28Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
29Andy HillenburgDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevroletDiamond Ridge Motorsports
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal Bandit
35Bill VenturiniVenturini MotorsportsChevroletRain-X
37Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFordNaturally Fresh Foods
40Kenny Wallace 'SABCO RacingPontiacDirt Devil
41Dick TrickleLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletManheim Auctions
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
44Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
45Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFordKraft, Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
47Billy StandridgeJohnson Standridge RacingFordJohnson Standridge Racing
52Mike WallaceJimmy Means RacingFordDuron Paint
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFordUSAir, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
58Jeff McClureMcClure RacingChevroletMcClure Racing
63Norm BenningO'Neil RacingOldsmobileO'Neil Racing
65Jerry O'NeilO'Neil RacingChevroletO'Neil Racing
68Greg SacksTriStar MotorsportsFordCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletJ.A. Jones Construction
72John AndrettiTex RacingChevroletTex Racing
75Todd Bodine Butch Mock MotorsportsFordFactory Stores of America
85Jim SauterMansion MotorsportsFordBurger King "I Love This Place!"
90Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
95Jeremy MayfieldSadler Brothers RacingFordMac Tools
98Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordBojangles
99Brad TeagueBall MotorsportsChevroletBall Motorsports

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, October 6, at 4:45 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, October 7, at 12:00 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.
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.391 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.