1993 Pontiac Excitement 400


The 1993 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the third stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 7, 1993, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 19th and eventual final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace and owner-driver Alan Kulwicki would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile, D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

Entry list

' denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFordSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthPontiacMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Ernie IrvanMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Ricky RuddHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordHooters
8Sterling MarlinStavola Brothers RacingFordRaybestos
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
28Davey AllisonRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
32Jimmy HortonActive MotorsportsChevroletActive Trucking
33Harry GantLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal Bandit
40Kenny Wallace 'SABCO RacingPontiacDirt Devil
41Phil ParsonsLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletManheim Auctions
42Kyle PettySABCO RacingPontiacMello Yello
44Rick WilsonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
45Rich BickleTerminal Trucking MotorsportsFordKraft, Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
52Jimmy HensleyJimmy Means RacingFordHurley Limo
55Ted MusgraveRaDiUs MotorsportsFordUSAir, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
61Rick CarelliChesrown RacingChevroletChesrown Racing
68Bobby HamiltonTriStar MotorsportsFordCountry Time
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletSouthwest Technical Group
75Dick TrickleButch Mock MotorsportsFordCarolina Pottery
83Lake SpeedSpeed RacingFordPurex
90Bobby Hillin Jr.Donlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
98Derrike CopeCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordBojangles

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 4, 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 Saturday, March 5, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-34 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.
Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 21.922 and an average speed of in the first round.
Three drivers would fail to qualify.

Standings after the race

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