1991 DieHard 500

Race details
Race 17 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1991 DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Richard Petty.
Date	July 28, 1991
Official name	23rd Annual DieHard 500
Location	Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Scheduled Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Average speed	147.383 miles per hour (237.190 km/h)
Attendance	95,000
Pole position
Driver	Sterling Marlin	Junior Johnson & Associates
Time	49.853
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	101
Winner
No. 3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 1991 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1991, before an audience of 95,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to fend off the field, leading the final 28 laps of the race to take his 51st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.^[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of Talladega Superspeedway, the venue where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, July 24, at 4:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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 Friday, July 25, at 4:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-40 would be decided on time,^[5] 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.

Sterling Marlin, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.853 and an average speed of 192.085 miles per hour (309.131 km/h) in the first round.^[6][7]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Dale Earnhardt 2,635 2 Ricky Rudd 2,475 (-160) 1 3 Davey Allison 2,393 (-242) 1 4 Ernie Irvan 2,359 (–276) 1 5 Mark Martin 2,330 (–305) 1 6 Ken Schrader 2,279 (–356) 7 Darrell Waltrip 2,259 (–376) 1 8 Sterling Marlin 2,156 (–479) 1 9 Harry Gant 2,131 (–504) 10 Rusty Wallace 2,126 (–509) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References