The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 27, 1990, before an audience of 160,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In a one-lap shootout to the finish, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would manage to fend off the field to complete a dominant run throughout the race, leading 306 of the 400 laps in the race. The victory was Wallace's 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first 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.

1990 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 10 of 29 in the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date May 27, 1990
Official name 31st Annual Coca-Cola 600
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Average speed 137.65 miles per hour (221.53 km/h)
Attendance 160,000
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 31.041
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Laps 306
Winner
No. 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett, Lyn St. James
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

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 (2.4 km) 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. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile Skoal
01 Mickey Gibbs Gibbs Racing Ford Special Days Inn
2 Rick Mast U.S. Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
04 Bill Meacham Meacham Racing Oldsmobile Meacham Racing
5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Folgers
06 Terry Byers Byers Racing Pontiac Special Days Inn
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Snickers
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Purolator Filters
11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick Raybestos
13 Mike Potter Mansion Motorsports Pontiac Mansion Motorsports
15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SlimFast
19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
20 Rob Moroso (R) Moroso Racing Oldsmobile Crown Central Petroleum
21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile Auto Finders
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Miller Genuine Draft
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Phil Parsons Diamond Ridge Motorsports Pontiac Diamond Ridge Motorsports
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet Amoco
36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac Almeda Auto Parts
38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Redkote Steel Tubing
42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Peak Antifreeze
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile Kanawha Insurance
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
53 Jerry O'Neil (R) Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile Aroneck Racing
56 Ron Esau Reno Enterprises Chevrolet Gear Vendor
57 Jimmy Spencer Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
60 Robin Best Best Racing Chevrolet Best Racing
66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Phillips 66 TropArtic
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac McDuffie Racing
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Big Apple Market
72 Tracy Leslie Leslie Racing Oldsmobile Leslie Racing
75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile Dinner Bell Foods
77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Ford S&H Racing
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Prestone
88 Larry Pearson Edwards Racing Pontiac Edwards Racing
89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Buddy Baker Donlavey Racing Ford Alka-Seltzer
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco
98 Butch Miller Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet Harris Teeter

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 23, 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 24, at 2:00 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,[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 were given.

Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 31.041 and an average speed of 173.963 miles per hour (279.966 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]

13 drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.041 173.963
2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 31.174 173.221
3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 31.193 173.116
4 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.222 172.955
5 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 31.281 172.629
6 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 31.368 172.150
7 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 31.407 171.936
8 68 Bobby Hamilton Diamond Ridge Motorsports Pontiac 31.423 171.849
9 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 31.430 171.810
10 20 Rob Moroso (R) Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 31.458 171.657
11 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 31.464 171.625
12 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.502 171.418
13 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 31.513 171.358
14 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 31.543 171.195
15 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.559 171.108
16 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.617 170.794
17 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.622 170.767
18 98 Butch Miller Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 31.652 170.605
19 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 31.653 170.600
20 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 31.673 170.492
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 31.676 170.476
22 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 31.700 170.347
23 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 31.709 170.299
24 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 31.752 170.068
25 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 31.771 169.966
26 57 Jimmy Spencer Osterlund Racing Pontiac 31.795 169.838
27 90 Buddy Baker Donlavey Racing Ford 31.797 169.827
28 18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.803 169.795
29 88 Larry Pearson Edwards Racing Pontiac 31.812 169.747
30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31.819 169.710
31 06 Terry Byers Byers Racing Pontiac 31.854 169.523
32 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 31.893 169.316
33 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Ford 31.895 169.306
34 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.904 169.258
35 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 31.921 169.168
36 2 Rick Mast U.S. Racing Pontiac 31.926 169.141
37 47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile 31.929 169.125
38 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 31.940 169.067
39 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 31.962 168.951
40 72 Tracy Leslie Leslie Racing Oldsmobile 31.979 168.861
Provisionals
41 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 32.286 167.255
42 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 32.286 167.255
Failed to qualify
43 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
44 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
45 38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford -* -*
46 13 Mike Potter Mansion Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
47 53 Jerry O'Neil (R) Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
48 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac -* -*
49 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
50 04 Bill Meacham Meacham Racing Oldsmobile -* -*
51 56 Ron Esau Reno Enterprises Chevrolet -* -*
52 35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
53 60 Robin Best Best Racing Chevrolet -* -*
54 01 Mickey Gibbs Gibbs Racing Ford -* -*
55 29 Phil Parsons Diamond Ridge Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 9 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 400 306 running 185 $151,000
2 7 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 400 0 running 170 $67,450
3 2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 12 running 170 $51,700
4 20 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 400 0 running 160 $32,600
5 4 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 400 0 running 155 $28,350
6 3 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 400 0 running 150 $23,775
7 6 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 400 1 running 151 $24,400
8 24 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 400 0 running 142 $18,100
9 11 10 Derrike Cope Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet 400 2 running 143 $18,750
10 13 11 Geoff Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 400 5 running 139 $23,125
11 1 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 63 running 135 $63,100
12 14 66 Dick Trickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 399 0 running 127 $15,000
13 42 1 Terry Labonte Precision Products Racing Oldsmobile 399 0 running 124 $14,257
14 28 18 Greg Sacks Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 398 0 running 121 $8,668
15 27 90 Buddy Baker Donlavey Racing Ford 398 0 running 118 $10,465
16 35 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 398 0 running 115 $10,850
17 41 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 397 0 running 112 $13,900
18 18 98 Butch Miller Travis Carter Enterprises Chevrolet 396 0 running 109 $7,890
19 21 75 Rick Wilson RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 395 0 engine 106 $9,370
20 37 47 Jack Pennington (R) Close Racing Oldsmobile 395 0 running 103 $7,775
21 26 57 Jimmy Spencer Osterlund Racing Pontiac 394 0 running 100 $8,800
22 16 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 393 2 running 102 $14,800
23 33 80 Jimmy Horton S&H Racing Ford 389 0 running 94 $5,400
24 25 19 Chad Little Little Racing Ford 385 0 running 91 $5,200
25 15 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Motorsports Oldsmobile 383 1 running 93 $12,100
26 10 20 Rob Moroso (R) Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 356 0 engine 85 $5,600
27 30 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 352 0 oil leak 82 $5,650
28 34 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 320 0 camshaft 79 $7,450
29 5 26 Brett Bodine King Racing Buick 317 4 engine 81 $8,950
30 12 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 262 0 running 73 $13,950
31 36 2 Rick Mast U.S. Racing Pontiac 251 0 engine 70 $7,000
32 19 21 Dale Jarrett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 241 4 engine 72 $7,120
33 39 89 Rodney Combs Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 226 0 engine 64 $4,190
34 17 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 208 0 accident 61 $6,800
35 22 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 201 0 engine 58 $6,750
36 40 72 Tracy Leslie Leslie Racing Oldsmobile 195 0 engine 55 $4,100
37 23 12 Hut Stricklin Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 173 0 oil line 52 $4,680
38 38 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 113 0 accident 49 $4,060
39 8 68 Bobby Hamilton Diamond Ridge Motorsports Pontiac 102 0 accident 46 $4,540
40 31 06 Terry Byers Byers Racing Pontiac 40 0 engine 0 $4,020
41 32 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 5 0 engine 40 $4,520
42 29 88 Larry Pearson Edwards Racing Pontiac 2 0 engine 37 $4,520
Failed to qualify
43 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
44 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
45 38 Dick Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford
46 13 Mike Potter Mansion Motorsports Pontiac
47 53 Jerry O'Neil (R) Aroneck Racing Oldsmobile
48 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac
49 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile
50 04 Bill Meacham Meacham Racing Oldsmobile
51 56 Ron Esau Reno Enterprises Chevrolet
52 35 Bill Venturini Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet
53 60 Robin Best Best Racing Chevrolet
54 01 Mickey Gibbs Gibbs Racing Ford
55 29 Phil Parsons Diamond Ridge Motorsports Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 28, 1990). "Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 28, 1990). "Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 31. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Smith, Jimmy (May 28, 1990). "Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 1)". Johnson City Press. p. 13. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Smith, Jimmy (May 28, 1990). "Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 2)". Johnson City Press. p. 22. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Race week schedule". The Charlotte Observer. May 22, 1990. p. 24. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 24, 1990). "No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 47. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ Higgins, Tom (May 24, 1990). "No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 43. Retrieved March 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1990 Winston 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1990 season
Next race:
1990 Budweiser 500