1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup began on Sunday February 11 and ended on Sunday November 18. Dale Earnhardt with Richard Childress Racing was crowned the Winston Cup champion.

Preceded by 1989 in NASCAR	NASCAR seasons 1990	Succeeded by 1991 in NASCAR

Busch Clash

The exhibition Busch Clash race, for drivers who have won a pole position in the previous season or have won the event before, was held on February 11 at Daytona International Speedway. Ken Schrader won the event.

Gatorade Twin 125s

The Gatorade Twin 125s qualifying for the Daytona 500 was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway.

Race One: Top Ten Results

Race Two: Top Ten Results

Daytona 500

The 32nd annual Daytona 500 was held on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway. Derrike Cope started off the 1990 season on a Cinderella note as he won his first ever Winston Cup race, the Daytona 500. It came when Dale Earnhardt, who had lead 155 of 200 laps (at one point, leading by 25 seconds over 2nd place), ran over a piece of Rick Wilson's expired engine cutting a right rear tire in turn three on the final lap allowing Cope to shoot past for the win. Cope opted to not take a late pit stop and led briefly before relinquishing the lead in lap 196, not seeing the front again until the last lap. Ken Schrader won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 0-Delma Cowart, 13-Mike Potter, 19-Chad Little, 29-Joe Booher, 34-Charlie Glotzbach, 35-Bill Venturini, 37-Dennis Langston, 39-Blackie Wangerin, 44-Jim Sauter, 48-Trevor Boys, 59-Mark Gibson, 70-J.D. McDuffie, 72-Stan Barrett, 77-Ken Ragan, 82-Mark Stahl, 85-Bobby Gerhart, 89-Rodney Combs, 96-Phillip Duffie, 01-Mickey Gibbs

Pontiac Excitement 400

The Pontiac Excitement 400 was held on February 25 at Richmond International Raceway. Mark Martin won his first Winston Cup race of the 1990 season, but was forced to forfeit his $40,000 prize for finishing first and 46 Winston Cup standings points when inspectors found an illegal carburetor spacer. In the final caution on lap 383, Martin took only two tires to take the lead out of the pits and hold off Dale Earnhardt to the finish. Ricky Rudd won the pole.

Top Ten Results

GM Goodwrench 500

The GM Goodwrench 500 was held on March 4 at North Carolina Speedway. Kyle Petty left little doubt of his dominance at the speedway by capturing the pole, then going on to win by a huge margin (26 seconds) over Geoff Bodine for his third career Winston Cup victory. In leading 433 of 492 laps, only Bodine finished on the lead lap. Petty earned an extra $228,000 in the Unocal Bonus Challenge for winning both the pole and the race, bringing his winnings to a NASCAR record $302,050 for the race.

Top Ten Results

Motorcraft Quality Parts 500

The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was held on March 18 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt enjoyed his first win since November 1989, which was also at Atlanta. Although he was suffering from an upset stomach, Earnhardt made up a lost lap to score a narrow victory over Morgan Shepherd. The race was virtually caution free as Earnhardt led 216 of 328 laps in recording a track record race average speed of 156.849 mph. Adding to this dominating performance, Earnhardt also started from the pole.

Driver Change

Ernie Irvan replaced Phil Parsons in the #4 Kodak Oldsmobile for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. This began a 3 1/2 year tenure for Irvan in the #4.

Top Ten Results

TranSouth 500

The TranSouth 500 was held on April 1 at Darlington Speedway. Dale Earnhardt pulled away on two restarts in the final 18 laps and finished two car lengths in front of Mark Martin to earn his second victory of the 1990 season and second consecutive win at Darlington. The race came under some controversy, as Ernie Irvan, who was ten laps down, was racing aggressively against then-leader Ken Schrader, lost control and started a huge crash that almost ended the career of Neil Bonnett. Geoff Bodine started on the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify:

48-Norm Benning, 74-Mike Potter, 82-Mark Stahl

Valleydale Meats 500

The Valleydale Meats 500 was held on April 8 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Davey Allison elected not to pit on the final caution on lap 391 while the other front runners took on fresh tires and fuel. The gamble paye off with Allison leading the rest of the way, holding off Mark Martin for an eight-inch victory at Bristol. Darrell Waltrip fell from contention with a cut tire with 25 laps left, leaving Allison, Martin, and Ricky Rudd in a bumper-to-bumper battle to the finish. Sterling Marlin was spun out with half a lap to go by Rudd. This resulted in a physical confrontation inside Rudd's transporter after the race. The #4 of Ernie Irvan won the pole.

Driver Change

Dale Jarrett was inserted into the #21 CITGO Ford for the Wood Brothers in a relief role (initially). It became permanent after Neil Bonnett developed a case of amesnia, which left him unable to race competitively.

Top Ten Results

First Union 400

The First Union 400 was held on April 22 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Brett Bodine led the final 82 laps to earn his only career Winston Cup victory at North Wilkesboro. Bodine was placed as the leader after a confusing 17-lap caution and led the rest of way, holding off a challenge by Darrell Waltrip on the final lap. The win was controversial with many observers saying Waltrip should have been placed in front after the caution. Mark Martin won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Hanes Activewear 500

The Hanes Activewear 500 was held on April 29 at Martinsville Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole, lost the lead on the first lap but held the lead four times during the race including the final 137 laps for his first win of the season at Martinsville. In an afternoon-long battle of the pit crews Rusty Wallace. Bodine's crew executed a four-tire change in 19.6 seconds during the 10th and final caution period to beat Wallace back onto the track on lap 364 and easily cruised to the checker flag.

Top Ten Results

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held on May 6 at Talladega Superspeedway. Dale Earnhardt dominated the field to lead eight times for 107 of 188 laps to earn his third win of the season. Drafting with one other driver after the sixth of seven cautions, the field was left behind when the final caution ended on the 172nd lap and Dale sped to victory. The #9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.*

Top Ten Results

Bill Elliott's pole speed of 199.388mph (48.027 seconds) is the fastest qualifying lap turned in the Winston Cup Series since restrictor plates began to be used at Daytona and Talladega.

The Winston

The Winston was held May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt continued his early-season domination of the Winston Cup circuit with a runaway victory in the annual All-Star event. The 1990 edition was the 6th annual running of the The Winston & the second victory in the "winners-only" event for Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing. Earnhardt led all 70 laps after starting from the pole position & won $325,000. Earnhardt became the first 2-time winner of the race.

Winston Open

The Winston Open, a shootout race for drivers who are normally not eligible for The Winston, was held May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Top Ten Results

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Rusty Wallace emerged from early season mediocrity to announce his return to dominance with a shootout win over Bill Elliott. Wallace led 306 of the 400 laps for his first win of the season, resuming his final lead on lap 310 when Geoff Bodine made a green-flag pit stop. A two-lap caution beginning on lap 297 set up the duel between Wallace and Elliott, who had regained a lap he lost early in the race. The #25 of Ken Schrader won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify:

23-Eddie Bierschwale, 35-Bill Venturini, 52-Jimmy Means, 01-Mickey Gibbs

Budweiser 500

The (Budweiser 500) was held on June 3 at Dover International Speedway. Derrike Cope proved to his detractors that his Daytona 500 victory was no fluke, leading 93 of 500 laps, including the final 55, to earn a win over Ken Schrader at Dover. Cope closed a 1.6-second Rusty Wallace lead on lap 442 and made his move on lap 446. Wallace faded to 10th and Cope was never challenged. Cope's late run was spurred by a 20-second four-tire change on lap 420 that vaulted him into contention. Dick Trickle won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Footage from this race was used in the ESPN Home Video Racing Tough, hosted by Benny Parsons and Brett Bodine.

Banquet Frozen Foods 300

The Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was held June 10 at Sears Point International Raceway. Rusty Wallace continued his Winston Cup road course mastery in earning his second win of the season at Sears Point. It was his fifth road course win in the last seven, finishing second in the other two. Wallace overtook Ricky Rudd on the 11th turn on lap 60 and led the rest of the way, beating Mark Martin to the caution on lap 73, earning the win under caution in the final lap. Martin overtook the Winston Cup points race at 1800. Rudd won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Miller Genuine Draft 500

The Miller Genuine Draft 500 was held June 17 at Pocono Raceway. At 50 years and 158 days, Harry Gant became the oldest driver ever to win a Winston Cup event after taking the lead from Rusty Wallace with 12 laps left and holding on for a two-second victory. Debris was a problem causing many of the track-record 13 cautions. Dale Earnhardt got the worst of it, plagued by cut tires the entire race and finishing 13th. The #4 of Ernie Irvan won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race set a record (at the time) for most cars finishing on the lead lap, with 22 cars completing all 500 miles.

Miller Genuine Draft 400

The Miller Genuine Draft 400 was held June 24 at Michigan International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt picked up his 43rd career Winston Cup win and second at Michigan International Speedway. Earnhardt took the lead on the 194th lap and held off everyone else for the final five laps for the victory. Afterwards, Earnhardt gave credit to his crew for doing a "tremendous job" keeping him close to the front all day long. Mark Martin won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify:

50-Rich Vogler, 77-Ken Ragan

Pepsi 400

The Pepsi 400 was held July 7 at Daytona International Speedway. It was two straight victories for Dale Earnhardt, and his first career Winston Cup win at Daytona. Earnhardt took the lead on the first lap, when "the Big One" occurred in turns 3 and 4 - involving 24 cars, which at the time was a modern-era record (and still a record for a Daytona Cup race). No one was seriously hurt in the crash, but eight cars were knocked out of contention. After the restart, Dale took control, leading 127 laps to pick up $72,850 for the win. "I wish all of them had stayed in the race," he said. "I think our Chevrolet was strong enough to beat anybody today. The #18 of Greg Sacks won the pole.*

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 70-J.D. McDuffie, 72-Tracy Leslie, 80-Jimmy Horton*

Darrell Waltrip suffered serious injuries (multiple leg fractures, a broken arm, 9 broken ribs, a concussionin a multi-car practice crash that was caused by a broken oil line in A.J. Foyt's #14 Copenhagen Oldsmobile car that Dale Earnhardt happened to be driving at the time (Foyt had Indycar commitments, and Earnhardt had promised to shake the car down in final practice). During the wreck, Waltrip's #17 Tide Chevrolet spun out and stopped in the middle of the track with its left side facing traffic. Before he could get the car restarted, Waltrip was T-Boned by the #71 of Dave Marcis in the driver's door. Waltrip's injuries forced him to miss 6 races.

Jimmy Horton, who had failed to qualify for the race, was tapped to fill in for Waltrip at Daytona and was Waltrip's relief driver 2 weeks later at Pocono.

As a result of Waltrip's crash, NASCAR thoroughly inspected Waltrip's car. Waltrip describes in his book, DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles, that the engine had a "floating block in the manifold that sat under the restrictor plate." This was not necessarily illegal, but it wasn't approved by NASCAR. NASCAR forced Hendrick Motorsports (including the pole sitting #18 Ultra Slim-Fast Chevrolet of Greg Sacks) and other teams to weld the blocks into proper place. This resulted in the pole sitting car of Sacks essentially being a sitting duck, which more or less caused the aforementioned big one at the end of the 1st lap.

AC Spark Plug 500

The AC Spark Plug 500 was held July 22 at Pocono Raceway. Junior Johnson's team gambled on the amount of fuel in Geoff Bodine's tank and elected not to make a pit stop as Bodine nearly coasted to victory over Bill Elliott at Pocono. Bodine led nine times for 119 of the 200 laps. Elliott had pitted on lap 157 and needed no fuel for the finish while other contenders made fuel stops beginning with 11 laps left. After a four-lap caution, the race was restarted on the final lap and Bodine inished with a half-gallon to spare. Mark Martin won the pole. One car that qualified for this race did not roll off the grid. Rich Vogler was set to make his Winston Cup debut at this event, but on the night before, he was killed in a sprint car race at Salem Speedway.

Top Ten Results

Darrell Waltrip actually started the race in the #17, and pulled in to put Jimmy Horton in the car at the end of the 1st lap. NASCAR official Dick Beatty stated the day before that he wanted Darrell to stay at the back of the field, do not pass anybody, and pull in at the end of the 1st lap for the driver change. Waltrip passed 3 or 4 cars at the start, then caught a caution that allowed him to do the driver change under yellow. Beatty then penalized the #17 1 lap for disobeying the earlier command (As stated in Waltrip's book, DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles).

Diehard 500

The Diehard 500 was held July 29, 1990 at Talladega Superspeedway. Dale Earnhardt made it three of four major superspeedway titles so far in the 1990 season by winning the pole, leading a record-breaking 134 laps and winning the race. Earnhardt got win by dropping behind another driver to draft and conserve fuel on lap 151, then passing him on turn four with 20 laps left, and lead the rest of the way to the checkered flag. Amateur driver Stanley Smith was involved in a pit road mishap when he lost control of his car and hit several crew members for Tracy Leslie's team. No one was seriously injured.

Top Ten Results

Photographs have shown that the #57 of Jimmy Spencer actually rolled over on the last lap of the race and managed to still finish 24th, 2 laps down. However, this crash was not caught on the CBS cameras.

Budweiser at the Glen

The Budweiser at the Glen was held August 12, 1990 at Watkins Glen International Raceway. Ricky Rudd won his 11th career Winston Cup road course race, overcoming a spin, two unscheduled pit stops and a restart with three laps left to win by 6 seconds at Watkins Glen. Rudd pulled away on the restart while second-place Alan Kulwicki fell off the pace with a clutch problem and Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, and Tommy Kendall crashed. Marlin's car owner, Billy Hagan, later chased Kendall around his car, hitting him with his cane. Dale Earnhardt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

After finishing the race in 11th, the #7 of Alan Kulwicki actually caught fire, forcing Alan to bail out just past the start-finish line.
Sports-car racer Sarel van der Merwe (at the time, van der Merwe was racing for Rick Hendrick's Camel GT team in IMSA) raced Darrell Waltrip's #17 to a 24th place finish after crashing late in the race. It was his only Winston Cup start.

Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held on August 19, 1990 at Michigan International Speedway. Mark Martin started on the outside of the front row, hovered in the top five the first half of the race, then demonstrated his dominance by leading 70 of the last 100 laps to win at Michigan. Martin and Rusty Wallace linked up for a side-by-side duel on lap 124 with Martin emerging ahead never to be challenged again. He regained the lead on lap 162 after a flurry of green-flag pit stops and led the rest of the 200 laps. The #7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Busch 500

The Busch 500 was held August 25, 1990 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Ernie Irvan and the Morgan-McClure Motorsports team captured their first ever Winston Cup victory at Bristol. The last 50 laps of the 500-lap race was a shootout between Irvan and Rusty Wallace. Irvan never relinquised the lead to Wallace, which he gained on lap 411. Irvan finished one car length ahead of Wallace. Dale Earnhardt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Heinz Southern 500

The Heinz Southern 500 was held September 2, 1990 at Darlngton Raceway. The traditional Labor Day event saw Dale Earnhardt capture the Richard Childress Racing's fourth pole of theseason before winning the race. Even with an ill-handling racecar, Earnhardt recovered, made up a lost lap and then having to battle a vibrating tire to outrun Ernie Irvan to the checkered glag. With the $200,000 payday, Dale became the first race car driver in history to pass the $11,000,000 mark in career winnings.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify:

70-J.D. McDuffie

Miller Genuine Draft 400

The Miller Genuine Draft 400 was held September 9, 1990 at Richmond International Raceway. This would be the final day race at Richmond that would be run during the fall. Dale Earnhardt won his fifth of the last nine races, gambling on his fuel mileage to lead the last 25 laps of the race. As the car coasted toward victory lane, it ran out of gas. "We figured our only chance was to win it on gas mileage and we did," said Dale. "I nursed it as much as I could for the last twenty laps and it was sputtering when I took the checkered flag. Luckily we made the right decision." Ernie Irvan won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Peak AntiFreeze 500

The Peak AntiFreeze 500 was held September 16, 1990 at Dover International Speedway. Ending a season-long dry spell, Bill Elliott put the Melling Racing Ford Thunderbird into victory lane for the first time in 1990, holding off Mark Martin while running on fumes for the win. Dale Earnhardt finished third despite combining with Elliott to lead 466 of the 500 laps. Also, by winning the pole, Elliott became the first driver to take both the pole and the checkered flag at Dover since Cale Yarborough did it in 1976.

Top Ten Results

Goody's 500

The Goody's 500 was held September 23, 1990 at Martinsville Speedway. Geoff Bodine led just twice for 69 of the 500 laps at Martinsville, including the final 41. Bodine passed Winston Cup point leader Mark Martin in turns 3 and 4 on lap 459, driving a car that was damaged in a collision with the lapped Terry Labonte on lap 318. Dale Earnhardt edged Martin for second place, closing Martin's Winston Cup points lead to 16 points with five races left. Martin won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Tyson Holly Farms 400

The Tyson Holly Farms 400 was held September 30, 1990 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Dale Earnhardt dominated, leading 291 of 400 laps, but Mark Martin snatched the leading on lap 363, and held onto it until the finish. With the win, Martin retained his 16-point advantage in the Winston Cup Championship race. Two pit stops to remove spring rubber left him in 12th place on lap 196, but by lap 288 he was in second place. On lap 263, Marin was the only driver to pass Earnhardt under green. Kyle Petty won the pole. The race was marked by tragedy, as rookie driver Rob Moroso, who finished in 21st place in this race, was killed in a highway accident hours after this race had concluded. Police reports said that Moroso was above the legal alcohol limit when he crashed.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: Ron Esau (#2), Tommy Kendall (#40), Larry Pearson (#41), Jack Pennington (#47), J.D. McDuffie (#70)

Mello Yello 500

The Mello Yello 500 was held October 7, 1990 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won for the second time in 1990 by taking the lead in lap 323 and holding it for the final 12 laps to finish ahead of Morgan Shepherd when the checkerd flag fell. Meanwhile, Mark Martin increased his Winston Cup points lead by 33 points despite finishing 14th on seven cylinders. Dale Earnhardt's car was struck in the pits while jacked up and his 25th-place finish left them 49 points behind Martin with three races left. Brett Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

AC Delco 500

The AC Delco 500 was held October 21, 1990 at North Carolina Speedway. Alan Kulwicki led six times for 155 of 492 laps, including the last 55 after taking the lead from Bill Elliott, to post his first win since November 1988 at Phoenix International Raceway. The race ended under caution. During the last caution, polesitter Ken Schrader pitted for 4 tires with about 3 laps to go, costing him a couple of positions in the finishing order. With both finishing three laps back, the Richard Childress Racing team gained five points on Mark Martin in the Winston Cup Championship race, though Martin still held a 45-point lead with two races remaining.

Top Ten Results

Checker 500

The Checker 500 was held November 4, 1990 at Phoenix International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt quickly turned the Winston Cup points battle around as he went from 45 points behind to 6 points in front. Earnhardt took the lead after lap 50 and led the rest of the 262 laps. "The race couldn't have gone better for us," said Earnhardt. "Our crew is the best there is and today they proved it again. They were flawless." The win was Dale's 9th of the year and 49th of his career. Rusty Wallace won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Atlanta Journal 500

The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 18, 1990 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Morgan Shepherd enjoyed his season-ending victory in Atlanta in the shadow of Dale Earnhardt clinching the 1990 Winston Cup championship, finishing the season 26 points ahead of Mark Martin. For Shepherd it was first Winston Cup win in 132 races, dating back to early 1986, also at Atlanta. Team owner Bud Moore had gone winless since September 1987. Rusty Wallace started from the pole. Tragedy struck during the race, when Ricky Rudd spun out on pit road and struck and killed Mike Ritch, a pit crew member on Bill Elliott's team.

Top Ten Results

Final Points Standings

Dale Earnhardt - 4430
Mark Martin - 4404
Geoff Bodine - 4017
Bill Elliott - 3999
Morgan Shepherd - 3689
Rusty Wallace - 3676
Ricky Rudd - 3601
Alan Kulwicki - 3599
Ernie Irvan - 3593
Ken Schrader - 3572
Kyle Petty - 3501
Brett Bodine - 3440
Davey Allison - 3423
Sterling Marlin - 3387
Terry Labonte - 3371
Michael Waltrip - 3251
Harry Gant - 3182
Derrike Cope - 3140
Bobby Hillin, Jr. - 3048
Darrell Waltrip - 3013
Dave Marcis - 2944
Dick Trickle - 2863
Rick Wilson - 2666
Jimmy Spencer - 2579
Dale Jarrett - 2558
Richard Petty - 2556
Butch Miller - 2377
Hut Stricklin - 2316
Jimmy Means - 2271
Rob Moroso - 2184
Rick Mast - 1719
Greg Sacks - 1663
Chad Little - 1632
Jack Pennington - 1278
Larry Pearson - 822
Jimmy Horton - 756
Mickey Gibbs - 755
Mike Alexander - 682
Phil Parsons - 632
J.D. McDuffie - 557
Buddy Baker - 498
Lake Speed - 479
Neil Bonnett - 455
Mark Stahl - 371
Bill Venturini - 349
Rodney Combs - 323
Irv Hoerr - 281
Tommy Kendall - 281
Ted Musgrave - 280
Chuck Bown - 276

Rookie of the Year

The 1990 season was a slim season for Rookie of the Yearcontenders. 1989 Busch Series champion Rob Moroso had a top-ten finish and qualified for every race, but he was killed in a car crash before the end of the year and was awarded the top rookie award posthumously. His top runner-up was Jack Pennington, a late-model dirt racing champion, who had 14 starts and no top-tens in an unsponsored car. The only other declarees were Jerry O'Neil and Jeff Purvis, who did not run enough races to be completely eligible for the honor.

References

Racing Reference
Race Summaries are from Maxx Trading Card's 1990 NASCAR set.

Preceded by 1989 in NASCAR	NASCAR seasons 1990	Succeeded by 1991 in NASCAR