1994 Mello Yello 500
28th race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1994 Mello Yello 500 was the 28th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 9, 1994, in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. In the final restart of the race with four to go, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to defend the field for the next three laps before a caution on the final lap ended the race, handing Jarrett the victory.[1][2] The victory was Jarrett's third NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory of his career and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
Race details | |||
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Race 28 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Date | October 9, 1994 | ||
Official name | 35th Annual Mello Yello 500 | ||
Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
Average speed | 145.922 miles per hour (234.839 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 170,000 | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | ||
Time | 29.070 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | |
Laps | 202 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | TBS | ||
Announcers | Ken Squier, Chuck Bown, Cale Yarborough | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Performance Racing Network |
Heading into the 1994 AC Delco 500, Dale Earnhardt was the extremely heavy favorite to win the driver's championship, only needing to be ahead of second-place driver, Rusty Wallace by 371 points at the finish of the race to mathematically clinch the championship.[3]