1990 Coca-Cola 600
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}{{Short description|Tenth race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Date=May 27|Scheduled_km=965.606|Distance_km=965.606|Avg={{convert|137.65|mph|km/h}}|Pole_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|Network=TBS|Most_Driver=Rusty Wallace|Radio=Performance Racing Network|Announcers=Ken Squier, Neil Bonnett, Lyn St. James|Most_Team=Blue Max Racing|First_Driver=Rusty Wallace|First_Team=Blue Max Racing|Most_laps=306|Season_No=29|Location=Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway|Pole_Time=31.041|Attendance=160,000|Scheduled_mi=600|Distance_laps=400|Scheduled_laps=400|Course_km=2.41|Course_mi=1.5|Race_No=10|Official_name=31st Annual Coca-Cola 600|Car=27|Race_Name=Coca-Cola 600|Year=1990|Distance_mi=600|Pole_Driver=Ken Schrader|Image=1990 Coca-Cola 600.jpeg|Caption=The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.}}
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.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=May 28, 1990 |title=Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 1) |pages=25 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121208090/rusty-nails-down-600-victory-part-1/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=May 28, 1990 |title=Rusty Nails Down 600 Victory (Part 2) |pages=31 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121208182/rusty-nails-down-600-victory-part-2/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Jimmy |date=May 28, 1990 |title=Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 1) |pages=13 |work=Johnson City Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121209343/wallace-edges-elliott-to-win-coca-cola/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Jimmy |date=May 28, 1990 |title=Wallace edges Elliott to win Coca-Cola 600 (Part 2) |pages=22 |work=Johnson City Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121209419/wallace-edges-elliott-to-win-coca-cola-6/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
File:Charlotte_Motor_Speedway_diagram.svg, 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 =
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor |
| 1 |
| 01
|Ford |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 04 |
| 5 |
| 6
|Ford |
| 06 |
| 7
|Ford |
| 8 |
| 9
|Ford |
| 10 |
| 11
|Ford |
| 12 |
| 13 |
| 15
|Ford |
| 17
|Tide |
| 18 |
| 19
|Ford |
| 20
|Rob Moroso (R) |
| 21
|Ford |
| 23 |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28
|Ford |
| 29 |
| 30 |
| 33 |
| 35 |
| 36 |
| 38
|Ford |
| 42 |
| 43
|STP |
| 47
|Jack Pennington (R) |
| 52 |
| 53
|Jerry O'Neil (R) |
| 56 |
| 57 |
| 60 |
| 66 |
| 70 |
| 71 |
| 72 |
| 75 |
| 77
|Ford |
| 80
|Ford |
| 83 |
| 88 |
| 89 |
| 90
|Ford |
| 94 |
| 98 |
Qualifying
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,{{Cite news |date=May 22, 1990 |title=Race week schedule |pages=24 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121211089/race-week-schedule/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} 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 {{Convert|173.963|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=May 24, 1990 |title=No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 1) |pages=47 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121211385/no-contest-schraders-on-pole-part-1/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=May 24, 1990 |title=No Contest: Schrader's On Pole (Part 2) |pages=43 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121211427/no-contest-schraders-on-pole-part-2/ |access-date=March 19, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
13 drivers would fail to qualify.
= Full qualifying results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|25 |31.041 |173.963 |
|---|
| 2
|6 |Ford |31.174 |173.221 |
| 3
|7 |Ford |31.193 |173.116 |
| 4
|4 |31.222 |172.955 |
| 5
|26 |31.281 |172.629 |
| 6
|28 |Ford |31.368 |172.150 |
| 7
|9 |Ford |31.407 |171.936 |
| 8
|68 |31.423 |171.849 |
| 9
|27 |31.430 |171.810 |
| 10
|20 |Rob Moroso (R) |31.458 |171.657 |
| 11
|10 |31.464 |171.625 |
| 12
|3 |31.502 |171.418 |
| 13
|11 |Ford |31.513 |171.358 |
| 14
|66 |31.543 |171.195 |
| 15
|33 |31.559 |171.108 |
| 16
|17 |31.617 |170.794 |
| 17
|8 |31.622 |170.767 |
| 18
|98 |31.652 |170.605 |
| 19
|21 |Ford |31.653 |170.600 |
| 20
|30 |31.673 |170.492 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to lock in Round 1 |
| 21
|75 |31.676 |170.476 |
| 22
|94 |31.700 |170.347 |
| 23
|12 |31.709 |170.299 |
| 24
|15 |Ford |31.752 |170.068 |
| 25
|19 |Ford |31.771 |169.966 |
| 26
|57 |31.795 |169.838 |
| 27
|90 |Ford |31.797 |169.827 |
| 28
|18 |31.803 |169.795 |
| 29
|88 |31.812 |169.747 |
| 30
|43 |31.819 |169.710 |
| 31
|06 |31.854 |169.523 |
| 32
|77 |Ford |31.893 |169.316 |
| 33
|80 |Ford |31.895 |169.306 |
| 34
|5 |31.904 |169.258 |
| 35
|71 |31.921 |169.168 |
| 36
|2 |31.926 |169.141 |
| 37
|47 |Jack Pennington (R) |31.929 |169.125 |
| 38
|83 |31.940 |169.067 |
| 39
|89 |31.962 |168.951 |
| 40
|72 |31.979 |168.861 |
| colspan="7" |Provisionals |
| 41
|42 |32.286 |167.255 |
| 42
|1 |32.286 |167.255 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to qualify |
| 43
|52 | -* | -* |
| 44
|70 | -* | -* |
| 45
|38 |Ford | -* | -* |
| 46
|13 | -* | -* |
| 47
|53 |Jerry O'Neil (R) | -* | -* |
| 48
|36 | -* | -* |
| 49
|23 | -* | -* |
| 50
|04 | -* | -* |
| 51
|56 | -* | -* |
| 52
|35 | -* | -* |
| 53
|60 | -* | -* |
| 54
|01 |Ford | -* | -* |
| 55
|29 | -* | -* |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121200645/coca-cola-600/ Official first round qualifying results] |
| colspan="7" |Official starting lineup |
Race results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Fin !St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts !Winnings |
| 1
|9 |27 |400 |306 |running |185 |$151,000 |
|---|
| 2
|7 |9 |Ford |400 |0 |running |170 |$67,450 |
| 3
|2 |6 |Ford |400 |12 |running |170 |$51,700 |
| 4
|20 |30 |400 |0 |running |160 |$32,600 |
| 5
|4 |4 |400 |0 |running |155 |$28,350 |
| 6
|3 |7 |Ford |400 |0 |running |150 |$23,775 |
| 7
|6 |28 |Ford |400 |1 |running |151 |$24,400 |
| 8
|24 |15 |Ford |400 |0 |running |142 |$18,100 |
| 9
|11 |10 |400 |2 |running |143 |$18,750 |
| 10
|13 |11 |Ford |400 |5 |running |139 |$23,125 |
| 11
|1 |25 |400 |63 |running |135 |$63,100 |
| 12
|14 |66 |399 |0 |running |127 |$15,000 |
| 13
|42 |1 |399 |0 |running |124 |$14,257 |
| 14
|28 |18 |398 |0 |running |121 |$8,668 |
| 15
|27 |90 |Ford |398 |0 |running |118 |$10,465 |
| 16
|35 |71 |398 |0 |running |115 |$10,850 |
| 17
|41 |42 |397 |0 |running |112 |$13,900 |
| 18
|18 |98 |396 |0 |running |109 |$7,890 |
| 19
|21 |75 |395 |0 |engine |106 |$9,370 |
| 20
|37 |47 |Jack Pennington (R) |395 |0 |running |103 |$7,775 |
| 21
|26 |57 |394 |0 |running |100 |$8,800 |
| 22
|16 |17 |393 |2 |running |102 |$14,800 |
| 23
|33 |80 |Ford |389 |0 |running |94 |$5,400 |
| 24
|25 |19 |Ford |385 |0 |running |91 |$5,200 |
| 25
|15 |33 |383 |1 |running |93 |$12,100 |
| 26
|10 |20 |Rob Moroso (R) |356 |0 |engine |85 |$5,600 |
| 27
|30 |43 |352 |0 |oil leak |82 |$5,650 |
| 28
|34 |5 |320 |0 |camshaft |79 |$7,450 |
| 29
|5 |26 |317 |4 |engine |81 |$8,950 |
| 30
|12 |3 |262 |0 |running |73 |$13,950 |
| 31
|36 |2 |251 |0 |engine |70 |$7,000 |
| 32
|19 |21 |Ford |241 |4 |engine |72 |$7,120 |
| 33
|39 |89 |226 |0 |engine |64 |$4,190 |
| 34
|17 |8 |208 |0 |accident |61 |$6,800 |
| 35
|22 |94 |201 |0 |engine |58 |$6,750 |
| 36
|40 |72 |195 |0 |engine |55 |$4,100 |
| 37
|23 |12 |173 |0 |oil line |52 |$4,680 |
| 38
|38 |83 |113 |0 |accident |49 |$4,060 |
| 39
|8 |68 |102 |0 |accident |46 |$4,540 |
| 40
|31 |06 |40 |0 |engine |0 |$4,020 |
| 41
|32 |77 |Ford |5 |0 |engine |40 |$4,520 |
| 42
|29 |88 |2 |0 |engine |37 |$4,520 |
| colspan="11" |Failed to qualify |
| 43
! rowspan="13" | |52 ! colspan="5" rowspan="13" | |
| 44
|70 |
| 45
|38 |Ford |
| 46
|13 |
| 47
|53 |Jerry O'Neil (R) |
| 48
|36 |
| 49
|23 |
| 50
|04 |
| 51
|56 |
| 52
|35 |
| 53
|60 |
| 54
|01 |Ford |
| 55
|29 |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121170896/sundays-results/ Official race results] |
Standings after the race
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
;Drivers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| ! Pos
! Driver ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,533 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,512 (-21) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,465 (-68) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,366 (–167) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,359 (–174) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,347 (–186) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,336 (–197) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,299 (–234) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,271 (–262) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,236 (–297) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121173863/standings/ Official driver's standings] |
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
{{col-end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1990 Winston 500|Next_race=1990 Budweiser 500|Monsteryear=1990|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{1990 Winston Cup}}
{{Coca-Cola 600}}
{{NASCAR on TBS}}