1994 Pontiac Excitement 400

{{Short description|Third race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Race_No=3|Distance_mi=300|Year=1994|Pole_Time=21.867|Race_Name=Pontiac Excitement 400|Course_mi=0.75|Scheduled_km=482.803|Distance_km=482.803|Course_km=1.21|Distance_laps=400|Scheduled_laps=400|Scheduled_mi=300|Official_name=40th Annual Pontiac Excitement 400|Location=Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway|Avg={{convert|98.334|mph|km/h}}|Season_No=31|Date=March 6|Car=28|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Network=TBS|Announcers=Ken Squier, Dave Marcis, Kenny Wallace|Most_laps=189|First_Driver=Ernie Irvan|First_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Most_Driver=Ernie Irvan|Pole_Driver=Ted Musgrave|Pole_Team=Roush Racing|Most_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Caption=The 1994 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover. Artwork by Sam Bass.|Image=1994_Pontiac_Excitement_400.jpeg|Attendance=}}

The 1994 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the third stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 40th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 6, 1994, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. On the final restart with 20 to go, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would manage to hold off the field, along with the help of a fast final pit stop to take his 10th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and the overall lead in the driver's championship.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=March 7, 1994 |title=Standout pit crew effort helps Irvan clinch victory |pages=31 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113348985/standout-pit-crew-effort-helps-irvan/ |access-date=November 20, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Pearce |first=Al |date=March 7, 1994 |title=Irvan cruises to win |pages=29 |work=Sun Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113349160/irvan-cruises-to-win/ |access-date=November 20, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

File:Richmond_International_Speedway.png, the venue where the race was at.]]

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!#

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

1

|Precision Products Racing

2

|Penske Racing South

|Miller Genuine Draft

02

|Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

3

|Dale Earnhardt

|Richard Childress Racing

|GM Goodwrench Service Plus

4

|Sterling Marlin

|Morgan–McClure Motorsports

5

|Hendrick Motorsports

|Kellogg's Frosted Flakes

6

7

|Geoff Bodine Racing

8

|Jeff Burton (R)

|Stavola Brothers Racing

10

|Rudd Performance Motorsports

11

|Junior Johnson & Associates

12

|Bobby Allison Motorsports

|Bobby Allison Motorsports

14

|John Andretti (R)

15

|Bud Moore Engineering

|Ford Quality Care

16

|The Family Channel

17

|Darrell Waltrip

|Darrell Waltrip Motorsports

18

|Joe Gibbs Racing

|Interstate Batteries

19

|Loy Allen Jr. (R)

|TriStar Motorsports

21

|Morgan Shepherd

|Wood Brothers Racing

22

|Bill Davis Racing

23

|Travis Carter Enterprises

24

|Hendrick Motorsports

25

|Hendrick Motorsports

26

27

|Junior Johnson & Associates

28

|Robert Yates Racing

|Texaco, Havoline

29

|Diamond Ridge Motorsports

|Diamond Ridge Motorsports

30

|Michael Waltrip

31

|A.G. Dillard Motorsports

32

|Active Motorsports

33

|Leo Jackson Motorsports

40

|Bobby Hamilton

41

|Joe Nemechek (R)

|Larry Hedrick Motorsports

42

43

|Wally Dallenbach Jr.

|Petty Enterprises

45

|Rich Bickle (R)

|Terminal Trucking Motorsports

|Terminal Trucking

47

|Billy Standridge (R)

|Johnson Standridge Racing

|Johnson Standridge Racing

55

|RaDiUs Motorsports

61

|Chesrown Racing

|Total Petroleum

66

|Mike Wallace (R)

71

|Marcis Auto Racing

|Southwest Technical Group

75

|Butch Mock Motorsports

|Factory Stores of America

77

|Jasper Motorsports

90

|Bobby Hillin Jr.

|Donlavey Racing

95

|Jeremy Mayfield (R)

|Sadler Brothers Racing

98

|Cale Yarborough Motorsports

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 4, 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 Saturday, March 5, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-34 would be decided on time,{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1996 |title=Pontiac Excitement 400 |pages=8 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113350088/nascar-today/ |access-date=November 20, 2022 |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; which was usually two. 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.

Ted Musgrave, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 21.867 and an average speed of {{Convert|123.474|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Mike |date=March 5, 1994 |title=Musgrave earns pole over teammate Martin |pages=58 |work=The Indianapolis Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113350260/musgrave-earns-pole-over-teammate-martin/ |access-date=November 20, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

Nine drivers would fail to qualify.

= Full qualifying results =

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Pos.

!#

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Time

!Speed

1

|16

|21.867

|123.474

2

|6

|21.949

|123.012

3

|12

|Bobby Allison Motorsports

|21.956

|122.973

4

|1

|Precision Products Racing

|22.000

|122.727

5

|30

|Michael Waltrip

|22.018

|122.627

6

|4

|Sterling Marlin

|Morgan–McClure Motorsports

|22.033

|122.543

7

|28

|Robert Yates Racing

|22.066

|122.360

8

|24

|Hendrick Motorsports

|22.086

|122.249

9

|3

|Dale Earnhardt

|Richard Childress Racing

|22.096

|122.194

10

|27

|Junior Johnson & Associates

|22.100

|122.172

11

|41

|Joe Nemechek (R)

|Larry Hedrick Motorsports

|22.100

|122.172

12

|2

|Penske Racing South

|22.103

|122.155

13

|26

|22.110

|122.117

14

|75

|Butch Mock Motorsports

|22.110

|122.117

15

|29

|Steve Grissom (R)

|Diamond Ridge Motorsports

|22.114

|122.095

16

|25

|Hendrick Motorsports

|22.117

|122.078

17

|7

|Geoff Bodine Racing

|22.130

|122.006

18

|95

|Jeremy Mayfield (R)

|Sadler Brothers Racing

|22.135

|121.979

19

|42

|22.137

|121.968

20

|32

|Active Motorsports

|22.150

|121.896

colspan="7" |Failed to lock in Round 1

21

|77

|U.S. Motorsports Inc.

|22.125

|122.034

22

|18

|Joe Gibbs Racing

|22.172

|121.775

23

|55

|RaDiUs Motorsports

|22.190

|121.676

24

|14

|John Andretti (R)

|22.197

|121.638

25

|8

|Jeff Burton (R)

|Stavola Brothers Racing

|22.198

|121.633

26

|11

|Junior Johnson & Associates

|22.202

|121.611

27

|17

|Darrell Waltrip

|Darrell Waltrip Motorsports

|22.202

|121.611

28

|33

|Leo Jackson Motorsports

|22.205

|121.594

29

|31

|Ward Burton (R)

|A.G. Dillard Motorsports

|22.206

|121.589

30

|15

|Bud Moore Engineering

|22.226

|121.479

31

|22

|Bill Davis Racing

|22.227

|121.474

32

|21

|Morgan Shepherd

|Wood Brothers Racing

|22.232

|121.447

33

|98

|Cale Yarborough Motorsports

|22.232

|121.447

34

|10

|Rudd Performance Motorsports

|22.239

|121.408

colspan="7" |Provisionals

35

|40

|Bobby Hamilton

| -*

| -*

36

|90

|Bobby Hillin Jr.

|Donlavey Racing

| -*

| -*

colspan="7" |Champion's Provisional

37

|5

|Hendrick Motorsports

| -*

| -*

colspan="7" |Failed to qualify

38

|19

|Loy Allen Jr. (R)

|TriStar Motorsports

| -*

| -*

39

|45

|Rich Bickle (R)

|Terminal Trucking Motorsports

| -*

| -*

40

|71

|Marcis Auto Racing

| -*

| -*

41

|43

|Wally Dallenbach Jr.

|Petty Enterprises

| -*

| -*

42

|23

|Travis Carter Enterprises

| -*

| -*

43

|47

|Billy Standridge (R)

|Johnson Standridge Racing

| -*

| -*

44

|61

|Chesrown Racing

| -*

| -*

45

|02

| -*

| -*

46

|66

|Mike Wallace (R)

| -*

| -*

colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113324116/pontiac-400-qualifying/ Official first round qualifying results]

colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113324230/todays-lineup/ Official starting lineup]

Race results

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Fin

!St

!#

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Laps

!Led

!Status

!Pts

!Winnings

1

|7

|28

|Robert Yates Racing

|400

|189

|running

|185

|$71,175

2

|12

|2

|Penske Racing South

|400

|96

|running

|175

|$39,575

3

|8

|24

|Hendrick Motorsports

|400

|2

|running

|170

|$34,000

4

|9

|3

|Dale Earnhardt

|Richard Childress Racing

|400

|10

|running

|165

|$29,550

5

|19

|42

|400

|0

|running

|155

|$26,500

6

|2

|6

|400

|27

|running

|155

|$23,150

7

|4

|1

|Precision Products Racing

|400

|30

|running

|151

|$9,725

8

|13

|26

|400

|0

|running

|142

|$16,525

9

|37

|5

|Hendrick Motorsports

|400

|1

|running

|143

|$20,825

10

|22

|18

|Joe Gibbs Racing

|399

|0

|running

|134

|$21,825

11

|16

|25

|Hendrick Motorsports

|399

|0

|running

|130

|$15,325

12

|26

|11

|Junior Johnson & Associates

|399

|0

|running

|127

|$15,025

13

|1

|16

|399

|45

|running

|129

|$19,375

14

|30

|15

|Bud Moore Engineering

|399

|0

|running

|121

|$17,575

15

|32

|21

|Morgan Shepherd

|Wood Brothers Racing

|398

|0

|running

|118

|$17,835

16

|27

|17

|Darrell Waltrip

|Darrell Waltrip Motorsports

|398

|0

|running

|115

|$14,500

17

|3

|12

|Bobby Allison Motorsports

|398

|0

|running

|112

|$14,300

18

|34

|10

|Rudd Performance Motorsports

|398

|0

|running

|109

|$7,250

19

|6

|4

|Sterling Marlin

|Morgan–McClure Motorsports

|397

|0

|running

|106

|$17,225

20

|25

|8

|Jeff Burton (R)

|Stavola Brothers Racing

|397

|0

|running

|103

|$15,350

21

|11

|41

|Joe Nemechek (R)

|Larry Hedrick Motorsports

|397

|0

|running

|100

|$9,850

22

|10

|27

|Junior Johnson & Associates

|397

|0

|running

|97

|$9,725

23

|15

|29

|Steve Grissom (R)

|Diamond Ridge Motorsports

|396

|0

|running

|94

|$7,550

24

|31

|22

|Bill Davis Racing

|396

|0

|running

|91

|$13,525

25

|14

|75

|Butch Mock Motorsports

|396

|0

|running

|88

|$9,375

26

|36

|90

|Bobby Hillin Jr.

|Donlavey Racing

|390

|0

|running

|85

|$9,250

27

|18

|95

|Jeremy Mayfield (R)

|Sadler Brothers Racing

|390

|0

|running

|82

|$6,925

28

|21

|77

|U.S. Motorsports Inc.

|385

|0

|running

|79

|$7,400

29

|33

|98

|Cale Yarborough Motorsports

|381

|0

|running

|76

|$9,075

30

|24

|14

|John Andretti (R)

|355

|0

|engine

|73

|$12,945

31

|5

|30

|Michael Waltrip

|328

|0

|running

|70

|$12,825

32

|17

|7

|Geoff Bodine Racing

|301

|0

|engine

|67

|$12,800

33

|35

|40

|Bobby Hamilton

|180

|0

|engine

|65

|$12,285

34

|28

|33

|Leo Jackson Motorsports

|72

|0

|accident

|62

|$11,775

35

|29

|31

|Ward Burton (R)

|A.G. Dillard Motorsports

|71

|0

|piston

|59

|$6,775

36

|23

|55

|RaDiUs Motorsports

|50

|0

|engine

|56

|$7,275

37

|20

|32

|Active Motorsports

|1

|0

|accident

|53

|$6,775

colspan="11" |Failed to qualify

38

! rowspan="9" |

|19

|Loy Allen Jr. (R)

|TriStar Motorsports

! colspan="5" rowspan="9" |

39

|45

|Rich Bickle (R)

|Terminal Trucking Motorsports

40

|71

|Marcis Auto Racing

41

|43

|Wally Dallenbach Jr.

|Petty Enterprises

42

|23

|Travis Carter Enterprises

43

|47

|Billy Standridge (R)

|Johnson Standridge Racing

44

|61

|Chesrown Racing

45

|02

46

|66

|Mike Wallace (R)

colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113323918/sundays-results/ Official race results]

Standings after the race

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Drivers' Championship standings

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"

! Pos

! Driver

! Points

align="left"| 10px 1

| style="text-align:center;"| 1

| style="text-align:center;"| 520

align="left"| 10px 1

| style="text-align:center;"| 2

| Dale Earnhardt

| style="text-align:center;"| 467 (-53)

align="left"| 10px 2

| style="text-align:center;"| 3

| Sterling Marlin

| style="text-align:center;"| 461 (-59)

align="left"| 10px

| style="text-align:center;"| 4

| style="text-align:center;"| 449 (–71)

align="left"| 10px

| style="text-align:center;"| 5

| Terry Labonte

| style="text-align:center;"| 425 (–95)

align="left"| 10px2

| style="text-align:center;"| 6

| style="text-align:center;"| 402 (–118)

align="left"| 10px 4

| style="text-align:center;"| 7

| style="text-align:center;"| 402 (–118)

align="left"| 10px 5

| style="text-align:center;"| 8

| Rusty Wallace

| style="text-align:center;"| 400 (–120)

align="left"| 10px 3

| style="text-align:center;"| 9

| Morgan Shepherd

| style="text-align:center;"| 398 (–122)

align="left"| 10px

| style="text-align:center;"| 10

| style="text-align:center;"| 398 (–122)

class="sortbottom"

!colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113349702/points-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=1994 Goodwrench 500|Next_race=1994 Purolator 500|Monsteryear=1994|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{NASCAR on TBS}}{{1994 Winston Cup}}

Category:1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Category:NASCAR races at Richmond Raceway

Category:March 1994 sports events in the United States

Category:1994 in sports in Virginia