| Avg | 125.239 miles per hour (201.553 km/h) |
|---|---|
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Glenn Jarrett |
| Network | TNN |
| Radio | Motor Racing Network |
| Most laps | 347 |
| Most driver | Rusty Wallace |
| First driver | Rusty Wallace |
| Most team | Penske Racing South |
| First team | Penske Racing South |
| Car | 2 |
| Pole team | Geoff Bodine Racing |
| Pole driver | Geoff Bodine |
| Date | February 27 |
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway |
| Course | 1.637 km |
| Course | 1.017 mi |
| Distance | 805.257 km |
| Scheduled | 805.257 km |
| Scheduled | 500.364 mi |
| Scheduled laps | 492 |
| Distance laps | 492 |
| Season no | 31 |
| Race no | 2 |
| Race name | Goodwrench 500 |
| Year | 1994 |
| Pole time | 24.132 |
| Distance | 500.364 mi |
| Attendance | 45,000 |
The 1994 Goodwrench 500 was the second stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 29th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 27, 1994, in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 492 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to dominate the majority of the race to take his 32nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin and Precision Products Racing driver Rick Mast would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
North Carolina Speedway is a 1 mile (1.6 km) flat oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1965, including the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series from 1965 to 2004, and currently the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 25, at 2:30 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, February 26, at 11:30 AM 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,[3] 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 provisionals were given. 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.
Geoff Bodine, driving for his own Geoff Bodine Racing team, won the pole, setting a time of 24.132 and an average speed of 151.716 mph (244.163 km/h) in the first round.[4]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sterling Marlin | 355 | ||||||
| 2 | Ernie Irvan | 335 (-20) | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | 302 (-53) | |||||
| 4 | Mark Martin | 294 (–61) | ||||||
| 5 | Terry Labonte | 282 (–73) | ||||||
| 1 | 6 | Morgan Shepherd | 280 (–75) | |||||
| 1 | 7 | Ricky Rudd | 272 (–83) | |||||
| 3 | 8 | Ken Schrader | 272 (–83) | |||||
| 1 | 9 | Geoff Bodine | 258 (–97) | |||||
| 10 | Rick Mast | 247 (–108) | ||||||
| Official driver's standings | ||||||||
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 28, 1994). "It takes Wallace just two races to prove point". York Daily Record. p. 28. Retrieved December 9, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
- ^ Harris, Mike (February 28, 1994). "It's a habit for Wallace, who rolls at Rockingham". The Buffalo News. p. 11. Retrieved December 9, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. February 25, 1994. p. 18. Retrieved December 9, 2022. – via Newspapers.com
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 26, 1994). "Bodine in fast company". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 9. Retrieved December 9, 2022. – via Newspapers.com