The 1994 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 24, 1994, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final nineteen laps of the race, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Jimmy Spencer would manage to hold off the field to take his second and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, teammate Bill Elliott and Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would finish second and third, respectively. With his third place finish, Irvan would regain the points lead in the overall driver's standings.[3]
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1994 DieHard 500 program cover | |||
| Date | July 24, 1994 | ||
| Official name | 26th Annual DieHard 500 | ||
| Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 163.217 miles per hour (262.672 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | 49.496 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 90 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Jimmy Spencer | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Richard Petty | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
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Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 22, at 4:00 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, July 23, at 11:45 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,[4] 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.
Dale Earnhardt, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.496 and an average speed of 193.470 miles per hour (311.360 km/h) in the first round.[5]
Ten drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editMedia
editTelevision
editThe Diehard 500 was covered by CBS in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1974 race winner Richard Petty called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, David Hobbs and Dick Berggren handled pit road for the television side.
| CBS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | |
| Ken Squier | Ned Jarrett Richard Petty |
Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren |
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ Harris, Mike (July 25, 1994). "Spencer's late rush wins DieHard". Arizona Republic. p. 14. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (July 25, 1994). "Spencer beats Elliott in Talladega thriller". The Bradenton Herald. p. 21. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tutor, Phillip (July 25, 1994). "Despite parking car early, Earnhardt's attitude upbeat". The Anniston Star. p. 14. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. July 21, 1994. p. 20. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coble, Don (July 23, 1994). "Earnhardt, Spencer to do battle in DieHard 500". The Courier-News. p. 19. Retrieved December 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
