1994 Coca-Cola 600
The 1994 Coca-Cola 600, the 35th running of the event, was the 11th race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was won by Jeff Gordon, who started from the pole and earned his first victory in a points-paying race.[3] Gordon won the race 3.3 seconds ahead of Rusty Wallace with Geoff Bodine and Dale Jarrett following behind.[4]
| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 31 of in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | May 29, 1994 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 139.445 mph | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 187 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Richard Petty | ||
There was some topic humor during the race as someone put up a sign alongside the track this one stating "Attention All Drivers! Spinning thru the grass will result in caning." The sign was joking about 18-year-old American Michael P. Fay who infamously got caned in Singapore earlier in the year after being convicted of vandalizing cars, causing an international incident. Fay's case was big news at the time, he didn't return to the USA until the month after this race
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, 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 Winston, as well as the Mello Yello 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.
Race report
Four drivers failed to qualify for this race: Jimmy Hensley, Dave Marcis, Bobby Hillin Jr. and Jim Sauter. Nearly 12% of this race would be held under a caution flag while the average green flag run was just over 35 laps.[5]
Roger Penske had a pretty good day. Earlier in the day Al Unser, Jr. won the Indy 500 for the Captain thanks in part to a secret weapon pushrod Mercedes engine. Here in Charlotte Rusty Wallace leads the most laps en route to a second-place finish, coming up just short of giving Penske a sweep.[5]
Pretty rare sight for Roses to have sponsored a Winston Cup car; especially around the point Roses getting hammered much like the other discount chains blindsided by the rapid expansion of Wal-Mart.[5]
I told Rick [Hendrick] I didn't think the kid was ever going to make it. I mean, seriously, he hit everything but the pace car that year. At the time I thought I was right because he seemed to wreck almost every week. I remember Ray Evernham ... telling me that they had to replace something like 13 noses on the cars from where Jeff wrecked. ... I for one was pretty skeptical of his future at the time.
Gordon's crew chief Ray Evernham made the call for two tires while Wallace's crew chief made the call for four. Evernham's call paid off and Gordon outlasted Wallace in the closing laps. Following this race, Gordon would be referred to by Dale Earnhardt as the "Wonder Boy".[7] Gordon ended up crying in Victory Lane after his victory.
Top 10 finishers
| Pos[5] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Winnings | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 400 | $196,500 | 16 | 180 | 4:18:10 |
| 2 | 21 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Ford | 400 | $88,075 | 187 | 180 | +3.91 seconds |
| 3 | 3 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Ford | 400 | $75,500 | 101 | 170 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 4 | 16 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Chevrolet | 400 | $56,400 | 9 | 165 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 5 | 14 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Ford | 400 | $47,800 | 23 | 160 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 6 | 13 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | 400 | $28,700 | 10 | 155 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 7 | 18 | 33 | Harry Gant | Chevrolet | 399 | $32,500 | 0 | 146 | +1 lap |
| 8 | 31 | 75 | Todd Bodine | Ford | 398 | $26,400 | 0 | 142 | +2 laps |
| 9 | 24 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 397 | $37,950 | 0 | 138 | +3 laps |
| 10 | 30 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Pontiac | 397 | $26,800 | 0 | 134 | +3 laps |
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[5] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1  |
Ernie Irvan | 1799 | 0 |
| 2 |
Dale Earnhardt | 1737 | -62 |
3  |
Rusty Wallace | 1470 | -329 |
| 4 |
Ken Schrader | 1440 | -359 |
5  |
Mark Martin | 1436 | -363 |
| 6 |
Morgan Shepherd | 1374 | -425 |
| 7 |
Ricky Rudd | 1370 | -429 |
| 8 |
Lake Speed | 1346 | -453 |
| 9 |
Ted Musgrave | 1301 | -498 |
| 10 |
Michael Waltrip | 1297 | -502 |
References
- "Weather information for the 1994 Coca-Cola 600". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
- "05-29-1994 - Coca-Cola 600 - Charlotte Motor Speedway". Fantasy Racing Cheatsheet. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- "1994 Coca-Cola 600". race-database.com. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- "Gordon tricks veterans for Coca-Cola 600 win". Toledo Blade. May 30, 1994. p. 28.
- "Racing information for the 1994 Coca-Cola 600". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
- Waltrip, Darrell (July 30, 2014). "Is Indy winner Jeff Gordon NASCAR's greatest of all time? DW says ..." Foxsports.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- "Jeff Gordon's First Victory". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-01-25.
| Preceded by 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Races 1994 |
Succeeded by 1994 Budweiser 500 |