1994 Winston Select 500

1994 Winston Select 500

Race details
Race 9 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1994 Winston Select 500 program cover.
Date	May 1, 1994
Official name	25th Annual Winston Select 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	157.478 miles per hour (253.436 km/h)
Attendance	150,000
Pole position
Driver	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing
Time	49.540
Most laps led
Driver	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing
Laps	78
Winner
No. 3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 1994 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 1, 1994, before an audience of 150,000 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 laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would make a charge to the front with six to go, defending the lead for the final five laps to take his 62nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.^[1][2] Earnhardt dedicated his win to the late Ayrton Senna, who lost his life earlier that day in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan and Bahari Racing driver Michael Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.

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.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 29, 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, April 30, 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.

Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.540 and an average speed of 193.298 miles per hour (311.083 km/h) in the first round.^[4]

Seven drivers would fail to qualify.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Ernie Irvan 1,454 2 Dale Earnhardt 1,429 (-25) 3 Mark Martin 1,227 (-227) 1 4 Ken Schrader 1,211 (–243) 1 5 Lake Speed 1,158 (–296) 2 6 Morgan Shepherd 1,144 (–310) 3 7 Rusty Wallace 1,135 (–319) 2 8 Sterling Marlin 1,098 (–356) 2 9 Ricky Rudd 1,094 (–360) 1 10 Kyle Petty 1,074 (–380) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.