1994 Purolator 500
# 1994 Purolator 500

The 1994 Purolator 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 13, 1994, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would manage to complete a dominant performance for the majority of the race to take his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second victory of the season, and his second straight victory. To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd and owner-driver Darrell Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.

## Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

### Entry list

* (R) - denotes rookie driver.

| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | Skoal |
| 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | Miller Genuine Draft |
| 02 | Curtis Markham | Taylor Racing | Ford | Children's Miracle Network Hospitals |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodak |
| 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Frosted Flakes |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Valvoline |
| 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | Exide |
| 8 | Jeff Burton (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | Raybestos |
| 9 | Rich Bickle (R) | Melling Racing | Ford | Melling Racing |
| 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | Tide |
| 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | Budweiser |
| 12 | Chuck Bown | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | Crown Fiber |
| 14 | John Andretti (R) | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | Freedom Village USA, Kanawha Insurance |
| 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Ford Quality Care |
| 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | The Family Channel |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | Western Auto |
| 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries |
| 19 | Loy Allen Jr. (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | Hooters |
| 20 | Buddy Baker | Moroso Racing | Ford | FINA |
| 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Bobby Labonte | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | Maxwell House |
| 23 | Hut Stricklin | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | Smokin' Joe's |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | DuPont |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodiak |
| 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | Quaker State |
| 27 | Jimmy Spencer | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | McDonald's |
| 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 29 | Steve Grissom | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | Diamond Ridge Motorsports |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Pennzoil |
| 31 | Ward Burton | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hardee's |
| 32 | Dick Trickle | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet | Active Trucking |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit |
| 40 | Bobby Hamilton | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Kendall |
| 41 | Joe Nemechek (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Meineke |
| 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Mello Yello |
| 43 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 47 | Billy Standridge (R) | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | Johnson Standridge Racing |
| 51 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | Country Time |
| 55 | Jimmy Hensley | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | Petron Plus |
| 61 | Rick Carelli | Chesrown Racing | Chevrolet | Total Petroleum |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Southwest Technical Group |
| 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | Factory Stores of America |
| 77 | Greg Sacks | U.S. Motorsports Inc. | Ford | US Airways |
| 80 | Jimmy Horton | Hover Motorsports | Ford | Hover Motorsports |
| 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Ford | Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce, Kraft Handi-Snacks |
| 90 | Mike Wallace (R) | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Heilig-Meyers |
| 95 | Jeremy Mayfield (R) | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | Shoney's |
| 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | Fingerhut |
| 99 | Danny Sullivan | Virtue Racing | Chevrolet | Checkers and Rally's |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 11, 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, March 12, at 10:30 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, 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.

Loy Allen Jr., driving for TriStar Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.405 and an average speed of 180.207 miles per hour (290.015 km/h) in the first round.

Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 30.405 | 180.207 |
| 2 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 30.469 | 179.829 |
| 3 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.510 | 179.587 |
| 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 30.541 | 179.405 |
| 5 | 41 | Joe Nemechek (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.554 | 179.328 |
| 6 | 9 | Rich Bickle (R) | Melling Racing | Ford | 30.560 | 179.293 |
| 7 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 30.566 | 179.258 |
| 8 | 31 | Ward Burton (R) | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.605 | 179.030 |
| 9 | 12 | Chuck Bown | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 30.606 | 179.024 |
| 10 | 77 | Greg Sacks | U.S. Motorsports Inc. | Ford | 30.626 | 178.907 |
| 11 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.669 | 178.656 |
| 12 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 30.681 | 178.586 |
| 13 | 8 | Jeff Burton (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.691 | 178.528 |
| 14 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.724 | 178.336 |
| 15 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 30.725 | 178.330 |
| 16 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.744 | 178.220 |
| 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.752 | 178.174 |
| 18 | 02 | Curtis Markham | Taylor Racing | Ford | 30.833 | 177.706 |
| 19 | 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 30.847 | 177.625 |
| 20 | 32 | Dick Trickle | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.871 | 177.487 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 21 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 30.885 | 177.407 |
| 22 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 30.897 | 177.338 |
| 23 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.902 | 177.309 |
| 24 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.910 | 177.263 |
| 25 | 27 | Jimmy Spencer | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 30.927 | 177.166 |
| 26 | 14 | John Andretti (R) | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 30.950 | 177.034 |
| 27 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 30.966 | 176.942 |
| 28 | 51 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 31.009 | 176.697 |
| 29 | 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 31.031 | 176.572 |
| 30 | 22 | Bobby Labonte | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 31.033 | 176.560 |
| 31 | 29 | Steve Grissom (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.043 | 176.504 |
| 32 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 31.054 | 176.441 |
| 33 | 40 | Bobby Hamilton | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 31.069 | 176.356 |
| 34 | 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 31.076 | 176.316 |
| 35 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 31.100 | 176.180 |
| 36 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 31.112 | 176.112 |
| 37 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 31.114 | 176.101 |
| 38 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 31.118 | 176.078 |
| 39 | 23 | Hut Stricklin | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 31.121 | 176.061 |
| 40 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.135 | 175.982 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 41 | 55 | Jimmy Hensley | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | -* | -* |
| 42 | 90 | Mike Wallace (R) | Donlavey Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 43 | 43 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 44 | 61 | Rick Carelli | Chesrown Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 45 | 20 | Buddy Baker | Moroso Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 46 | 47 | Billy Standridge (R) | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 47 | 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 48 | 80 | Jimmy Horton | Hover Motorsports | Ford | -* | -* |
| 49 | 99 | Danny Sullivan | Virtue Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 50 | 95 | Jeremy Mayfield (R) | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 7 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 328 | 207 | running | 185 | $86,100 |
| 2 | 14 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 328 | 1 | running | 175 | $48,300 |
| 3 | 40 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 328 | 14 | running | 170 | $44,450 |
| 4 | 13 | 8 | Jeff Burton (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 328 | 87 | running | 165 | $32,600 |
| 5 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 327 | 0 | running | 155 | $30,300 |
| 6 | 34 | 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 327 | 0 | running | 150 | $24,850 |
| 7 | 10 | 77 | Greg Sacks | U.S. Motorsports Inc. | Ford | 327 | 0 | running | 146 | $14,050 |
| 8 | 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 | running | 142 | $21,550 |
| 9 | 22 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 326 | 0 | running | 138 | $12,350 |
| 10 | 25 | 27 | Jimmy Spencer | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 326 | 0 | running | 134 | $17,500 |
| 11 | 35 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 326 | 0 | running | 130 | $18,520 |
| 12 | 16 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 325 | 0 | running | 127 | $24,550 |
| 13 | 27 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 325 | 0 | running | 124 | $21,580 |
| 14 | 3 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 9 | running | 126 | $21,360 |
| 15 | 30 | 22 | Bobby Labonte | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 325 | 0 | running | 118 | $17,880 |
| 16 | 24 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 0 | running | 115 | $17,270 |
| 17 | 39 | 23 | Hut Stricklin | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 325 | 0 | running | 112 | $10,060 |
| 18 | 5 | 41 | Joe Nemechek (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 324 | 0 | running | 109 | $13,440 |
| 19 | 33 | 40 | Bobby Hamilton | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 322 | 0 | running | 106 | $16,630 |
| 20 | 31 | 29 | Steve Grissom (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 321 | 0 | running | 103 | $10,310 |
| 21 | 28 | 51 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 0 | running | 100 | $9,600 |
| 22 | 1 | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 321 | 0 | running | 97 | $18,240 |
| 23 | 32 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 321 | 0 | running | 94 | $16,030 |
| 24 | 12 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 320 | 0 | running | 91 | $21,495 |
| 25 | 23 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 318 | 0 | running | 88 | $19,190 |
| 26 | 37 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 314 | 0 | running | 85 | $11,635 |
| 27 | 42 | 90 | Mike Wallace (R) | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 314 | 0 | running | 82 | $11,425 |
| 28 | 20 | 32 | Dick Trickle | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | rear end | 79 | $8,955 |
| 29 | 41 | 55 | Jimmy Hensley | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 292 | 0 | running | 76 | $11,140 |
| 30 | 11 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 288 | 0 | running | 73 | $14,905 |
| 31 | 15 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 287 | 0 | running | 70 | $14,745 |
| 32 | 21 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 284 | 0 | engine | 67 | $14,585 |
| 33 | 19 | 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 284 | 0 | engine | 64 | $10,490 |
| 34 | 29 | 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 215 | 0 | crash | 61 | $9,955 |
| 35 | 36 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 205 | 2 | engine | 63 | $19,820 |
| 36 | 38 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 122 | 0 | engine | 55 | $10,380 |
| 37 | 6 | 9 | Rich Bickle (R) | Melling Racing | Ford | 101 | 0 | engine | 52 | $8,365 |
| 38 | 2 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 73 | 8 | engine | 54 | $14,150 |
| 39 | 18 | 02 | Curtis Markham | Taylor Racing | Ford | 32 | 0 | crash | 46 | $8,325 |
| 40 | 8 | 31 | Ward Burton (R) | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24 | 0 | engine | 43 | $8,285 |
| 41 | 9 | 12 | Chuck Bown | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 6 | 0 | engine | 40 | $12,285 |
| 42 | 26 | 14 | John Andretti (R) | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 5 | 0 | crash | 37 | $12,785 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 43 | | 43 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 44 | | 61 | Rick Carelli | Chesrown Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 45 | | 20 | Buddy Baker | Moroso Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 46 | | 47 | Billy Standridge (R) | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 47 | | 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 48 | | 80 | Jimmy Horton | Hover Motorsports | Ford | | | | | |
| 49 | | 99 | Danny Sullivan | Virtue Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 50 | | 95 | Jeremy Mayfield (R) | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Ernie Irvan | 705 |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Martin | 604 (-101) |
| 1 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | 594 (-111) |
| 5 | 4 | Morgan Shepherd | 571 (–132) |
| | 5 | Terry Labonte | 551 (–154) |
| 3 | 6 | Sterling Marlin | 549 (–156) |
| | 7 | Jeff Gordon | 544 (–161) |
| 3 | 8 | Ricky Rudd | 519 (–186) |
| 3 | 9 | Ken Schrader | 517 (–188) |
| 4 | 10 | Lake Speed | 492 (–213) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
