# 1993 Mello Yello 500

The 1993 Mello Yello 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 10, 1993, before an audience of 110,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would complete a dominant performance, leading 328 laps to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

## Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 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 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 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.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | Skoal |
| 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | Miller Genuine Draft |
| 02 | T. W. Taylor | Taylor Racing | Ford | Children's Miracle Network Hospitals |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Joe Nemechek | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodak |
| 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Valvoline |
| 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | The Family Channel |
| 8 | Sterling Marlin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | Raybestos |
| 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | Budweiser |
| 12 | Jimmy Spencer | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | Meineke |
| 14 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Frosted Flakes |
| 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft |
| 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | Keystone |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | Western Auto |
| 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries |
| 19 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Ford | Kleenex |
| 20 | Bobby Hamilton | Moroso Racing | Ford | FINA |
| 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Bobby Labonte (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Ford | Maxwell House |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | DuPont |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodiak |
| 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | Quaker State |
| 27 | Hut Stricklin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | McDonald's |
| 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 29 | Andy Hillenburg | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | Diamond Ridge Motorsports |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Pennzoil |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit |
| 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | Rain-X |
| 37 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | Naturally Fresh Foods |
| 40 | Kenny Wallace (R) | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Dirt Devil |
| 41 | Dick Trickle | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Manheim Auctions |
| 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Mello Yello |
| 44 | Rick Wilson | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 45 | Rich Bickle | Terminal Trucking Motorsports | Ford | Kraft, Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce |
| 47 | Billy Standridge | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | Johnson Standridge Racing |
| 52 | Mike Wallace | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | Duron Paint |
| 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | USAir, Jasper Engines & Transmissions |
| 58 | Jeff McClure | McClure Racing | Chevrolet | McClure Racing |
| 63 | Norm Benning | O'Neil Racing | Oldsmobile | O'Neil Racing |
| 65 | Jerry O'Neil | O'Neil Racing | Chevrolet | O'Neil Racing |
| 68 | Greg Sacks | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | Country Time |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | J.A. Jones Construction |
| 72 | John Andretti | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | Tex Racing |
| 75 | Todd Bodine (R) | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | Factory Stores of America |
| 85 | Jim Sauter | Mansion Motorsports | Ford | Burger King "I Love This Place!" |
| 90 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Heilig-Meyers |
| 95 | Jeremy Mayfield | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | Mac Tools |
| 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | Bojangles |
| 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | Ball Motorsports |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, October 6, at 4:45 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 Thursday, October 7, at 12:00 PM 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; up to two 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.
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.391 and an average speed of 177.684 miles per hour (285.955 km/h) in the first round.
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.391 | 177.684 |
| 2 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 30.424 | 177.491 |
| 3 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 30.427 | 177.474 |
| 4 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.508 | 177.003 |
| 5 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 30.570 | 176.644 |
| 6 | 68 | Greg Sacks | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 30.584 | 176.563 |
| 7 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 30.599 | 176.476 |
| 8 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.644 | 176.217 |
| 9 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.647 | 176.200 |
| 10 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 30.657 | 176.142 |
| 11 | 4 | Joe Nemechek | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.725 | 175.753 |
| 12 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 30.730 | 175.724 |
| 13 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.789 | 175.387 |
| 14 | 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 30.805 | 175.296 |
| 15 | 12 | Jimmy Spencer | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 30.827 | 175.171 |
| 16 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 30.850 | 175.041 |
| 17 | 75 | Todd Bodine (R) | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 30.857 | 175.001 |
| 18 | 44 | Rick Wilson | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 30.898 | 174.769 |
| 19 | 45 | Rich Bickle | Terminal Trucking Motorsports | Ford | 30.913 | 174.684 |
| 20 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 30.943 | 174.514 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 21 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 30.950 | 174.475 |
| 22 | 14 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 30.981 | 174.300 |
| 23 | 27 | Hut Stricklin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 30.994 | 174.227 |
| 24 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.009 | 174.143 |
| 25 | 29 | Andy Hillenburg | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.016 | 174.104 |
| 26 | 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 31.073 | 173.784 |
| 27 | 41 | Dick Trickle | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.076 | 173.768 |
| 28 | 20 | Bobby Hamilton | Moroso Racing | Ford | 31.110 | 173.578 |
| 29 | 85 | Jim Sauter | Mansion Motorsports | Ford | 31.159 | 173.305 |
| 30 | 95 | Jeremy Mayfield | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | 31.187 | 173.149 |
| 31 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 31.193 | 173.116 |
| 32 | 65 | Jerry O'Neil | O'Neil Racing | Chevrolet | 31.221 | 172.961 |
| 33 | 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 31.244 | 172.833 |
| 34 | 8 | Sterling Marlin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 31.263 | 172.728 |
| 35 | 52 | Mike Wallace | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | 31.267 | 172.706 |
| 36 | 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 31.268 | 172.701 |
| 37 | 90 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 31.275 | 172.662 |
| 38 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 31.314 | 172.447 |
| 39 | 19 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Ford | 31.314 | 172.447 |
| 40 | 72 | John Andretti | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | 31.359 | 172.199 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 41 | 22 | Bobby Labonte (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Ford | 31.367 | 172.155 |
| 42 | 40 | Kenny Wallace (R) | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 31.398 | 171.985 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 43 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 44 | 47 | Billy Standridge | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 45 | 37 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | -* | -* |
| 46 | 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 47 | 63 | Norm Benning | O'Neil Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 48 | 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 49 | 58 | Jeff McClure | McClure Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 50 | 02 | T. W. Taylor | Taylor Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 2 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 334 | 328 | running | 185 | $146,450 |
| 2 | 7 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 334 | 2 | running | 175 | $67,900 |
| 3 | 9 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 334 | 3 | running | 170 | $56,900 |
| 4 | 21 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 334 | 0 | running | 160 | $42,950 |
| 5 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 1 | running | 160 | $56,875 |
| 6 | 15 | 12 | Jimmy Spencer | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 334 | 0 | running | 150 | $32,750 |
| 7 | 31 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 334 | 0 | running | 146 | $28,500 |
| 8 | 8 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 333 | 0 | running | 142 | $24,500 |
| 9 | 4 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 332 | 0 | running | 138 | $25,400 |
| 10 | 5 | 11 | Bill Elliott | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 332 | 0 | running | 134 | $29,050 |
| 11 | 36 | 15 | Lake Speed | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 332 | 0 | running | 130 | $20,200 |
| 12 | 13 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 331 | 0 | running | 127 | $20,425 |
| 13 | 3 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 124 | $23,150 |
| 14 | 16 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 121 | $15,050 |
| 15 | 10 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 118 | $14,800 |
| 16 | 22 | 14 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Chevrolet | 331 | 0 | running | 115 | $13,025 |
| 17 | 34 | 8 | Sterling Marlin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 112 | $12,200 |
| 18 | 12 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 109 | $11,600 |
| 19 | 24 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 330 | 0 | running | 106 | $16,625 |
| 20 | 37 | 90 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 330 | 0 | running | 103 | $6,650 |
| 21 | 26 | 55 | Ted Musgrave | RaDiUs Motorsports | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | 100 | $10,800 |
| 22 | 27 | 41 | Dick Trickle | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 329 | 0 | running | 97 | $7,575 |
| 23 | 23 | 27 | Hut Stricklin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | 94 | $10,310 |
| 24 | 33 | 16 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 328 | 0 | running | 91 | $10,050 |
| 25 | 11 | 4 | Joe Nemechek | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 | running | 88 | $14,880 |
| 26 | 38 | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 325 | 0 | running | 85 | $13,160 |
| 27 | 20 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 324 | 0 | running | 82 | $9,645 |
| 28 | 41 | 22 | Bobby Labonte (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Ford | 324 | 0 | running | 79 | $7,010 |
| 29 | 30 | 95 | Jeremy Mayfield | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | 324 | 0 | running | 76 | $4,830 |
| 30 | 35 | 52 | Mike Wallace | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford | 323 | 0 | running | 73 | $4,745 |
| 31 | 40 | 72 | John Andretti | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | 323 | 0 | running | 70 | $4,630 |
| 32 | 6 | 68 | Greg Sacks | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 314 | 0 | running | 67 | $5,250 |
| 33 | 39 | 19 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Ford | 314 | 0 | running | 64 | $4,475 |
| 34 | 32 | 65 | Jerry O'Neil | O'Neil Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | oil pressure | 61 | $4,450 |
| 35 | 42 | 40 | Kenny Wallace (R) | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 304 | 0 | running | 58 | $5,975 |
| 36 | 18 | 44 | Rick Wilson | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 302 | 0 | running | 55 | $5,925 |
| 37 | 28 | 20 | Bobby Hamilton | Moroso Racing | Ford | 299 | 0 | running | 52 | $4,390 |
| 38 | 29 | 85 | Jim Sauter | Mansion Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 0 | engine | 49 | $4,380 |
| 39 | 14 | 98 | Derrike Cope | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 253 | 0 | engine | 46 | $8,870 |
| 40 | 19 | 45 | Rich Bickle | Terminal Trucking Motorsports | Ford | 252 | 0 | handling | 43 | $4,365 |
| 41 | 25 | 29 | Andy Hillenburg | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 242 | 0 | fatigue | 40 | $4,365 |
| 42 | 17 | 75 | Todd Bodine (R) | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 140 | 0 | crash | 37 | $5,365 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 43 | | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 44 | | 47 | Billy Standridge | Johnson Standridge Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 45 | | 37 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | | | | | |
| 46 | | 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 47 | | 63 | Norm Benning | O'Neil Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 48 | | 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 49 | | 58 | Jeff McClure | McClure Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 50 | | 02 | T. W. Taylor | Taylor Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 4,047 |
| | 2 | Rusty Wallace | 3,965 (-82) |
| 1 | 3 | Mark Martin | 3,702 (-345) |
| 1 | 4 | Dale Jarrett | 3,656 (–391) |
| | 5 | Morgan Shepherd | 3,475 (–572) |
| | 6 | Kyle Petty | 3,436 (–611) |
| | 7 | Ken Schrader | 3,422 (–625) |
| | 8 | Ernie Irvan | 3,377 (–670) |
| | 9 | Bill Elliott | 3,284 (–763) |
| 1 | 10 | Jeff Gordon | 3,209 (–838) |
| Official driver's standings ||||