# 1990 Atlanta Journal 500

The 1990 Atlanta Journal 500 was the 29th and final stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 18, 1990, before an audience of 75,000 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. In the final laps of the race, Bud Moore Engineering driver Morgan Shepherd would manage to defend the field on the final 21-lap green flag stint of the race to take his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.
In the driver's championship, Dale Earnhardt, after keeping his car within the lead pack throughout the race, was able to finish third and ahead of championship contender Mark Martin. Earnhardt was able to win his fourth NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship by a margin of 26 points, a margin that would not have existed if Martin had not been penalized at the 1990 Pontiac Excitement 400 where Martin had gotten penalized 46 points after the race.
On lap 300 of the race, an accident would occur on pit road when Ricky Rudd locked up his car's brakes and spun into Bill Elliott's car while Elliott was pitting, with Rudd's car hitting numerous pit crew members of Elliott's team. One of the team members for Elliott, Mike Rich, would die due to a cardiac arrest caused by injuries sustained in the crash.

## 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 |
| 0 | Delma Cowart* | H. L. Waters Racing | Ford | Masters Inn Economy |
| 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | Skoal |
| 2 | Ted Musgrave | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | Crunch Ice Cream |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Kodak |
| 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | Meacham Racing |
| 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Levi Garrett |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Folgers |
| 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | Zerex |
| 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Snickers |
| 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | Coors Light |
| 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | Purolator Filters |
| 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | Budweiser |
| 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | Raybestos |
| 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | SlimFast |
| 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce |
| 20 | Steve Grissom | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | Crown Central Petroleum |
| 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodiak |
| 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | Quaker State |
| 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | Miller Genuine Draft |
| 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 29 | Pancho Carter | Romine Racing | Ford | Dealers Engine Sales |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Country Time |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Skoal Bandit |
| 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | Amoco |
| 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | Almeda Auto Parts |
| 41 | Larry Pearson | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | General Motors Auctions |
| 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Peak Antifreeze |
| 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 47 | Jack Pennington (R) | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | Kanawha Insurance |
| 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | Alka-Seltzer |
| 57 | Jim Bown | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | Heinz |
| 65 | Dave Mader III | Bahre Racing | Pontiac | Jasper Engines & Transmissions |
| 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | Phillips 66 TropArtic |
| 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Pontiac | Country Time |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Big Apple Market |
| 72 | Tracy Leslie | Parker Racing | Oldsmobile | Detroit Gasket |
| 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | Dinner Bell Foods |
| 79 | Bill Ingram | Gray Racing | Oldsmobile | Gray Racing |
| 80 | Jimmy Horton | S&H Racing | Chevrolet | Miles Concrete |
| 82 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford | Hooters |
| 83 | Tommy Ellis | Speed Racing | Chevrolet | Prestone |
| 89 | Rodney Combs | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | Evinrude Outboard Motors |
| 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | Sunoco |
| 97 | Chuck Bown | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Corn Flakes |
| 98 | Rick Mast | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | Winn-Dixie |
*Replaced by Jim Sauter following first-round qualifying.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 16, at 2:00 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, November 17, 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; up to two were given.
Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 31.270 and an average speed of 175.222 miles per hour (281.992 km/h) in the first round.
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 31.270 | 175.222 |
| 2 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 31.287 | 175.127 |
| 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 31.320 | 174.943 |
| 4 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 31.413 | 174.425 |
| 5 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.498 | 173.954 |
| 6 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 31.529 | 173.783 |
| 7 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 31.541 | 173.717 |
| 8 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.585 | 173.475 |
| 9 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 31.628 | 173.239 |
| 10 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.643 | 173.157 |
| 11 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 31.655 | 173.091 |
| 12 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 31.657 | 173.080 |
| 13 | 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 31.716 | 172.758 |
| 14 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.745 | 172.600 |
| 15 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 31.761 | 172.513 |
| 16 | 97 | Chuck Bown | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | 31.761 | 172.513 |
| 17 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Pontiac | 31.806 | 172.269 |
| 18 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 31.817 | 172.210 |
| 19 | 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31.821 | 172.188 |
| 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 31.835 | 172.112 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 21 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 31.655 | 173.091 |
| 22 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 31.680 | 172.955 |
| 23 | 20 | Steve Grissom | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 31.699 | 172.851 |
| 24 | 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 31.718 | 172.747 |
| 25 | 98 | Rick Mast | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 31.730 | 172.682 |
| 26 | 2 | Ted Musgrave | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 31.802 | 172.291 |
| 27 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 31.829 | 172.145 |
| 28 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 31.859 | 171.983 |
| 29 | 65 | Dave Mader III | Bahre Racing | Pontiac | 31.864 | 171.956 |
| 30 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 31.866 | 171.945 |
| 31 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 31.926 | 171.622 |
| 32 | 47 | Jack Pennington (R) | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 31.936 | 171.568 |
| 33 | 29 | Pancho Carter | Romine Racing | Ford | 31.945 | 171.520 |
| 34 | 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 31.963 | 171.423 |
| 35 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 31.991 | 171.273 |
| 36 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 32.016 | 171.139 |
| 37 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 32.023 | 171.102 |
| 38 | 89 | Rodney Combs | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 32.093 | 170.729 |
| 39 | 0 | Jim Sauter | H. L. Waters Racing | Ford | 32.101 | 170.686 |
| 40 | 80 | Jimmy Horton | S&H Racing | Chevrolet | 32.131 | 170.527 |
| Provisional |||||||
| 41 | 57 | Jim Bown | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | - | - |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 42 | 82 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 43 | 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 44 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 45 | 41 | Larry Pearson | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 46 | 72 | Tracy Leslie | Parker Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 47 | 79 | Bill Ingram | Gray Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 48 | 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 49 | 83 | Tommy Ellis | Speed Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 328 | 64 | running | 180 | $62,250 |
| 2 | 2 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 328 | 46 | running | 175 | $40,850 |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 328 | 42 | running | 170 | $26,700 |
| 4 | 21 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 328 | 0 | running | 160 | $17,225 |
| 5 | 5 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 327 | 35 | running | 160 | $22,300 |
| 6 | 11 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 327 | 0 | running | 150 | $14,700 |
| 7 | 8 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 327 | 0 | running | 146 | $11,200 |
| 8 | 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 327 | 2 | running | 147 | $10,650 |
| 9 | 1 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 327 | 30 | running | 143 | $20,700 |
| 10 | 19 | 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 | running | 134 | $7,625 |
| 11 | 14 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 326 | 0 | running | 130 | $11,750 |
| 12 | 18 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 326 | 2 | running | 132 | $9,550 |
| 13 | 15 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 326 | 0 | running | 124 | $6,450 |
| 14 | 27 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 326 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,850 |
| 15 | 9 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 326 | 94 | running | 128 | $37,800 |
| 16 | 10 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 325 | 0 | running | 115 | $7,550 |
| 17 | 22 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 324 | 0 | running | 112 | $5,650 |
| 18 | 7 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 323 | 0 | running | 109 | $7,250 |
| 19 | 12 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 323 | 0 | running | 106 | $10,850 |
| 20 | 29 | 65 | Dave Mader III | Bahre Racing | Pontiac | 323 | 0 | running | 103 | $4,525 |
| 21 | 24 | 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 323 | 0 | running | 100 | $6,650 |
| 22 | 31 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 323 | 0 | running | 97 | $6,475 |
| 23 | 16 | 97 | Chuck Bown | Tex Racing | Chevrolet | 322 | 0 | running | 94 | $3,400 |
| 24 | 23 | 20 | Steve Grissom | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 322 | 0 | running | 91 | $4,275 |
| 25 | 4 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 321 | 13 | running | 93 | $16,450 |
| 26 | 26 | 2 | Ted Musgrave | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 319 | 0 | running | 85 | $5,225 |
| 27 | 37 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 318 | 0 | running | 82 | $3,200 |
| 28 | 28 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 316 | 0 | running | 79 | $4,025 |
| 29 | 25 | 98 | Rick Mast | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 316 | 0 | running | 76 | $3,600 |
| 30 | 38 | 89 | Rodney Combs | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 315 | 0 | running | 73 | $3,125 |
| 31 | 39 | 0 | Jim Sauter | H. L. Waters Racing | Ford | 310 | 0 | engine | 70 | $3,050 |
| 32 | 33 | 29 | Pancho Carter | Romine Racing | Ford | 298 | 0 | accident | 67 | $3,040 |
| 33 | 34 | 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 291 | 0 | accident | 64 | $5,705 |
| 34 | 36 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 0 | engine | 61 | $5,700 |
| 35 | 40 | 80 | Jimmy Horton | S&H Racing | Chevrolet | 234 | 0 | rear end | 58 | $3,000 |
| 36 | 32 | 47 | Jack Pennington (R) | Close Racing | Oldsmobile | 228 | 0 | engine | 55 | $3,490 |
| 37 | 13 | 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 167 | 0 | engine | 52 | $6,600 |
| 38 | 35 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 132 | 0 | steering | 49 | $5,560 |
| 39 | 41 | 57 | Jim Bown | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 56 | 0 | accident | 46 | $3,530 |
| 40 | 17 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton | TriStar Motorsports | Pontiac | 28 | 0 | engine | 43 | $2,925 |
| 41 | 30 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 12 | 0 | engine | 40 | $9,925 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 42 | | 82 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 43 | | 35 | Bill Venturini | Venturini Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 44 | | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 45 | | 41 | Larry Pearson | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 46 | | 72 | Tracy Leslie | Parker Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 47 | | 79 | Bill Ingram | Gray Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 48 | | 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 49 | | 83 | Tommy Ellis | Speed Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 4,430 |
| | 2 | Mark Martin | 4,404 (-26) |
| 1 | 3 | Geoff Bodine | 4,017 (-413) |
| 1 | 4 | Bill Elliott | 3,999 (–431) |
| 1 | 5 | Morgan Shepherd | 3,689 (–741) |
| 1 | 6 | Rusty Wallace | 3,676 (–754) |
| | 7 | Ricky Rudd | 3,601 (–829) |
| 1 | 8 | Alan Kulwicki | 3,599 (–831) |
| 1 | 9 | Ernie Irvan | 3,593 (–837) |
| 1 | 10 | Ken Schrader | 3,572 (–858) |
| Official driver's standings ||||