# 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300

The 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 was the 12th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the third race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston West Series season, and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 9, 1991, before an audience of 62,000 at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison, with the assist of a late-race penalty on leader Ricky Rudd, would manage to comeback from a late-race spin to take his tenth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Ricky Rudd and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.
In what has been considered by NASCAR drivers and media as one of the most controversial rule callings in NASCAR history, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd was penalized after performing a bump and run maneuver on the final turn of the raceway with two laps to go in the race on leader Davey Allison. After Rudd completed his final lap, Rudd was shown the black flag instead of the checkered flag, instead showing the checkered flag to Allison to signify that Allison had won the race. Rudd, who was initially given a drive-through penalty, was given a five-second time penalty for the move on Allison for not taking the drive-through penalty, moving Rudd to a second-place finish. Rudd argued that he had both not known of the penalty and that he did not enough time to serve a penalty, who was given the black flag on the final lap of the race. According to NASCAR rules, a driver had three laps to serve their penalty. Dave Marcis, who was near the accident, would agree with Rudd, saying "How is Ricky supposed to know he got a black flag? He was up in Turn 2 or 3 by then." According to NASCAR's vice president for Competition, Les Richter, the move that Rudd had made was "unnecessary and avoidable", a decision that which both confused and angered Rudd and his team, saying that NASCAR had never made such a decision before for a bump and run maneuver.
Immediately after the race, Rudd and Rudd's crew chief, Waddell Wilson, would protest the results of the race. Wilson was recorded by The Charlotte Observer reporter Tom Higgins pleading to NASCAR president Bill France Jr. to change the results, saying "Don't take this race away from us, Billy!... You told all [the drivers] in the drivers' meeting that on the last lap they were on their own!" Rudd himself would compare the officiating of NASCAR officials to the World Wrestling Federation, saying that "This is the best example of how NASCAR makes their own rules. NASCAR needs a Ford in victory lane." Allison, the winner of the race, speaking in an article for The Press Democrat said "We feel like we deserve the victory, and we're going to savor it just like the rest of them."

## Background

Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long; the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout. In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 00 | Scott Gaylord | Oliver Racing | Oldsmobile | Oliver Gravity Separators |
| 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | Skoal |
| 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | Miller Genuine Draft |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodak |
| 04 | Hershel McGriff | Lipseia Racing | Pontiac | U.S. Bank |
| 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Folgers |
| 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | Hooters |
| 8 | Rick Wilson | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Snickers |
| 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | Coors Light |
| 09 | R. K. Smith | Midgley Racing | Pontiac | Midgley Racing |
| 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | Purolator Filters |
| 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | Raybestos |
| 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | Western Auto |
| 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | Red Baron |
| 20 | Kim Campbell | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | NAPA Auto Parts |
| 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | Maxwell House |
| 23 | Mike Chase | Freymiller Racing | Ford | Freymiller Trucking |
| 24 | Mickey Gibbs | Team III Racing | Pontiac | Team III Racing |
| 24W | Butch Gilliland | Gilliland Racing | Pontiac | Gear Engineering |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodiak |
| 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | Quaker State |
| 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Pennzoil |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Skoal Bandit |
| 42 | Tommy Kendall | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Mello Yello |
| 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 44 | Irv Hoerr | Labonte Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Bay Area Oldsmobile |
| 44W | Jack Sellers | Emerson Racing | Buick | Coca-Cola |
| 49 | Stanley Smith (R) | BS&S Motorsports | Buick | Interstate Batteries |
| 52 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | Alka-Seltzer |
| 55 | Ted Musgrave (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | U.S. Racing |
| 66 | Lake Speed | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | Phillips 66 TropArtic |
| 68 | Bobby Hamilton (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Country Time |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Big Apple Market |
| 73 | Bill Schmitt | Schmitt Racing | Ford | Raley's Supermarkets |
| 75 | Joe Ruttman | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | Dinner Bell Foods |
| 76 | Bill Sedgwick | Spears Motorsports | Chevrolet | Spears Manufacturing |
| 91 | Robert Sprague | Rouse Racing | Ford | Rouse Racing |
| 93 | Troy Beebe | Beebe Racing | Buick | Taco Bell |
| 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | Sunoco |
| 97 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | Budweiser |
| 98 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | Banquet Foods |
| 99 | John Krebs | KC Racing | Pontiac | Skoal |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 7, at 6:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, June 8, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-40 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 one for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and two extra provisionals for the NASCAR Winston West Series. 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.
Ricky Rudd, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:40.095 and an average speed of 90.634 miles per hour (145.861 km/h) in the first round.
Four drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:40.095 | 90.634 |
| 2 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 1:40.123 | 90.609 |
| 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:40.468 | 90.297 |
| 4 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 1:40.668 | 90.118 |
| 5 | 42 | Tommy Kendall | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 1:40.783 | 90.015 |
| 6 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:40.820 | 89.982 |
| 7 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 1:40.876 | 89.932 |
| 8 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 1:41.080 | 89.751 |
| 9 | 66 | Lake Speed | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 1:41.088 | 89.744 |
| 10 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:41.203 | 89.642 |
| 11 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:41.230 | 89.618 |
| 12 | 97 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 1:41.265 | 89.587 |
| 13 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 1:41.477 | 89.400 |
| 14 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 1:41.559 | 89.327 |
| 15 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 1:41.814 | 89.104 |
| 16 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 1:41.887 | 89.040 |
| 17 | 75 | Joe Ruttman | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 1:41.902 | 89.027 |
| 18 | 44 | Irv Hoerr | Labonte Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 1:41.923 | 89.008 |
| 19 | 8 | Rick Wilson | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 1:41.960 | 88.976 |
| 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 1:42.025 | 88.919 |
| 21 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1:42.140 | 88.819 |
| 22 | 04 | Hershel McGriff | Lipseia Racing | Pontiac | 1:42.158 | 88.804 |
| 23 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 1:42.249 | 88.725 |
| 24 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 1:42.380 | 88.611 |
| 25 | 73 | Bill Schmitt | Schmitt Racing | Ford | 1:42.543 | 88.470 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 26 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 1:40.924 | 89.889 |
| 27 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 1:41.819 | 89.099 |
| 28 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 1:42.657 | 88.372 |
| 29 | 76 | Bill Sedgwick | Spears Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:42.715 | 88.322 |
| 30 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 1:42.837 | 88.217 |
| 31 | 00 | Scott Gaylord | Oliver Racing | Oldsmobile | 1:42.973 | 88.101 |
| 32 | 24 | Mickey Gibbs | Team III Racing | Pontiac | 1:43.131 | 87.966 |
| 33 | 52 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 1:43.250 | 87.864 |
| 34 | 49 | Stanley Smith (R) | BS&S Motorsports | Buick | 1:43.508 | 87.645 |
| 35 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 1:43.550 | 87.610 |
| 36 | 09 | R. K. Smith | Midgley Racing | Pontiac | 1:43.624 | 87.547 |
| 37 | 55 | Ted Musgrave (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 1:43.755 | 87.437 |
| 38 | 98 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 1:43.833 | 87.371 |
| 39 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 1:44.075 | 87.168 |
| 40 | 99 | John Krebs | KC Racing | Pontiac | 1:44.180 | 87.080 |
| Winston Cup provisional |||||||
| 41 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 1:44.581 | 86.746 |
| Winston West provisionals |||||||
| 42 | 23 | Mike Chase | Freymiller Racing | Ford | 1:44.221 | 87.046 |
| 43 | 91 | Robert Sprague | Rouse Racing | Ford | 1:45.919 | 85.650 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 44 | 24W | Butch Gilliland | Gilliland Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 45 | 44 | Jack Sellers | Emerson Racing | Buick | -* | -* |
| 46 | 93 | Troy Beebe | Beebe Racing | Buick | -* | -* |
| 47 | 20 | Kim Campbell | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 13 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 74 | 2 | running | 180 | $61,950 |
| 2 | 1 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 74 | 12 | running | 175 | $41,975 |
| 3 | 4 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Pontiac | 74 | 45 | running | 175 | $34,975 |
| 4 | 11 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | running | 160 | $20,350 |
| 5 | 6 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | running | 155 | $17,225 |
| 6 | 2 | 94 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 74 | 0 | running | 150 | $14,400 |
| 7 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | running | 146 | $19,800 |
| 8 | 12 | 97 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 74 | 0 | running | 142 | $7,650 |
| 9 | 14 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 74 | 0 | running | 138 | $16,850 |
| 10 | 8 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | running | 134 | $10,600 |
| 11 | 28 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 74 | 0 | running | 130 | $10,100 |
| 12 | 9 | 66 | Lake Speed | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | running | 127 | $9,600 |
| 13 | 25 | 73 | Bill Schmitt | Schmitt Racing | Ford | 74 | 0 | running | 124 | $7,300 |
| 14 | 32 | 24 | Mickey Gibbs | Team III Racing | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | running | 121 | $6,600 |
| 15 | 29 | 76 | Bill Sedgwick | Spears Motorsports | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | running | 118 | $6,400 |
| 16 | 19 | 8 | Rick Wilson | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 74 | 0 | running | 115 | $7,450 |
| 17 | 7 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 74 | 0 | running | 112 | $11,275 |
| 18 | 5 | 42 | Tommy Kendall | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 74 | 12 | running | 114 | $12,450 |
| 19 | 41 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 73 | 0 | running | 106 | $7,225 |
| 20 | 26 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 73 | 0 | running | 103 | $13,700 |
| 21 | 33 | 52 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 73 | 0 | running | 100 | $4,100 |
| 22 | 35 | 68 | Bobby Hamilton (R) | TriStar Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 73 | 0 | running | 97 | $5,775 |
| 23 | 34 | 49 | Stanley Smith (R) | BS&S Motorsports | Buick | 73 | 0 | running | 94 | $4,050 |
| 24 | 16 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 72 | 0 | running | 91 | $6,830 |
| 25 | 10 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 71 | 0 | running | 88 | $4,820 |
| 26 | 15 | 22 | Sterling Marlin | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 71 | 0 | running | 85 | $4,650 |
| 27 | 23 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 70 | 0 | running | 82 | $6,600 |
| 28 | 27 | 19 | Chad Little | Little Racing | Ford | 67 | 0 | running | 79 | $3,850 |
| 29 | 38 | 98 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 65 | 0 | running | 76 | $6,490 |
| 30 | 30 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 64 | 0 | running | 73 | $12,210 |
| 31 | 17 | 75 | Joe Ruttman | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 64 | 0 | running | 70 | $6,350 |
| 32 | 22 | 04 | Hershel McGriff | Lipseia Racing | Pontiac | 61 | 0 | accident | 67 | $3,675 |
| 33 | 31 | 00 | Scott Gaylord | Oliver Racing | Oldsmobile | 61 | 0 | running | 64 | $3,625 |
| 34 | 39 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 59 | 0 | accident | 61 | $5,200 |
| 35 | 24 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 59 | 0 | running | 58 | $5,575 |
| 36 | 18 | 44 | Irv Hoerr | Labonte Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 58 | 0 | rear end | 55 | $3,565 |
| 37 | 37 | 55 | Ted Musgrave (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 58 | 0 | running | 52 | $3,795 |
| 38 | 40 | 99 | John Krebs | KC Racing | Pontiac | 57 | 1 | running | 54 | $3,525 |
| 39 | 43 | 91 | Robert Sprague | Rouse Racing | Ford | 54 | 1 | engine | 51 | $3,500 |
| 40 | 42 | 23 | Mike Chase | Freymiller Racing | Ford | 53 | 0 | transmission | 43 | $3,475 |
| 41 | 21 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 46 | 1 | ignition | 45 | $5,475 |
| 42 | 20 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 39 | 0 | engine | 37 | $10,475 |
| 43 | 36 | 09 | R. K. Smith | Midgley Racing | Pontiac | 2 | 0 | engine | 34 | $3,475 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 44 | | 24W | Butch Gilliland | Gilliland Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 45 | | 44 | Jack Sellers | Emerson Racing | Buick | | | | | |
| 46 | | 93 | Troy Beebe | Beebe Racing | Buick | | | | | |
| 47 | | 20 | Kim Campbell | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,862 |
| | 2 | Ricky Rudd | 1,809 (-53) |
| 2 | 3 | Ken Schrader | 1,666 (-196) |
| 1 | 4 | Darrell Waltrip | 1,662 (–200) |
| 1 | 5 | Ernie Irvan | 1,654 (–208) |
| 1 | 6 | Davey Allison | 1,637 (–225) |
| 3 | 7 | Harry Gant | 1,602 (–260) |
| 1 | 8 | Michael Waltrip | 1,517 (–345) |
| 1 | 9 | Mark Martin | 1,515 (–347) |
| 2 | 10 | Rusty Wallace | 1,482 (–380) |
| Official driver's standings ||||