# 1990 AC Spark Plug 500

The 1990 AC Spark Plug 500 was the 16th stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 22, 1990, before an audience of 90,000 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Depending on fuel mileage, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Geoff Bodine would manage to coast his car for the final 43 laps of the race to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.

## Background

The race was held at Pocono International Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.
Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.
Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | Skoal |
| 2 | Troy Beebe | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | Taco Bell |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Kodak |
| 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 |
| 13 | Randy LaJoie | Linro Motorsports | Buick | Linro Motorsports |
| 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | SlimFast |
| 20 | Rob Moroso (R) | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | Crown Central Petroleum |
| 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Rick Mast | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | Plasti-Kote |
| 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 |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Country Time |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Skoal Bandit |
| 38 | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford | Redkote Steel Tubing |
| 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | Peak Antifreeze |
| 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 50 | Rich Vogler* | RaDiUs Motorsports | Chevrolet | Coors Light |
| 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | Alka-Seltzer |
| 53 | Jerry O'Neil (R) | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | Aroneck Racing |
| 54 | Tommy Riggins | Hakes–Welliver Racing | Oldsmobile | Hakes–Welliver Racing |
| 57 | Jimmy Spencer | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | Heinz |
| 58 | Brian Ross | Ken Schrader Racing | Pontiac | Ken Schrader Racing |
| 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | Phillips 66 TropArtic |
| 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | McDuffie Racing |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Big Apple Market |
| 74 | Mike Potter | Wawak Racing | Pontiac | Wawak Racing |
| 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | Dinner Bell Foods |
| 77 | Ken Ragan | Ragan Racing | Ford | Jasper Engines & Transmissions |
| 85 | Bobby Gerhart | Bobby Gerhart Racing | Chevrolet | James Omar Landis Auctions |
| 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | Sunoco |
| 98 | Butch Miller | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | Banquet Foods |
*Withdrew due to Vogler dying the day before the race in a USAC event.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 20, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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, July 21, 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 16-40 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 provisionals were given.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 56.867 and an average speed of 158.264 miles per hour (254.701 km/h) in the first round.
Three drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 56.867 | 158.264 |
| 2 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 57.245 | 157.219 |
| 3 | 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 57.282 | 157.117 |
| 4 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 57.490 | 156.549 |
| 5 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 57.531 | 156.437 |
| 6 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 57.545 | 156.399 |
| 7 | 20 | Rob Moroso (R) | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 57.566 | 156.342 |
| 8 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 57.614 | 156.212 |
| 9 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 57.629 | 156.171 |
| 10 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 57.645 | 156.128 |
| 11 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 57.650 | 156.114 |
| 12 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 57.729 | 155.901 |
| 13 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 57.751 | 155.841 |
| 14 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 57.757 | 155.825 |
| 15 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 57.759 | 155.820 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 16 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 57.785 | 155.750 |
| 17 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 57.817 | 155.664 |
| 18 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 57.837 | 155.610 |
| 19 | 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 57.848 | 155.580 |
| 20 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 57.883 | 155.486 |
| 21 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 57.896 | 155.451 |
| 22 | 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 57.926 | 155.371 |
| 23 | 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 57.936 | 155.344 |
| 24 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 57.954 | 155.296 |
| 25 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 57.968 | 155.259 |
| 26 | 98 | Butch Miller | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 58.030 | 155.092 |
| 27 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 58.078 | 154.964 |
| 28 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 58.184 | 154.682 |
| 29 | 57 | Jimmy Spencer | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 58.197 | 154.647 |
| 30 | 22 | Rick Mast | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 58.371 | 154.186 |
| 31 | 53 | Jerry O'Neil (R) | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | 58.426 | 154.041 |
| 32 | 50 | Rich Vogler | RaDiUs Motorsports | Chevrolet | 58.528 | 153.773 |
| 33 | 38 | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford | 58.587 | 153.618 |
| 34 | 54 | Tommy Riggins | Hakes–Welliver Racing | Oldsmobile | 58.658 | 153.432 |
| 35 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 58.754 | 153.181 |
| 36 | 58 | Brian Ross | Ken Schrader Racing | Pontiac | 58.893 | 152.820 |
| 37 | 77 | Ken Ragan | Ragan Racing | Ford | 58.948 | 152.677 |
| 38 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 59.041 | 152.436 |
| 39 | 13 | Randy LaJoie | Linro Motorsports | Buick | 59.392 | 151.536 |
| 40 | 74 | Mike Potter | Wawak Racing | Pontiac | 1:00.025 | 149.938 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 41 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 42 | 85 | Bobby Gerhart | Bobby Gerhart Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 43 | 2 | Troy Beebe | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 4 | 11 | Geoff Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 200 | 119 | running | 185 | $58,500 |
| 2 | 6 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | running | 170 | $33,650 |
| 3 | 8 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 200 | 7 | running | 170 | $30,000 |
| 4 | 11 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 6 | running | 165 | $22,800 |
| 5 | 15 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 200 | 24 | running | 160 | $25,950 |
| 6 | 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | running | 150 | $21,050 |
| 7 | 13 | 5 | Ricky Rudd | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | running | 146 | $12,650 |
| 8 | 26 | 98 | Butch Miller | Travis Carter Enterprises | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | running | 142 | $10,582 |
| 9 | 24 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 200 | 0 | running | 138 | $8,675 |
| 10 | 22 | 1 | Terry Labonte | Precision Products Racing | Oldsmobile | 200 | 0 | running | 134 | $12,450 |
| 11 | 2 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 3 | running | 135 | $12,750 |
| 12 | 17 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 200 | 0 | running | 127 | $9,550 |
| 13 | 12 | 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 4 | running | 129 | $11,350 |
| 14 | 5 | 33 | Harry Gant | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 200 | 0 | running | 121 | $12,150 |
| 15 | 23 | 66 | Dick Trickle | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 199 | 0 | running | 118 | $10,325 |
| 16 | 21 | 26 | Brett Bodine | King Racing | Buick | 199 | 0 | running | 115 | $8,650 |
| 17 | 9 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 199 | 0 | running | 112 | $8,350 |
| 18 | 18 | 21 | Dale Jarrett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 198 | 0 | running | 109 | $7,950 |
| 19 | 29 | 57 | Jimmy Spencer | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 197 | 1 | running | 111 | $7,625 |
| 20 | 25 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 197 | 0 | running | 103 | $14,175 |
| 21 | 38 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 197 | 0 | running | 100 | $4,175 |
| 22 | 30 | 22 | Rick Mast | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 196 | 0 | running | 97 | $4,075 |
| 23 | 28 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 193 | 0 | running | 94 | $6,975 |
| 24 | 37 | 77 | Ken Ragan | Ragan Racing | Ford | 190 | 0 | accident | 91 | $3,925 |
| 25 | 40 | 74 | Mike Potter | Wawak Racing | Pontiac | 189 | 0 | running | 88 | $3,975 |
| 26 | 10 | 4 | Ernie Irvan | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 181 | 0 | running | 85 | $6,775 |
| 27 | 36 | 58 | Brian Ross | Ken Schrader Racing | Pontiac | 175 | 0 | engine | 82 | $3,775 |
| 28 | 35 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 172 | 0 | running | 79 | $6,575 |
| 29 | 20 | 12 | Hut Stricklin | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 167 | 0 | engine | 76 | $4,425 |
| 30 | 16 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 155 | 0 | accident | 73 | $6,825 |
| 31 | 19 | 75 | Rick Wilson | RahMoc Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 154 | 0 | accident | 70 | $6,250 |
| 32 | 7 | 20 | Rob Moroso (R) | Moroso Racing | Oldsmobile | 138 | 0 | accident | 67 | $4,825 |
| 33 | 3 | 18 | Greg Sacks | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 137 | 33 | accident | 69 | $14,950 |
| 34 | 31 | 53 | Jerry O'Neil (R) | Aroneck Racing | Oldsmobile | 134 | 0 | accident | 61 | $3,650 |
| 35 | 14 | 42 | Kyle Petty | SABCO Racing | Pontiac | 131 | 3 | oil pan | 63 | $10,350 |
| 36 | 27 | 15 | Morgan Shepherd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 121 | 0 | accident | 55 | $5,925 |
| 37 | 34 | 54 | Tommy Riggins | Hakes–Welliver Racing | Oldsmobile | 120 | 0 | accident | 52 | $3,250 |
| 38 | 39 | 13 | Randy LaJoie | Linro Motorsports | Buick | 10 | 0 | engine | 49 | $3,225 |
| 39 | 33 | 38 | Dick Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | Ford | 4 | 0 | accident | 46 | $3,200 |
| 40 | 32 | 50 | Rich Vogler | RaDiUs Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | did not start | 0 | $0 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 41 | | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 42 | | 85 | Bobby Gerhart | Bobby Gerhart Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 43 | | 2 | Troy Beebe | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Mark Martin | 2,371 |
| | 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 2,323 (-48) |
| | 3 | Rusty Wallace | 2,266 (-105) |
| | 4 | Geoff Bodine | 2,257 (–114) |
| | 5 | Morgan Shepherd | 2,113 (–258) |
| | 6 | Kyle Petty | 2,072 (–299) |
| | 7 | Ken Schrader | 2,065 (–306) |
| 1 | 8 | Bill Elliott | 2,005 (–366) |
| 1 | 9 | Ernie Irvan | 1,945 (–426) |
| 1 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | 1,920 (–451) |
| Official driver's standings ||||