1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300

Race details
Race 10 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover.
Date	May 15, 1994
Official name	6th Annual Save Mart Supermarkets 300
Location	Sonoma, California, Sears Point Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.52 mi (4.06 km)
Distance	74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Scheduled Distance	74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km)
Average speed	77.458 miles per hour (124.657 km/h)
Attendance	94,157
Pole position
Driver	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing
Time	1:39.132
Most laps led
Driver	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing
Laps	68
Winner
No. 28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the 10th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the third race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the sixth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 15, 1994, 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. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would manage to dominate the race to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season.^[1][2] To fill out the top three, Geoff Bodine, driving for his own Geoff Bodine Racing, and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of Sears Point Raceway used by NASCAR at the time.

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;^[3] 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.^[4] 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).^[5]

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 22, 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, April 23, 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,^[6] 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 two for cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and one extra provisional 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.

Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:39.132 and an average speed of 91.514 miles per hour (147.278 km/h) in the first round.^[7]

12 drivers would fail to qualify.

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Ernie Irvan 1,639 2 Dale Earnhardt 1,599 (-40) 3 Mark Martin 1,369 (-270) 4 Ken Schrader 1,349 (–290) 1 5 Morgan Shepherd 1,295 (–344) 1 6 Rusty Wallace 1,290 (–349) 2 7 Lake Speed 1,225 (–414) 1 8 Ricky Rudd 1,215 (–424) 1 9 Kyle Petty 1,204 (–435) 1 10 Ted Musgrave 1,186 (–453) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

References