| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 20 of 29 in the1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1991 Bud 500 program cover, featuringDale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | August 24, 1991 | ||
| Official name | 31st Annual Bud 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee,Bristol International Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 82.028 miles per hour (132.011 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 60,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 16.406 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | |
| Laps | 206 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Ned Jarrett,Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1991 Bud 500 was the 20thstock car race of the1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of theevent. The race was held on Saturday, August 24, 1991, before an audience of 60,500 inBristol, Tennessee, atBristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, owner-driverAlan Kulwicki, after suffering a flat tire early into the race, would manage to mount a comeback and dominate the late stages of the race to take his third careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three,Junior Johnson & Associates driverSterling Marlin andHendrick Motorsports driverKen Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.
TheBristol Motor Speedway, formerly known asBristol International Raceway andBristol Raceway, is aNASCARshort track venue located inBristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, twopit roads, andstadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 23, at 7:35 PMEST. 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, August 24, at 1:00 PMEST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 15-30 would be decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified on time but were high enough in owner's points; up to two provisionals 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.
Bill Elliott, driving forMelling Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 16.406 and an average speed of 116.957 miles per hour (188.224 km/h) in the first round.[6]
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| Previous race: 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1991 season | Next race: 1991 Heinz Southern 500 |
