| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 29 in the1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuringRusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artistSam Bass. | |||
| Date | July 21, 1991 | ||
| Official name | 19th Annual Miller Genuine Draft 500 | ||
| Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania,Pocono Raceway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.5 miles (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 179 laps, 447.5 mi (720.181 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Average speed | 115.459 miles per hour (185.813 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | AK Racing | ||
| Time | 55.737 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | |
| Laps | 65 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Benny Parsons,Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 was the 16thstock car race of the1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 19th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Sunday, July 21, 1991, inLong Pond, Pennsylvania, atPocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race was shortened from its scheduled 200 laps to 179 laps due to rain. In the final laps of the race,Penske Racing South driverRusty Wallace would manage to conserve enough fuel to run until the last caution flag was given on lap 174. After the red flag was given out on lap 176, a two-hour rain delay would delay the restart. After the rain delay, NASCAR mandated that all drivers start their cars and run behind the pace car until lap 179, where NASCAR would declare the race official, handing Wallace the victory. The victory was Wallace's 20th careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three,Roush Racing driverMark Martin andJunior Johnson & Associates driverGeoff Bodine would finish second and third, respectively.
The race was held atPocono International Raceway, which is a three-turnsuperspeedway located inLong Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annualNASCARSprint Cup Series races, as well as oneXfinity Series andCamping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted anIndyCar Series race.
Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by eitherSpeedway Motorsports, Inc. orInternational 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 theSports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and anIndyCarrace. 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.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 19, at 3:00 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, July 20, at 10:30 AMEST. 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,[4] 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. 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.
Alan Kulwicki, driving for his ownAK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 55.737 and an average speed of 161.473 miles per hour (259.866 km/h) in the first round.[5][6]
Three drivers would fail to qualify.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous race: 1991 Pepsi 400 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1991 season | Next race: 1991 DieHard 500 |
