| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 29 in the 1991 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season | |||
| Date | August 11, 1991 | ||
| Location | Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen, New York) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.300 mi (3.701 km) |
||
| Distance | 66 laps, 151.8 mi (244.2 km) | ||
| Avg Speed | 98.997 miles per hour (159.320 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Terry Labonte | Billy Hagan | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Larry McClure | |
| Laps | 39 | ||
| Winner | |||
| 4 |
Ernie Irvan |
Larry McClure | |
| Television | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, and Benny Parsons | ||
The 1991 Budweiser At The Glen racing event was officially sanctioned as part of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[1][2] Taking place on August 11, 1991 at Watkins Glen International, this race was the 18th race completed out of the 29 attempted during the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[1][2] Television coverage of the race was given by ESPN with Dr. Jerry Punch providing the color commentary.
The entire race took approximately two hours and twelve minutes to complete.[1][2]
The pole position was earned by Mr. Terry Labonte with a lap speed of 121.652 miles per hour (195.780 km/h).[1][2] Ernie Irvan would go on to beat Ricky Rudd by a time of seven seconds;[1][2] earning $64,850 in total race winnings ($104,119.42 in today's money).[3] Five cautions were given out for eleven laps (including the fatal fourth lap that took McDuffie's life).[1][2] Veteran driver J. D. McDuffie would lose his life on the fourth lap of the race after crashing his Pontiac machine on turn five.[1][2] He would lose his life on the scene and an inner loop would be installed to slow down the speed of future competitors.[4] However, it would add four more turns - forcing turn 5 to become turn 9 (as seen in the present day Watkins Glen races).[4] Tommy Kendall did suffer a similar kind of accident in a completely unrelated incident weeks before the IMSA GT Championship race known as the Camel Continental VIII.[4] His wheel failed on his Pratt & Miller Intrepid-Chevrolet prototype. Ultimately, it only resulted in Kendall breaking both of his ankles in a season-ending injury.
The other top ten finishers in this race were: Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Hut Stricklin, Richard Petty, and Davey Allison.[1][2] Dale Earnhardt would have the championship points lead after this race.[2][5] The following year's race at Watkins Glen would be 9.997 miles per hour (16.089 km/h) slower due to a gravel pit that would be installed for safety measures.[6] Also, the reduction of the 90-lap race to 51 laps due to rain also contributed to the slower speeds of the 1992 Watkins Glen race.[6]
| Preceded by 1991 DieHard 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1991 |
Succeeded by 1991 Champion Spark Plug 400 |