1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Season is the 43rd of professional in the United States and the 20th modern-era Cup Season. It began February 10 and ended November 17. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at the end of the season. It was his fifth championship.

The Busch Clash, an invitational event for all Busch Pole winners the previous year, was held February 10 at Daytona International Speedway. The #10 of Derrike Cope started in first (the starting grid was determined by a blind draw).

Top ten results

The Gatorade 125s, qualifying races for the Daytona 500 were held February 14 at Daytona International Speedway. Davey Allison and Ernie Irvan won the pole for each race, respectively.

Race one: top ten results

Race two: top ten results

Earnhardt was again a dominating factor, but for the 13th time in his career, he came away empty. After a late-race caution, Irvan led, Earnhardt was second and pole-sitter Davey Allison was third. Earnhardt and Allison battled door-to-door for three laps while Irvan inched out to a slight advantage. Finally, with three laps remaining, Allison and Earnhardt touched, sending both of them into a wild spin. The race finished under caution with Irvan scoring the most significant win of a NASCAR Winston Cup competitor's career. Sterling Marlin, in his first race with Junior Johnson, finished second followed by Joe Ruttman, Rick Mast and Earnhardt. Irvan won the first leg of the Winston Million races and qualified for the $1 million bonus. To collect the Winston bonus, he would have needed to win two of the three remaining "Crown Jewel" races, the Winston 500, Coca-Cola 600 or Southern 500, a feat which he failed to accomplish this year.

Top ten results

The Pontiac Excitement 400 was held February 24 at Richmond International Raceway. The #28 of Davey Allison won the pole. Fueled by his Daytona disappointment, Earnhardt rebounds with a heart-stopping 1½ car length victory over Ricky Rudd. Ironically, the door-to-door battle between the two Chevrolet drivers proves to be a prelude to the chase for the $1 million NASCAR Winston Cup points title. Earnhardt leaves Richmond with a 340–318 point lead over Rudd. The two drivers would remain 1–2 all season long, occasionally trading the point.

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