1994 Winchester 400
Encyclopedia
Winchester 400
The Winchester 400 is a 400-lap short-track stock car race held each fall at the Winchester Speedway, approximately east of Indianapolis, Indiana. Held annually since 1970, the race has served as a launching point for the careers of several young drivers including former winners Rusty Wallace and...
motor race (run yearly since 1970) was held under All-Pro Series sanction on October 2, 1994, at the Winchester Speedway
Winchester Speedway
Winchester Speedway is a half-mile paved oval motor racetrack in White River Township, Randolph County, just outside Winchester, Indiana, approximately northeast of Indianapolis. It seats 4000 spectators. It is also known as the "World's Fastest 1/2 mile"....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
(USA).
For the second consecutive year, Mike Cope
Mike Cope
Mike Cope , is a retired NASCAR driver. He became famous during the mid-1990s one of the best drivers in the Slim Jim All-Pro Series. In the late-90s he started a five year tour in the high levels of NASCAR...
was the winner of the Featherlite Trailers Winchester 400, this time passing young Toby Porter with three laps remaining in the race. Cope became the third driver to win back-to-back 400's and the first since Mark Martin
Mark Martin
Mark Martin may refer to:* Mark Martin , American racecar driver* Mark Martin , American cartoonist* Mark Martin , American judge* Mark Martin , British murderer...
performed the feat in 1986 and 1986.
Toby Porter, in his Greased Lightning sponsored machine was the fastest among the 31 cars that took a lap in qualifying. Starting alongside Porter on the front row, Cope cruised to the lead for the first 91 laps. Scot Walters
Scot Walters
Scot Walters is an American stock car racer from Cornelius, North Carolina. He competed in NASCAR from 1997 to 1999 in the Camping World Truck Series, as well as one Nationwide Series race in 1998.-NASCAR career:...
, Hal Goodson, Porter, Jody Ridley
Jody Ridley
Jody Ridley is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing....
, Brian Rievley, and Bobby Gill
Bobby Gill
Bobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami...
would all take turns trading the lead with Cope over the first 300 of the 400 laps.
Cope elected to stop for tires prior to the final restart of the race, as Porter gambled and hoped to hold off all challengers on old tires. On the restart with 23 laps remaining, Cope had a scare heading into the first corner. A lapped car pushed up the racetrack and into Cope nearly sending both cars into the outside wall. Rebounding from the contact, Cope passed Rievley for third with 14 laps to go, he blew by Walters for second and set his sights on the race leader. With three laps remaining, Cope zipped past Porter for the lead. Trying to fight back, Porter lost control and spun in the fourth turn, narrowly missing the outside wall. With series rules dictating a green-flag finish, the race distance was extended for the first time in history. Cope was never challenged on the restart, crossing the finish line on lap 403, two lengths ahead of Walters in second, with Rievley third, and Porter settling for fourth, all on the lead lap. Ron Young was fifth, two laps behind the leaders. Cope collected $13,350 for winning the 25th annual running of the "400".
Table of results
| Results of the 25th Annual Winchester 400 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Start | Car # | Driver/Hometown | Sponsor/Make | Laps | Winnings (in US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... ) |
Status | |
| 1 | 2 | 25 | Mike Cope Mike Cope Mike Cope , is a retired NASCAR driver. He became famous during the mid-1990s one of the best drivers in the Slim Jim All-Pro Series. In the late-90s he started a five year tour in the high levels of NASCAR... / Weeki Wachee Springs, FL |
Manheim/Greater Tampa Bay Auction / Oldsmobile | 403 | $13,350 | running | |
| 2 | 12 | 55 | Scot Walters Scot Walters Scot Walters is an American stock car racer from Cornelius, North Carolina. He competed in NASCAR from 1997 to 1999 in the Camping World Truck Series, as well as one Nationwide Series race in 1998.-NASCAR career:... / Owensboro, KY |
Roadrunner Video / Oldsmobile | 403 | $7,350 | running | |
| 3 | 25 | 7 | Brian Rievley / Alexandria, IN | A-1 Engineering / Chevrolet | 403 | $2,950 | running | |
| 4 | 1 | 81 | Toby Porter / Greenville, SC | Greased Lightning / Chevrolet | 403 | $4,675 | running | |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | Ron Young / Conyers, GA | Wegner Engines / Oldsmobile | 401 | $4,100 | running | |
| 6 | 18 | 98 | Jody Ridley Jody Ridley Jody Ridley is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing.... / Chatsworth, GA |
Ford Motorsport Sportswear/Fel-Pro / Ford | 400 | $4,400 | running | |
| 7 | 22 | 28 | Billy Bigley, Jr. / Naples, FL | Royal Purple Lubricants/Phillips 66 / Chevrolet | 400 | $3,200 | running | |
| 8 | 4 | 21 | Ray Skillman / Indianapolis, IN | Kendall Oil/Gulfstream Vans / Oldsmobile | 400 | $2,250 | running | |
| 9 | 21 | 97 | Ron Barfield, Jr. Ron Barfield Ron Barfield is a former NASCAR driver. He raced in all of the major NASCAR series: Winston Cup, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series, but did not win a race. He is a former protege of Bill Elliott.- Beginnings :... / Florence, SC |
Lube American / Chevrolet | 398 | $2,750 | running | |
| 10 | 7 | 16 | Hal Goodson / Darlington, SC | Downtown Radio Service / Ford | 392 | $2,350 | running | |
| 11 | 16 | 52 | Tammy Jo Kirk Tammy Jo Kirk Tammy Jo Kirk is a racecar and motorcycle racer. She was the first woman to race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and later returned to NASCAR to run the Busch Series. She has not driven in NASCAR since 2003.... / Dalton, GA |
Michael Motorsports/Subway / Ford | 386 | $1,950 | running | |
| 12 | 30 | 26 | Keith White / Higginsville, MO | Miller Genuine Draft / Chevrolet | 385 | $1,900 | running | |
| 13 | 14 | 14 | Rick Crawford / Mobile, AL | Circle Bar Motel & RV Park / Ford | 383 | $1,750 | running | |
| 14 | 5 | 71 | Bobby Gill Bobby Gill Bobby Gill is a former NASCAR driver. He raced for a number of years in the Craftsman Truck Series, earning four top-tens in sixteen starts.Most of the starts came in 1996, when he started off with Spears Motorsports. In his debut with the team, he started 15th and finished 23rd at Homestead-Miami... / Dalton, GA |
Better Built Aluminum Truck Boxes / Pontiac | 370 | $2,100 | engine | |
| 15 | 29 | 91 | Tommy Porter, Jr. | Robert Truck Center/Porter Contr. / Oldsmobile | 361 | $1,650 | engine | |
| 16 | 27 | 06 | Lennie LeGrande / Louisville, KY | Bockman Chev./Bluegrass Awning / Chevrolet | 294 | $1,350 | accident | |
| 17 | 13 | 78 | Gary Bradberry Gary Bradberry Gary Bradberry is a race car driver. He raced in the NASCAR All-Pro Series, and had top-ten points finishes from 1990-1993. After that, Bradberry made the jump to major NASCAR leagues... / Chelsea, AL |
Bradberry Racing / Oldsmobile | 284 | $1,050 | shocks | |
| 18 | 9 | 77 | Bruce VanderLaan / Grand Rapids, MI | Huskins Race Cars/Hill Machine / Pontiac | 233 | $1,000 | rear end | |
| 19 | 28 | 34 | Scott Keyser / Evansville, IN | AFCO Shocks / Oldsmobile | 217 | $1,255 | accident | |
| 20 | 31 | 2 | Dave Brandenburg / Springfield, OH | Dave’s Truck & Auto/Aff. Mach & Tool / Pontiac | 133 | $950 | engine | |
| 21 | 29 | 41 | Mark Gerke | Pirate Radio/Spinnaker Beach Club / Oldsmobile | 126 | $1,175 | engine | |
| 22 | 11 | 29 | Rick Turner / Yorktown, IN | Valvoline/Higgins Supervac / Oldsmobile | 126 | $900 | rear end | |
| 23 | 7 | 6 | Freddie Query / Mooresville, NC | Terminal Trucking / Chevrolet | 90 | $1,275 | accident | |
| 24 | 26 | 85 | Shane Hall Shane Hall Shane Hall , is a Part-Time Driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He last drove the #49 Jay Robinson Inc. Chevrolet for Jay Robinson Racing. Hall is featured as an Unlockable Driver in the 2003 EA Sports Video Game NASCAR Thunder 2003.-Sprint Cup Series:Hall has One Career Cup Series Start... / Greenville, SC |
Stegall Mobile Home Sales / Oldsmobile | 87 | $1,500 | brakes | |
| 25 | 19 | 31 | Bobby Blount / Walkerton, IN | USA Inc./K-Motion Engines / Oldsmobile | 57 | $825 | engine | |
| 26 | 24 | 19 | Scotty Lovelady / Hartselle, AL | Aluminum Race Products/Traction Supply / Pontiac | 42 | $1,200 | trailing arm | |
| 27 | 20 | 72 | Brian Ross / Plymouth, IN | Dillon/Bilstein/Sweet Manufacturing / Oldsmobile | 33 | $775 | engine | |
| 28 | 3 | 12 | Scott Neal / Middletown, IN | Print Express/4-Star Auto / Chevrolet | 26 | $750 | engine | |
| 29 | 15 | 27 | Bubba Gale / Irvington, AL | Papa John’s Pizza/3-M / Chevrolet | 8 | $1,025 | accident | |
| 30 | 16 | 67 | Vern Slagh / Zeeland, MI | River Haven Mobile Home Sales / Chevrolet | 8 | $700 | accident | |
| 31 | 10 | 10 | Rick Tomasik / Indianapolis, IN | Hendricks County Auto Parts / Chevrolet | 7 | $700 | engine | |
Race statistics
- Average Speed: 70.554 mi/h
- Margin of Victory: 2 car lengths
- Time of Race: Two hours, 51 minutes and 23 seconds
- Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers
- Lap Leaders: Mike Cope 1-91; Scot Walters 92-111; Cope 112-126; Hal Goodson 127-205; Toby Porter 206-208; Jody Ridley 209-213; Cope 214-285; Brian Rievley 286-292; Bobby Gill 293-294; Porter 295-397; Cope 398-403.
- Cautions: 11 for 90 laps
- Entries: 31 Qualifiers: 31