Checkered Countdown: Top-Five Bristol Finishes

No. 4 Rusty Wallace beats Ernie Irvan by less than a car length (1991).

When Rusty Wallace arrived to the Winston Cup series he was known as a great driver on short tracks more than on superspeedways and this race was an example of his ability: he started from the pole, fell two laps down in the early going but never gave up. Slowly but steadily he rallied back towards the front and with 10 laps to go he was leading but chased by an aggressive Ernie Irvan who was looking for a spot to take the lead. In the final turn of the 500th and last lap Irvan tapped Wallace and got to his inside trying to beat him in the drag race to the finish line. But it was not enough, because the 1989 Winston Cup champion came back on the outside and won by not even a car length.