NASCAR: Rusty Wallace’s Five Most Significant Wins
By Mike Hutton
Number 4: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte – May 1990
Significance: Only win in a marquee event, last win for Pontiac at The 600
Commentary: Ask most NASCAR fans and they will tell you that the “marquee” events on the schedule are the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400 and the Southern 500 from Darlington, although their significance is not necessarily in that order. A driver’s resume is considered incomplete without winning one of those events. Fortunately for Wallace, he completed this task on May 27, 1990 with his victory in the Memorial Day Weekend event (he had previously won the fall race). He never won at Daytona. He never won at Indy. He never won at Darlington. Wallace started 9th and averaged 137.650 mph en route to the win. The win would also be the last win for Pontiac in the spring race, although not the last for that manufacturer at Charlotte.
Next: #3 - Richmond, September 1989