Checkered Countdown: Top-Five Sonoma Finishes

No.2 Ricky Rudd spins Davey Allison to win but is black flagged by NASCAR on the final lap (1991).

Another wild finish at Sonoma Raceway that ended in controversy was the one of the Banquet 300 in 1991. When in the closing laps the two leaders Tommy Kendall and Mark Martin collided damaging both cars the fight between Davey Allison and Ricky Rudd became the one for the first position. Rudd closed the gap he had from the leader and made an aggressive move on the inside of him while coming to the white flag, which resulted in Allison going for a spin. Now Rudd had a comfortable lead over Allison’s second place and could cross the finish line celebrating but instead of the checkered flag he was shown the black flag by NASCAR for what had happened previously. The official classification eventually saw the victory given to Allison with Rudd in second place. The team owner Rick Hendrick unsuccessfully appealed the penalty inflicted to his driver

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