The 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 46th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 23rd modern-era Cup series. The season began on Sunday, February 20, and ended on Sunday, November 13. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at season's end, winning consecutive Winston Cups for the third time in his career and tying Richard Petty for the record of most top-level NASCAR championships with seven. It was also the 7th and final NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship for Dale Earnhardt before his death 7 years later in 2001; this was also the final season for 18-time Winston Cup winner Harry Gant. One of the highlights of the season occurred on August 6, when the NASCAR Winston Cup Series made a highly publicized first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the inaugural Brickyard 400. This season also marked the end of the second of two tire wars, as Hoosier left NASCAR after the season-ending Atlanta race, leaving Goodyear as the series' exclusive tire distributor. The season was marred with tragedy, as Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr were killed in separate practice crashes prior to the Daytona 500. Teams and drivers Complete schedule Limited schedule Schedule Races Busch Clash The Busch Clash was held February 13 at Daytona International Speedway. Ken Schrader drew for the pole. 24-Jeff Gordon 26-Brett Bodine 3-Dale Earnhardt 28-Ernie Irvan 6-Mark Martin 42-Kyle Petty 11-Bill Elliott 25-Ken Schrader 2-Rusty Wallace 33-Harry Gant Two days earlier, during practice, Neil Bonnett died of massive head injuries after his car had a tire failure in turn 3 and hit the wall head-on. The day after this race, Rodney Orr died of massive head and chest injuries after his car lifted at over 175 mph and slammed into the outside retaining wall and catch fence, with the caution light piercing through the roof. Gatorade 125s The Gatorade 125s, the qualifying races for the Daytona 500, were held February 19 at Daytona International Speedway. Race one: top ten results 28-Ernie Irvan 2-Rusty Wallace 6-Mark Martin 5-Terry Labonte 75-Todd Bodine 25-Ken Schrader 14-John Andretti 97-Chad Little 54-Robert Pressley 27-Jimmy Spencer Race two: top ten results 3-Dale Earnhardt 4-Sterling Marlin 24-Jeff Gordon 11-Bill Elliott 26-Brett Bodine 21-Morgan Shepherd 30-Michael Waltrip 98-Derrike Cope 43-Wally Dallenbach Jr. 10-Ricky Rudd Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 was held in Daytona International Speedway. Loy Allen Jr. won the