Saturday 7th July 1990

Part-time driver Hendrick driver Greg Sacks won the Pepsi 400 pole position. But in post-qualifying inspection, NASCAR officials determined that the Hendricks team’s engines had an unapproved “floating block” in the intake manifold sitting under the restrictor plate. NASCAR officials required the team to weld the block in place for race day, which effectively robbed the engine of horsepower. At the start, Sacks was essentially a sitting duck, and at the conclusion of the first lap, his car was sent spinning in front of nearly the entire field. At least 22 cars were collected in the huge pileup in the tri-oval. The crash became known as the original “Big One.” Six cars in the lead pack narrowly escaped the incident, among those was Dale Earnhardt who dominated the depleted field on the way to victory.