| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 29 in the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1990 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip. | |||
| Date | February 18, 1990 | ||
| Official name | 32nd Annual Daytona 500 | ||
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 400 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Average speed | 165.761 miles per hour (266.766 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 150,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 45.798 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 155 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 10 | Derrike Cope | Whitcomb Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Chris Economaki, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1990 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 18, 1990, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, Whitcomb Racing driver Derrike Cope would manage to take advantage of a misfortunate Dale Earnhardt, when Earnhardt suffered a flat tire on the final turn of the race, allowing Cope to take the lead. The victory was Cope's first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Precision Products Racing driver Terry Labonte and Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott would finish second and third, respectively.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 19, 1990). "Cope Capitalizes At Daytona (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 21. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 19, 1990). "Cope Capitalizes At Daytona (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coble, Don (February 19, 1990). "Cope shocks Daytona 500 (Part 1)". Florida Today. p. 19. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coble, Don (February 19, 1990). "Cope shocks Daytona 500 (Part 2)". Florida Today. p. 20. Retrieved May 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
