| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 29 in the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1990 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | February 25, 1990 | ||
| Official name | 36th Annual Pontiac Excitement 400 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 92.158 miles per hour (148.314 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 22.572 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Laps | 148 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Chris Economaki | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1990 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the second stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 25, 1990, before an audience of 50,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to make a late-race charge to the front, passing for the lead with 16 laps left in the race to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd would finish second and third, respectively.
After the race, Martin's car was found to have an illegal carburetor spacer, with the spacer being half an inch wider than the maximum allowance of 2 inches (5.1 cm) NASCAR had set according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In response, NASCAR officials decided to fine Martin USD$40,000 (adjusted for inflation, USD$89,598), the largest fine ever levied in NASCAR history up to that point, along with 46 driver's championship points.[5][6] The punishment was considered extremely harsh and severe by NASCAR media along with Martin's team, in which Martin said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer "It's like running a stop sign when nothing's coming, but a policeman catches you... you shouldn't get a ticket for it, but you broke the law and you have to pay for it. But this is like getting the death penalty for it."[7][8]
