The 1991 Sonoma Cup race ended in a controversial fashion. With seven laps left in the race, Mark Martin tried to pass Tommy Kendall, subbing for an injured Kyle Petty. The two made contact, resulting in Martin crashing into the tire barrier on a pull-over site and Kendall cutting his tire. The lead went to Davey Allison. Then, with two laps left, pole-sitter Rudd passed Allison for the lead but Allison spun out from contact in the final turn. Rudd led to the white flag and was contending to win the race, his second Sonoma victory, and to advance his championship points to the lead. However, as he came around to take the win, Rudd was black-flagged just three feet from the finish line. Allison was declared the winner of the race with Rudd's controversial penalty while Rudd finished in second place.