1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
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The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season began February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won his second championship this year.

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Drivers

Make	Team	No.	Driver	Crew Chief
Buick	King Racing	26	Joe Ruttman	Larry McReynolds
	Stavola Brothers Racing	8	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Ron Puryear
	Stavola Brothers Racing	22	Bobby Allison
Chevrolet	Ellington Racing	1	Sterling Marlin
	Freelander Motorsports	18	Tommy Ellis
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Geoff Bodine	Gary Nelson
	Hendrick Motorsports	25	Tim Richmond	Harry Hyde
	Jackson Brothers Motorsports	55	Benny Parsons	Cliff Champion
	Jackson Brothers Motorsports	66	Phil Parsons	Marv Acton
	Junior Johnson & Associates	11	Darrell Waltrip	Jeff Hammond
		12	Neil Bonnett28	Tim Brewer
		12	Davey Allison1	Tim Brewer
	Mach 1 Racing	33	Harry Gant	Travis Carter
	Marcis Auto Racing	71	Dave Marcis
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kirk Shelmerdine
Ford	AK Racing	35	Alan Kulwicki(R)	Mike Beat
	Arrington Racing	67	Buddy Arrington
	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Ricky Rudd	Bud Moore
	Circle Bar Racing	81	Chet Fillip (R)
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ken Schrader	Junie Donlavey
	Melling Racing	9	Bill Elliott	Ernie Elliott
	Ranier-Lundy Racing	28	Cale Yarborough	Joey Knuckles
	Wood Brothers Racing	7	Kyle Petty	Eddie Wood
Oldsmobile	Baker-Schiff Racing	88	Buddy Baker	Doug Richert
	Hagan Racing	44	Terry Labonte	Steve Hmiel
	Hamby Motorsports	17	Eddie Bierschwale
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Rick Wilson	Tony Glover
Pontiac	Bahari Racing	23	Michael Waltrip (R)
	Blue Max Racing	27	Rusty Wallace	Barry Dodson
	Curb Racing	98	Ron Bouchard	Mike Beam
	McDuffie Racing	70	J.D. McDuffie	Jeff McDuffie
	Means Racing	52	Jimmy Means
	Petty Enterprises	43	Richard Petty	Dale Inman
	RahMoc Enterprises	75	Morgan Shepherd	Robin Pemberton

Busch Clash

The Busch Clash was held on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway. Harry Gant drew for the pole. Only eight drivers ran.

Results

Gatorade 125s

The Gatorade 125s, a pair of qualifying races for the Daytona 500, were held February 13 at Daytona International Speedway. Bill Elliott and Geoff Bodine won the poles for both races, respectively.

Race One Top Ten Results

Race Two Top Ten Results

Daytona 500

Miller High Life 400

The Miller High Life 400 was held February 23 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

7-Kyle Petty*
26-Joe Ruttman
3-Dale Earnhardt
22-Bobby Allison 1 lap down
11-Darrell Waltrip 2 laps down
8-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 2 laps down
12-Neil Bonnett 2 laps down
5-Geoff Bodine 3 laps down
71-Dave Marcis 3 laps down
27-Rusty Wallace 5 laps down

This was Petty's first career Winston Cup win.

Petty won this race as the direct result of Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip wrecking while racing for the lead with 2 laps to go. Going into Turn 3, Earnhardt hooked the right rear corner of Waltrip's car and turned him head on into the wall. Geoff Bodine and Joe Ruttman, running 3rd and 4th at the time then proceeded to pile in behind Earnhardt and Waltrip. Petty, who was running 5th at the time of the caution, was the first lead lap car through the mess, and thus was gifted his first career victory.

With his victory, Petty became NASCAR's first third generation winner.

Goodwrench 500

The Goodwrench 500 was held March 2 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Terry Labonte won the pole.

Top Ten Results

44-Terry Labonte
33-Harry Gant
43-Richard Petty
47-Morgan Shepherd 1 lap down
11-Darrell Waltrip 1 lap down
28-Cale Yarborough 2 laps down
9-Bill Elliott 2 laps down
3-Dale Earnhardt 2 laps down
12-Neil Bonnett 2 laps down
75-Lake Speed 3 laps down

The win proved to be Labonte's last with Billy Hagan.

Motorcraft 500

The Motorcraft 500 was held March 16 at Atlanta International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Valleydale 500

The Valleydale 500 was held April 6 at Bristol International Raceway. The #5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

27-Rusty Wallace*
15-Ricky Rudd
17-Darrell Waltrip
33-Harry Gant 1 lap down
9-Bill Elliott 1 lap down
22-Bobby Allison 1 lap down
44-Terry Labonte 2 laps down
25-Tim Richmond 2 laps down
7-Kyle Petty 3 laps down
3-Dale Earnhardt 3 laps down

This was Rusty Wallace's 1st career Winston Cup victory.

TranSouth 500

The TranSouth 500 was held April 13 at Darlington Raceway. The #5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

3-Dale Earnhardt
11-Darrell Waltrip
22-Bobby Allison 1 lap down
12-Neil Bonnett 1 lap down
25-Tim Richmond 3 laps down
27-Rusty Wallace 3 laps down
43-Richard Petty 3 laps down
9-Bill Elliott 5 laps down
7-Kyle Petty 6 laps down
90-Ken Schrader 11 laps down

First Union 400

The First Union 400 was held April 20 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race marked the 1st career Winston Cup start for Willy T. Ribbs, best known for being the 1st African-American to start the Indianapolis 500 in 1991. Ribbs struggled during the race, spinning out twice on his way to a 22nd place finish, 13 laps down.

The #6 of Trevor Boys smacked the wall in Turn 3 on Lap 89 and came to a stop at the entrance of pit road, blocking it. Instead of throwing a caution, the tow truck was sent out to tow the D. K. Ulrich-owned car to his pit stall/hauler (until the September 1988 event at the track, race team haulers were literally parked right behind their chosen pit stall) while the rest of the cars continued around the track at full speed.

This race included two caution periods around halfway due to rain. However, the race was not red flagged either time the caution was thrown for the rain showers.

Sovran Bank 500

The Sovran Bank 500 was held April 27 at Martinsville Speedway. The #25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

15-Ricky Rudd*
26-Joe Ruttman 1 lap down
44-Terry Labonte 4 laps down
35-Alan Kulwicki 4 laps down
7-Kyle Petty 4 laps down
8-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 5 laps down
90-Ken Schrader 7 laps down
22-Bobby Allison 8 laps down
79-Derrike Cope 11 laps down
75-Jody Ridley 13 laps down

Ricky Rudd's official margin of victory in the race was 1 lap, and an additional 6 seconds.

According to Bill Elliott's book, Awesome Bill From Dawsonville, Elliott suffered his first engine failure in 3 years in this race.

This race marked the first career Winston Cup start for Mike Skinner. Skinner finished 22nd, 156 laps behind.

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held May 4 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. The #9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify: 35-Alan Kulwicki, 60-Dick Skillen, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 77-Ken Ragan, 95-Davey Allison, 02-Mark Martin, Steve Moore

This race is most notable for the fact that a drunken fan stole the pace car before the race started and drove a lap around the track. Local Sheriff's Deputies and track workers quickly set up a road block at the exit of Turn 4. When the fan stopped the Pontiac Firebird, the sheriffs opened the door, pulled the driver out and detained him.

The whole field qualified over 200mphs.

The Winston

The second edition of The Winston, an all-start event for previous NASCAR winners, was held at Atlanta International Raceway on May 11.

This was the only time the race was run at Atlanta, and featured a 200-kilometer (83 lap) format, with a mandatory green flag pit stop. Because there were only nine race winners, the highest placed non-winner from the 1985 point standings was also invited.

Top Ten Results

A non-winner's race, the Atlanta Invitational, was added, and was Benny Parsons' last NASCAR-sanctioned win in his career when he won the 100-lap, 152.2 mile race.

While only 18,500 attended the event, and only 23 cars featured (10 in The Winston, 13 in the Atlanta Invitational), the all-star weekend format of having a non-winners race and a winners race would be a permanent part of the weekend afterwards, although NASCAR made the non-winner's race the next year and afterwards a "last chance" race to make the winner's race.

Budweiser 500

The Budweiser 500 was held May 18 at Dover International Speedway. Ricky Rudd won the pole.

Top Ten Results

5-Geoff Bodine
22-Bobby Allison
3-Dale Earnhardt 1 lap down
15-Ricky Rudd 2 laps down
11-Darrell Waltrip 2 laps down
43-Richard Petty 6 laps down
9-Bill Elliott 7 laps down
8-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 7 laps down
18-Tommy Ellis 7 laps down
90-Ken Schrader 7 laps down

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The #5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

3-Dale Earnhardt
25-Tim Richmond
28-Cale Yarborough
33-Harry Gant
11-Darrell Waltrip
9-Bill Elliott
1-Sterling Marlin 1 lap down
15-Ricky Rudd 1 lap down
47-Morgan Shepherd 1 lap down
27-Rusty Wallace 2 laps down

Richard Petty was not allowed to bring out a backup car after crashing his #43 STP Pontiac in practice. As a result, Petty Enterprises bought the lime green-and-white #6 Chevrolet owned by D.K. Ulrich, put STP logos on it, and raced that car. Petty finished 38th as a result of a blown engine after completing 123 laps.

This was the 1st career Winston Cup start for Brett Bodine, who drove a Hendrick Motorsports #2 Chevrolet to an 18th place finish, 6 laps down.

Budweiser 400

The Budweiser 400 was held June 1 at Riverside International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This was the 1st career Winston Cup start for Chad Little, who was then a regular in the Winston West series. Little finished 13th, 3 laps down in the race after starting 25th.

Miller High Life 500

The Miller High Life 500 was held June 8 at Pocono International Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

The race ended under caution when Morgan Shepherd, Harry Gant, and Buddy Arrington were involved in a violent crash with four laps to go in Turn One.

The win was Richmond's first since April 1984 and the first for Harry Hyde since November 1984.

Miller American 400

The Miller American 400 was held June 15 at Michigan International Speedway. Tim Richmond won the pole.

During qualifying, 31-year-old ARCA driver Rick Baldwin, in the Buddy Arrington #67 Ford Thunderbird, suffered a severe crash in qualifying that resulted in the car hitting the wall flush with the driver's side, knocking him unconscious into a coma from the massive head injuries, from which he would succumb eleven years later.

Top Ten Results

Firecracker 400

The Firecracker 400 was held July 4 at Daytona International Speedway. Cale Yarborough won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race marked Richard Petty's 1000th career start in the Winston Cup Series, dating all the way back to 1958.

Summer 500

The Summer 500 was held July 20 at Pocono International Raceway. Harry Gant won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race was shortened to 150 laps (375 miles) due to a combination of rain, fog and darkness.

On Lap 121 Tim Richmond, racing with Geoff Bodine and Neil Bonnett, spun out and was hit by Richard Petty coming out of the Tunnel Turn (Turn 2). His car had both front tires flattened and was in a position so that he could not drive it forwards. Richmond backed the car out, then drove it in reverse the nearly 1 mile to his pit. At that point, his crew fixed the car so that he could go forward, but only in high gear (4th). He lost a lap but raced with the leaders until Dale Earnhardt crashed around Lap 140; he beat the leaders to the flag and thus got his lap back. It was at this point that NASCAR announced the impending end of the race due to darkness. Richmond got tires and then charged through the field after the restart; he passed Bodine on the final lap, but Bodine dove back alongside and the two raced through Turn Three; Bodine got loose and Ricky Rudd stormed three abreast; Richmond won in a photo finish. A modified version of this incident was featured in the 1990 movie Days of Thunder.

Talladega 500

The Talladega 500 was held July 27 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. The #9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This was Bobby Hillin, Jr.'s 1st and only career Winston Cup victory.

The lead changed a season-high 49 times. The race set a motorsports record with 26 leaders, a record broken in 2008.

Among the race's 26 leaders were Richard Petty, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Rodney Combs, Buddy Baker, and Rick Wilson. Cale Yarborough took the lead on the backstretch on Lap 107 but Dale Earnhardt beat him to the stripe.

Ricky Rudd was relieved during the race by Rusty Wallace, who had blown an engine earlier.

Davey Allison drove the race in place of Neil Bonnett, who was injured in a multi-car wreck at Pocono the previous week; Bonnett worked with CBS Sports as a second color analyst on the telecast of the race.

Hillin was involved in a five-car crash down the backstretch with 25 laps to go when he was drafting race leader Harry Gant; Gant was spun into Phil Parsons and the wreck swept up Darrell Waltrip, Geoff Bodine, and Cale Yarborough.

Bobby Allison was eliminated while racing Richmond for third; he was hooked by Sterling Marlin and spun into traffic in Turn One; Richmond passed Wallace subbing for Rudd for second while Marlin finished fourth.

The Budweiser At The Glen

The Budweiser At The Glen was held August 10 at Watkins Glen International. Tim Richmond won the pole. It was the first time a NASCAR race had been run at the track since 1965.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify: 30-Willy T. Ribbs

Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 17 at Michigan International Speedway. The #55 of Benny Parsons won the pole.

Top Ten Results

9-Bill Elliott
25-Tim Richmond
11-Darrell Waltrip
5-Geoff Bodine
3-Dale Earnhardt 1 lap down
27-Rusty Wallace 1 lap down
28-Cale Yarborough 1 lap down
33-Harry Gant 1 lap down
66-Phil Parsons 1 lap down
21-David Pearson* 1 lap down

This was David Pearson's last Winston Cup start.

Busch 500

The Busch 500 was held August 23 at Bristol International Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

11-Darrell Waltrip
44-Terry Labonte
5-Geoffrey Bodine 1 lap down
3-Dale Earnhardt 1 lap down
33-Harry Gant 1 lap down
25-Tim Richmond 2 laps down
43-Richard Petty 3 laps down
22-Bobby Allison 4 laps down
8-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 5 laps down
35-Alan Kulwicki 6 laps down

Southern 500

The Southern 500 was held August 31 at Darlington Raceway. Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race was plagued by rain, to the point of the race running on a damp surface and the drivers having to race as if Darlington Raceway was a dirt track.

Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400

The Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 was held September 7 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Harry Gant won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Morgan Shepherd was hired by RahMoc Enterprises as the driver of the #75 Nationwise Auto Parts Pontiac.

Delaware 500

The Delaware 500 was held September 14 at Dover Downs International Speedway. The #5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

15-Ricky Rudd
12-Neil Bonnett
7-Kyle Petty
88-Buddy Baker 1 lap down
71-Dave Marcis 2 laps down
26-Joe Ruttman 2 laps down
35-Alan Kulwicki 3 laps down
18-Tommy Ellis 4 laps down
8-Bobby Hillin, Jr. 5 laps down
75-Morgan Shepherd 7 laps down

Goody's 500

The Goody's 500 was held September 21 at Martinsville Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

27-Rusty Wallace
5-Geoff Bodine
33-Harry Gant
11-Darrell Waltrip 1 lap down
26-Joe Ruttman 1 lap down
7-Kyle Petty 1 lap down
90-Ken Schrader 2 laps down
12-Neil Bonnett 3 laps down
71-Dave Marcis 3 laps down
25-Tim Richmond 4 laps down

Holly Farms 400

The Holly Farms 400 was held September 28 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The #25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

11-Darrell Waltrip
5-Geoff Bodine
43-Richard Petty
27-Rusty Wallace
33-Harry Gant
26-Joe Ruttman 1 lap down
15-Ricky Rudd 1 lap down
71-Dave Marcis 1 lap down
3-Dale Earnhardt 2 laps down
44-Terry Labonte 2 laps down

Oakwood Homes 500

The Oakwood Homes 500 was held October 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The #25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

3-Dale Earnhardt
33-Harry Gant
12-Neil Bonnett 1 lap down
15-Ricky Rudd 1 lap down
88-Buddy Baker 1 lap down
5-Geoff Bodine 1 lap down
9-Bill Elliott 1 lap down
27-Rusty Wallace 2 laps down
11-Darrell Waltrip 2 laps down
66-Phil Parsons 3 laps down

Nationwise 500

The Nationwise 500 was held October 19 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The #25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

12-Neil Bonnett
15-Ricky Rudd
11-Darrell Waltrip
33-Harry Gant
88-Buddy Baker
3-Dale Earnhardt 1 lap down
9-Bill Elliott 1 lap down
43-Richard Petty 1 lap down
26-Joe Ruttman 2 laps down
7-Kyle Petty 3 laps down

The win was Bonnett's last with Junior Johnson, as he was tabbed to drive for RahMoc Enterprises in 1987.

Atlanta Journal 500

The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 2 at Atlanta International Raceway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

3-Dale Earnhardt*
43-Richard Petty 1 lap down
9-Bill Elliott 1 lap down
25-Tim Richmond 1 lap down
88-Buddy Baker 1 lap down
12-Neil Bonnett 1 lap down
7-Kyle Petty 2 laps down
44-Terry Labonte 2 laps down
26-Joe Ruttman 2 laps down
66-Phil Parsons 2 laps down

Dale Earnhardt's official margin of victory was 1 lap, and an additional 3 seconds. Winning the race clinched Earnhardt's 2nd Winston Cup Championship.

Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was held November 16 at Riverside International Raceway. Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Going into the race, Dale Earnhardt had already clinched the Winston Cup championship. The attention shifted to the battle for second in the championship. Polesitter Tim Richmond needed to finish five positions higher than Darrell Waltrip to move into second. Richmond went on to win the race. However, Waltrip managed 4th place, which secured himself second in the championship, by 6 points over Richmond.

Final points standings

Dale Earnhardt – 4468
Darrell Waltrip – 4180
Tim Richmond – 4174
Bill Elliott – 3844
Ricky Rudd – 3823
Rusty Wallace – 3762
Bobby Allison – 3698
Geoff Bodine – 3678
Bobby Hillin, Jr. – 3546
Kyle Petty – 3537
Harry Gant – 3498
Terry Labonte – 3473
Neil Bonnett – 3369
Richard Petty – 3314
Joe Ruttman – 3295
Ken Schrader – 3052
Dave Marcis – 2912
Morgan Shepherd – 2896
Michael Waltrip – 2853
Buddy Arrington – 2776
Alan Kulwicki – 2705
Jimmy Means – 2495
Tommy Ellis – 2393
Buddy Baker – 1924
Eddie Bierschwale – 1860
J. D. McDuffie – 1825
Phil Parsons – 1742
Rick Wilson – 1698
Cale Yarborough – 1642
Benny Parsons – 1555
Ron Bouchard – 1553
Chet Fillip – 1433
Jody Ridley – 1213
Trevor Boys – 1064
Doug Heveron – 1052
Sterling Marlin – 989
D.K. Ulrich – 804
Pancho Carter – 706
Ken Ragan – 627
Lake Speed – 608
Greg Sacks – 579
Ronnie Thomas – 504
Bobby Wawak – 480
Rodney Combs – 421
Derrike Cope – 400
James Hylton – 386
Davey Allison – 364
Mark Martin – 364
Jim Sauter – 361
A. J. Foyt – 355

Rookie of the Year

Alan Kulwicki, driving for a team that had only one car, won the Rookie of the Year award in 1986, finishing in the top-ten four times. Of the rest of the candidates, only runner-up Michael Waltrip ran a complete schedule.

External links

Winston Cup Standings and Statistics for 1986

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

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