1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 38th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 15th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won his second championship this year.

This was the last season without Ernie Irvan until 2000. This would also unexpectedly be the last full season for Tim Richmond, whose health began to decline as a result of AIDS shortly after the season ended, ultimately claiming Richmond's life in 1989.

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers

Complete schedule

Limited schedule

Schedule

Races

Busch Clash

The 8th annual Busch Clash was held on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway. Harry Gant drew for the pole. Only eight drivers ran.

Full Results

Average speed: 195.865 mph

7-Eleven Twin 125's

The 7-Eleven Twin 125's, 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

Top Ten Results

In what would be the first of a string of Daytona 500 heartbreakers for Dale Earnhardt; Earnhardt ran out of fuel with three laps to go and coasted into pit road for gas, only to blow his engine when restarting it; resulting in a 14th place finish.

Miller High Life 400

The Miller High Life 400 was held February 23 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole. This was Kyle Petty's first career Winston Cup Series victory. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial finishes in NASCAR history.

Top Ten Results

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

Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt battled for the better part of the race. In the final five laps, Waltrip rode on the back bumper of Earnhardt, bumping and rubbing the whole way. With three laps to go, Waltrip finally got a nose underneath Earnhardt exiting turn two. But Waltrip did not fully clear Earnhardt down the backstretch. Going into turn 3, Earnhardt spun Waltrip out, but lost control himself and both cars crashed hard into outside guardrail. The wreck collected Joe Ruttman (3rd place) and Geoff Bodine (4th place), allowing 5th place Kyle Petty to slip by and take his first-career Cup victory in improbable fashion. The incident drew a fine for Earnhardt, raised tempers throughout the garage area, and earned Earnhardt the "Ironhead" nickname. The incident was dramatized in the movie 3.
With his victory, Kyle Petty became NASCAR's first third generation winner.
In the 1990 film Days of Thunder, a clip of the incident between Earnhardt and Waltrip appears on the TV set that Cole Trickle and Harry Hogge are watching in the scene where they are riding in a transporter.
Terry Labonte, thinking his engine had failed, pulled his #44 Piedmont Airlines Oldsmobile behind the wall. However, a crew member noticed some metal interfering with the ignition, and once the obstruction was cleared, the engine refired, allowing Labonte to return to the race and finish in 15th place.
Early in the race, Earnhardt could be seen steering his car while simultaneously wiping dirt off his windshield.

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
11-Darrell Waltrip -1 lap
28-Cale Yarborough -2 laps
9-Bill Elliott -2 laps
3-Dale Earnhardt -2 laps
12-Neil Bonnett -2 laps
75-Lake Speed -3 laps

The win proved to be Labonte's last with Billy Hagan.
This was the only points paying win for the Oldsmobile Delta 88 in the Winston Cup Series.

Motorcraft 500

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

Top Ten Results

This was Morgan Shepherd's 1st victory since 1981.

Valleydale 500

The Valleydale 500 was held April 6 at Bristol International Raceway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

This was Rusty Wallace's 1st career Winston Cup victory.
This was also the 1st victory for the Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2.

TranSouth 500

The TranSouth 500 was held April 13 at Darlington Raceway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

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 No. 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. No. 25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

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.
First career top 5 for Alan Kulwicki.

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held May 4 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. The No. 9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 35-Alan Kulwicki (R), 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 200 miles per hour with several upcoming stars failing to qualify.

The Winston

The second edition of The Winston, an all-star event for the previous season's race winners, was held at Atlanta International Raceway on Sunday May 11 (Mother's Day). The pole position was awarded to Darrell Waltrip as the defending Winston Cup champion.

This was the only time the all-star race was held at Atlanta, and featured a 200-kilometer (83 lap) format, with a mandatory green flag pit stop. Because there were only nine race winners in 1985, the highest placed non-winner from the 1985 point standings (Geoff Bodine) was added to the field to make it an even ten cars. Bill Elliott led 82 of the 83 en route to a dominating victory. Elliott collected the $200,000 first place prize, plus $40,000 in additional cash bonuses for leading laps 20, 30, 50, and 60.

Top Ten Results

A consolation race for non-winners from 1985, the Atlanta Invitational, was added to the weekend's events. Benny Parsons won the 100-lap/152.2 mile race, his last NASCAR-sanctioned victory. The win gave Parsons a free spot in the 1987 The Winston (in later years the Winston Open winner would advance to The Winston the same day).
A lackluster crowd of only 18,500 attended the event, and only 23 cars entered (10 in The Winston, 13 in the Atlanta Invitational). However, the all-star format of having a non-winners' "last chance" race followed by a main event would become a permanent fixture of all-star weekend.
Originally The Winston was planned to rotate to different tracks each year. This was the second and last year of that format. Rather that rotate each year, for 1987 it was moved back to Charlotte where it remained through 2019.

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
15-Ricky Rudd -2 laps
11-Darrell Waltrip -2 laps
43-Richard Petty -6 laps
9-Bill Elliott -7 laps
8-Bobby Hillin Jr. -7 laps
18-Tommy Ellis -7 laps
90-Ken Schrader -7 laps

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Richard Petty was not allowed to bring out a backup car after crashing his #43 Pontiac in practice. As a result, Petty Enterprises bought the lime green-and-white #6 Chevrolet of D.K. Ulrich, 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.
This race insured there would be no Winston Million winner in 1986. The bonus for winning 2 out of 4 races was still alive for the Southern 500 later in the season.
After this race, Dale Earnhardt would not take the checkered flag first again until returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Oakwood Homes 500 on October 5.

Budweiser 400

The Budweiser 400 was held on 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.
This was the final time that Darrell Waltrip wins from the pole.

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, coming after two second-place finishes in the two preceding races, 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.

Top Ten Results

During qualifying, 31-year-old ARCA driver Rick Baldwin, in the Buddy Arrington No. 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.

Firecracker 400

The Firecracker 400 was held on 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 back to 1958. As of 2022, he is the only driver to compete in 1,000+ races.
Dale Earnhardt blew his engine with 7 laps remaining and spun head-on into the wall after the blown engine dumped oil on his back tires. Attempting to avoid the crash, leader Buddy Baker clipped Connie Saylor's car; damaging Baker's car and providing an opening for Richmond.

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 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 No. 9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This was Bobby Hillin Jr.'s 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.

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 but this was an entirely new configuration.

Top Ten Results

Withdrew: 30-Willy T. Ribbs^[5]

Ribbs withdrew as he blew up 4 engines during practice and qualifying and the team did not have any spares.
This was Richmond's 4th victory of the season.
Neil Bonnett returns after sitting out the previous race due to broken ribs. Junior Johnson had Doug Heveron on standby to take over if Bonnett could not run the full race. He would run the full race, running as high as 2nd but eventually settling for 5th.
Rusty Wallace had to earn his finishing spot the hard way. After taking the lead for 3 laps from laps 17 to 19, Wallace was black-flagged by NASCAR for leaking oil onto the track. Rejoining the field at the tail-end, Wallace would cut a tire after making contact with the wall, then spun out in turn 5 to bring out a full course caution flag. Despite the setbacks, Wallace would rally to finish 6th.
This was Al Unser's first NASCAR start since 1969.

Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 17 at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 55 of Benny Parsons won the final pole of his hall of fame career.

Top Ten Results

With this win, Bill Elliott became the 1st driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight races at one Superspeedway.
This was David Pearson's last Winston Cup start. He ran as high as 3rd place at one point in the race.
Buddy Arrington returned to the track where rookie Rick Baldwin, driving Arrington's #67, had suffered injuries that would eventually prove to be fatal in a crash during qualifying for the June event. Arrington would finish 6 laps down in 19th.

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-Geoff Bodine -1 lap
3-Dale Earnhardt -1 lap
33-Harry Gant -1 lap
25-Tim Richmond -2 laps
43-Richard Petty -3 laps
22-Bobby Allison -4 laps
8-Bobby Hillin Jr. -5 laps
35-Alan Kulwicki (R) -6 laps

This was the final race for owner of the #35 car Bill Terry. His driver Alan Kulwicki would buy out the team before the next race and be the sports newest owner/driver
Darrell Waltrip scores his record 10th victory at Bristol.

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.
Before this race, rookie Alan Kulwicki bought out his owner Bill Terry and became the owner/driver of the #35 car. He would finish in 12th place, 7 laps down in his first owner/driver outing.
This race insured no one would win the Winston bonus for winning 2 out of 4 crown jewel races.

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 No. 75 Pontiac.
Tim Richmond had to survive a late race restart because on lap 395 the caution flag flew when Michael Waltrip's entire driveshaft fell out of the car. The race went back under the green flag with 2 laps remaining. Richmond held on by 3 car lengths.
This was the last Cup Series race to feature less than a 30 car field.

Delaware 500

The Delaware 500 was held September 14 at Dover Downs International Speedway. The No. 5 of Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

This was Rudd's 1st win on an oval that was 1 mile in length or longer.

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
26-Joe Ruttman -1 lap
7-Kyle Petty -1 lap
90-Ken Schrader -2 laps
12-Neil Bonnett -3 laps
71-Dave Marcis -3 laps
25-Tim Richmond -4 laps

This was Pontiac's 2nd & final victory for 1986.

Holly Farms 400

The Holly Farms 400 was held September 28 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The No. 25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Geoff Bodine had the dominant car leading the most laps (218) but faded late, losing the lead at lap 390 to Darrell Waltrip, he would pull away to a 1.21 second lead for his final victory of 1986.
The win was also Waltrip's final race victory with Junior Johnson, Waltrip would be tabbed to drive for Rick Hendrick in 1987.

Oakwood Homes 500

The Oakwood Homes 500 was held on October 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

Earnhardt had to work hard for this victory as he at one point in the race lost 2 laps due to separate tire issues.
The pre-race ceremonies saw several members of marching bands pass out from heat exhaustion due to the warmer than normal for late October temperatures, which soared to around the upper 80s.

Nationwise 500

The Nationwise 500 was held on October 19 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The No. 25 of Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

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

Dale Earnhardt's official margin of victory was 1 lap and an additional 3 seconds.
By virtue of Darrell Waltrip blowing an engine to finish 39th and Dale Earnhardt winning the race while leading the most laps, Earnhardt clinched his 2nd Winston Cup Championship.

Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was held on 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.
This was the last race that both Darrell Waltrip and Neil Bonnett drove for Junior Johnson. Waltrip would drive the #17 Tide sponsored Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 1987, while Bonnett returned to RahMoc Enterprises to pilot the #75 Valvoline Pontiac after having previously driven for them during the 1983 season. Terry Labonte replaced Waltrip in the #11 car while the #12 team was dissolved and would reappear in 1991 as the #22 Maxwell House Ford Thunderbird with then journeyman driver Sterling Marlin behind the wheel.
This was Al Unser's final NASCAR start. He would devote the rest of his career to CART.
This marked the final time where Riverside would close the Cup season. Beginning in 1987 and lasting until 2000, the season finale would be at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Winston Cup Final Standings

(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or 1985 Owner's points. * – Most laps led.

Rookie of the Year

Alan Kulwicki, a future hall of famer (see Class of 2019 hall of fame) driving for a team that had only one car (which he would buy out before the Southern 500 and become an owner/driver), won the Rookie of the Year award in 1986 despite skipping 6 races (3 of those he failed to qualify for, rounds 1, 2, and 9), finishing in the top-ten four times. Of the rest of the candidates, only runner-up Michael Waltrip ran a complete schedule.

References

^ "Driver Season Stats".
^ "Driver Season Stats".
^ "Driver Season Stats".
^ "Driver Season Stats".
^ "Race Results".

External links

Winston Cup Standings and Statistics for 1986 Archived 2006-09-03 at the Wayback Machine

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series