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1986 Delaware 500

The 1986 Delaware 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on September 14, 1986, at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.

1986 Delaware 500
Race details[1]
Race 23 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Dover's then-current asphalt surface
Dover's then-current asphalt surface
Date September 14, 1986 (1986-September-14)
Official name Delaware 500
Location Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware
Course Permanent racing facility
1.000 mi (1.609 km)
Distance 500 laps, 500.0 mi (804.6 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching of 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 114.329 mph (183.995 km/h)
Attendance 44,000
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 24.623 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering
Laps 141
Winner
No. 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The most dominant drivers in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during the 1980s were Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Bobby Allison, and Dale Earnhardt.

Background

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Dover Downs International Speedway, now called Dover International Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[2] The NASCAR race makes use of the track's standard configuration, a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the backstretch are banked at nine degrees.[3]

Race report

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There were 41 drivers who originally qualified for this race; only George Wiltshire failed to make the final 40-car starting grid. All but one of the drivers were born in the United States of America; Cliff Hucul was born in Canada.

This race lasted 500-laps or four hours and twenty-two minutes. Mike Potter was the first victim of engine failure on lap 22. Ricky Rudd finally gets a win on a big track, leading 141 laps en route to victory by defeating Neil Bonnet.[4] Neil Bonnett scored his best result of the season so far in second, leading 12 laps.[4] Buddy Baker scored his first of 5 straight top-5 finishes for the #88 team to close out the season, finishing a lap down in fourth.[4] Alan Kulwicki recovered from an early crash and capitalized on attrition to finish in seventh, three laps off the pace.[4] Bobby Hillin Jr. continued his methodical pace that had become custom throughout the season, finishing five laps down in ninth.[4]

Morgan Shepherd had another strong run with the RahMoc #75, leading 36 laps but fading towards the end. He came home seven laps down in tenth.[4] Richard Petty ran midpack much of the day, finishing seven laps down in twelfth.[4] Rusty Wallace led 39 laps and ran with the leaders all day until a late crash knocked him out of contention. He would crawl home nine laps down in thirteenth.[4] Darrell Waltrip struggled with mechanical issues all race, yet still finished ahead of his other title contenders in fourteenth, 10 laps off the pace.[4] Buddy Arrington scored a second straight top-15 finish, coming home 16 laps down in fourteenth.[4] Michael Waltrip never really recovered from an early spin, finishing sixteenth, 29 laps down.[4]

Johnny Coy Jr. made his first start of the 1986 season in James Hylton's #48 entry.[4] He was incredibly slow, finishing 31 laps down in seventeenth. This would ultimately be his best career finish.[4] Joe Booher made his second start of the season in the #6 D.K. Ulrich entry.[4] He was easily the slowest car on track, finishing 35 laps down in eighteenth.[4] Dale Earnhardt was knocked out of contention by a late crash, finishing 68 laps down in twenty-first.[4] He did manage to lead three laps, which was crucial in the points chase.[4]

Rudd's Ford Thunderbird performed like a flawless machine from lap 200 to the checkered flag.[5] Out of the 56 racing events that Ricky Rudd did at Dover International Speedway, his average start was 13th place while his average finish was 14th-place with four confirmed victories. Rudd was also proficient at the road courses in addition to Rockingham and Pocono.[6]

Bobby Allison was stuck in the garage for many laps after an early crash, ultimately coming home 39 laps down in twentieth.[4]

The pole position of the race would end up going to Geoffrey Bodine for travelling up to 146.205 miles per hour (235.294 km/h) during his solo qualifying runs. Tim Richmond ended up being the lowest-placed driver to actually make it through the race.[4] Only Ricky Rudd, Neil Bonnett, and Kyle Petty would finish the race in the lead lap. Kyle Petty also surprised many with his strong third-place run; leading four laps in the process.[4] Tommy Ellis turned in a solid run and finishes eighth, the second-best finish of his Cup career.[4] This was his best run during his tenure in Eric Freedlander's #18 Freedlander Financial Chevrolet.[4] ASA star Mark Martin made his third start of the 1986 season and scored his best finish in eleventh, 7 laps down.[4]

Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race included Junie Donlavey, Robin Pemberton, Joey Arrington, Dale Inman, Larry McReynolds, Harry Hyde, Bud Moore, Kirk Shelmerdine among others.[7]

Terry Labonte's led 85 laps and looked assured for a top-10 until a blown engine sidelined him after 461 laps. However, Labonte would have to earn this middle-of-the-road finish by dueling against Ricky Rudd for 138 laps.[8] Bryan Baker, Roy Lee Hendrick, and Howard Rose would make their only appearances during this event.[9] Cliff Hucul makes his second and final Cup series start and it results in the former USAC Champ Car racer's best finish with a 31st.[10]

Winnings for this racing event varied from a then-awesome $51,500 ($143,149 when adjusted for inflation) to a humble $850 ($2,363 when adjusted for inflation).[4] The total prize purse for this racing event totalled at exactly $314,000 ($872,794 when adjusted for inflation).[11]

Qualifying

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Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[12] Qualifying time[12] Owner
1 5 Geoffrey Bodine Chevrolet 146.205 24.623 Rick Hendrick
2 25 Tim Richmond Chevrolet 144.904 24.844 Rick Hendrick
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet 144.075 24.987 Richard Childress
4 33 Harry Gant Chevrolet 143.615 25.067 Hal Needham
5 4 Rick Wilson Oldsmobile 143.192 25.141 Larry McClure
6 44 Terry Labonte Oldsmobile 142.999 25.175 Billy Hagan
7 9 Bill Elliott Ford 142.337 25.292 Harry Melling
8 27 Rusty Wallace Pontiac 142.270 25.304 Raymond Beadle
9 75 Morgan Shepherd Pontiac 142.225 25.312 RayMoc Enterprises
10 22 Bobby Allison Buick 142.141 25.327 Stavola Brothers

Top 20 finishers

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Pos[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Time/Status
1 15 Ricky Rudd Ford 500 141 4:22:24
2 12 Neil Bonnett Chevrolet 500 12 +5.08 seconds
3 7 Kyle Petty Ford 500 4 Lead lap under green flag
4 88 Buddy Baker Oldsmobile 499 0 +1 laps
5 71 Dave Marcis Chevrolet 498 9 +2 laps
6 26 Joe Ruttman Buick 498 0 +2 laps
7 7 Alan Kulwicki Ford 497 0 +3 laps
8 18 Tommy Ellis Chevrolet 496 0 +4 laps
9 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Buick 495 0 +5 laps
10 75 Morgan Shepherd Pontiac 493 36 +8 laps
11 02 Mark Martin Ford 493 0 +8 laps
12 43 Richard Petty Pontiac 493 0 +8 laps
13 27 Rusty Wallace Pontiac 491 39 +9 laps
14 11 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 490 0 +10 laps
15 67 Buddy Arrington Ford 484 0 +16 laps
16 23 Michael Waltrip Pontiac 471 0 +29 laps
17 48 Johnny Coy Jr. Chevrolet 469 0 +31 laps
18 6 Joe Booher Chevrolet 465 0 +35 laps
19 44 Terry Labonte Oldsmobile 461 85 Engine failure
20 22 Bobby Allison Buick 461 0 +39 laps

Standings after the race

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Pos Driver Points[4] Differential
1   Dale Earnhardt 3498 0
2   Tim Richmond 3360 -138
3   Darrell Waltrip 3306 -192
4   Bobby Allison 3112 -386
5   Ricky Rudd 3069 -429
6   Bill Elliott 3033 -465
7   Rusty Wallace 2903 -595
8   Geoffrey Bodine 2867 -631
9   Bobby Hillin Jr. 2823 -675
10   Terry Labonte 2757 -741

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 1986 Delaware 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 12 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  3. ^ a b "NASCAR Tracks—The Dover International Speedway". Dover International Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 1986 Delaware 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  5. ^ Auto Racing Roundup: Rudd Overcomes Penalty to Win the Delaware 500 at Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ NASCAR Statistics on Ricky Rudd Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  7. ^ 1986 Delaware 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  8. ^ Rudd Avoids An Epidemic Of Trouble To Win Delaware 500 at Philly.com
  9. ^ 1986 Delaware 500 racing information at Race Database
  10. ^ Driver Cliff Hucul Career Statistics at Racing Reference
  11. ^ 1986 Delaware 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  12. ^ a b Additional qualifying information at Racing Reference
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1986 		Succeeded by
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