1987 Atlanta Journal 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1987 Atlanta Journal 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | November 22, 1987 | ||
| Official name | 28th Annual Atlanta Journal 500 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | ||
| Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Average speed | 139.047 miles per hour (223.774 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 70,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 31.428 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 168 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1987 Atlanta Journal 500 was the 29th and final stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 22, 1987, before an audience of 70,000 in Hampton, Georgia, at Atlanta International Raceway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete.
By race's end, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott, with the assistance of a makeshift pit crew, managed to dominate the late stages of the race, leading the final 82 laps to take his 23rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt and Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd finished second and third, respectively.
Background
Atlanta International Raceway is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
- (R) - denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 20, at 2:00 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, November 21, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,[3] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 31.428 and an average speed of 174.341 miles per hour (280.575 km/h) in the first round.[4]
11 drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
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Notes
- ^ Baker was relieved by J. D. McDuffie on the 44th lap of the race. As Baker started the race, he is credited with the finish.[5]
References
- ^ Higgins, Tom (November 23, 1987). "Elliott Surges To Impressive Win". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hinton, Ed (November 23, 1987). "Elliott wins it for his crew". The Atlanta Journal. pp. 1B, 10B. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. November 20, 1987. pp. 3C. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (November 21, 1987). "Elliott Delights Fans, Overtakes Earnhardt To Take Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 7B. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCollister, Tom (November 23, 1987). "Now that was a Petty headache". The Atlanta Constitution. pp. 10B. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.