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1987 AC Delco 500

1987 AC Delco 500
Race details
Race 27 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 AC Delco 500 program cover.
The 1987 AC Delco 500 program cover.
Date October 25, 1987
Official name 23rd Annual AC Delco 500
Location Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Average speed 118.258 miles per hour (190.318 km/h)
Attendance 60,000
Pole position
Driver Ranier-Lundy Racing
Time 25.144
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Laps 237
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Lake Speed, Johnny Hayes
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1987 AC Delco 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 25, 1987, before an audience of 60,000 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack.

By race's end, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott managed to dominate the late stages of the race, leading the final 218 of the 271 laps to take his 22nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports' Darrell Waltrip finished second and third, respectively.

By starting the race, Dale Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver's championship, after completing a dominant season. The championship was Earnhardt's third overall driver's championship and his second in a row.[3]

Background

The layout of North Carolina Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

North Carolina Motor Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.

Entry list

  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Chevrolet Bryant Racing
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet U.S. Racing
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet Throop Racing
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hamby Racing
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Coats & Clark
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet All Pro Auto Parts
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers Decaf
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet Busch Enterprises
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac Valvoline
51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet Metro 25 Car Care Center
52 Jimmy Means Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Eureka
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Classic
62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac AC Spark Plug
64 Curtis Markham Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet Wawak Racing
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
76 Hut Stricklin Jaehne Motorsports Chevrolet Jaehne Motorsports
80 Eddie Bierschwale S&H Racing Chevrolet S&H Racing
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Auto Bell Car Wash
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Crisco
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet Salmon Racing
97 D. Wayne Strout Strout Racing Chevrolet Strout Racing

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, October 22, at 4:00 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, October 23, at 2:00 PM 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,[4] 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.

Davey Allison, driving for Ranier-Lundy Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 25.144 and an average speed of 145.609 miles per hour (234.335 km/h) in the first round.[5]

Two drivers failed to qualify. One driver who failed to qualify, D. Wayne Strout, crashed his car in a Friday morning practice session. Strout later reported to The Charlotte Observer that the crash was severe enough to the point where he couldn't remember the crash.[6]

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 25.144 145.609
2 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 25.211 145.222
3 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 25.289 144.774
4 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Chevrolet 25.352 144.415
5 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 25.364 144.346
6 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 25.365 144.341
7 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 25.409 144.091
8 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 25.418 144.040
9 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 25.460 143.802
10 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.477 143.706
11 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 25.503 143.560
12 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.507 143.537
13 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 25.517 143.481
14 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 25.522 143.453
15 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Chevrolet 25.556 143.262
16 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 25.569 143.189
17 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 25.574 143.161
18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 25.650 142.737
19 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Chevrolet 25.661 142.676
20 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 25.688 142.525
21 80 Eddie Bierschwale S&H Racing Chevrolet 25.734 142.271
22 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25.779 142.023
23 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 25.846 141.654
24 2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Pontiac 25.870 141.526
25 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Chevrolet 25.919 141.255
26 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 25.963 141.016
27 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 25.975 140.951
28 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet 26.152 139.997
29 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 26.239 139.533
30 64 Curtis Markham Langley Racing Ford 26.254 139.453
31 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 26.291 139.257
32 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet 26.302 139.199
33 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 26.365 138.866
34 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet 26.403 138.666
35 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 26.467 138.331
36 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 26.506 138.127
37 76 Hut Stricklin Jaehne Motorsports Chevrolet 26.509 138.112
38 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 26.560 137.846
39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 26.636 137.453
40 12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet 26.669 137.283
Provisionals
41 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -* -*
42 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet -* -*
44 97 D. Wayne Strout Strout Racing Chevrolet - -
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 492 237 running 185 $50,025
2 2 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 492 122 running 175 $38,915
3 10 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 492 5 running 170 $16,690
4 14 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 492 61 running 165 $19,315
5 6 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 492 30 running 160 $16,160
6 8 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 492 5 running 155 $12,580
7 15 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Chevrolet 492 1 running 151 $7,030
8 12 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 490 5 running 147 $11,680
9 25 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Chevrolet 490 0 running 138 $6,055
10 13 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 490 0 running 0 $9,880
11 4 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Chevrolet 489 0 running 130 $8,050
12 17 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 489 0 running 127 $11,785
13 26 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 489 0 running 124 $8,090
14 16 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 487 0 running 121 $7,220
15 22 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 486 0 running 118 $12,725
16 20 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 486 0 running 115 $7,460
17 36 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 486 0 running 112 $6,300
18 11 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 485 1 running 114 $6,940
19 18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 484 0 running 106 $5,580
20 39 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 481 0 running 103 $5,710
21 40 12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet 480 0 running 100 $4,990
22 41 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 476 0 running 97 $4,905
23 21 80 Eddie Bierschwale S&H Racing Chevrolet 475 0 running 94 $2,075
24 29 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 473 0 running 91 $4,735
25 33 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 460 0 running 0 $4,025
26 31 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 400 0 engine 85 $1,875
27 27 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 396 0 running 82 $1,850
28 38 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 390 0 running 79 $1,775
29 37 76 Hut Stricklin Jaehne Motorsports Chevrolet 383 0 engine 76 $1,700
30 30 64 Curtis Markham Langley Racing Ford 346 0 overheating 73 $3,650
31 7 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 342 3 engine 75 $9,985
32 42 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 320 0 crash 67 $1,535
33 23 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 299 0 engine 64 $11,465
34 24 2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Pontiac 205 0 engine 61 $1,415
35 32 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet 184 0 engine 58 $1,365
36 28 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet 168 0 engine 55 $1,335
37 19 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Chevrolet 151 0 engine 52 $1,310
38 5 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 135 0 engine 49 $9,785
39 34 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Chevrolet 125 0 transmission 46 $1,260
40 35 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 116 0 engine 43 $1,235
41 9 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 110 0 crash 40 $1,235
42 1 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 74 22 gear 42 $5,985
Failed to qualify
43 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet
44 97 D. Wayne Strout Strout Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 26, 1987). "Elliott Wins At Rockingham; Earnhardt Takes Points Race". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 5C. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Mulhurn, Mike (October 26, 1988). "Earnhardt Celebrates; Elliott Wins". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 15, 20. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 26, 1987). "Earnhardt Wins Championship In Style With Strong Showing". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. October 22, 1987. pp. 7B. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 23, 1987). "D. Allison Shakes Off Shakeup, Takes Rockingham Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 4E. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 24, 1987). "Points Titles A Cinch". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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1987 Oakwood Homes 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
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1987 Winston Western 500