1986 Miller High Life 400
Race details | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||||
Date | February 23, 1986 | ||||
Official name | 32nd Annual Miller High Life 400 | ||||
Location |
Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway | ||||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.542 mi (0.872 km) | ||||
Distance | 400 laps, 216.8 mi (348.905 km) | ||||
Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 216.8 mi (348.905 km) | ||||
Average speed | 71.078 miles per hour (114.389 km/h) | ||||
Attendance | 30,000 | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
Time | Set by 1986 owner's points | ||||
Most laps led | |||||
Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |||
Laps | 299 | ||||
Winner | |||||
No. 7 | Kyle Petty |
Network | TBS | ||
Announcers | Ken Squier, Benny Parsons | ||||
Radio in the United States | |||||
Radio | Motor Racing Network |
The 1986 Miller High Life 400 was the second
In what is considered to be one of the most controversial finishes in NASCAR history,
Background
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was scheduled to be split into two rounds, with the first round scheduled to be held on Friday, February 21, at 3:00 PM EST, and the second round scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 22, at 11:30 AM EST. The first round would have set positions 1-20, while the second round would have set positions 21-30 for drivers who had not locked in during the first round.[4] However, the first round was immediately cancelled due to mist.[5] The second round was then attempted to be run, but was then also cancelled after 23 cars made runs due to rain.[6]
As a result of qualifying being cancelled, the starting lineup was set by a rained-out procedure. Positions 1-18 were given based off the current 1986 owner's points, positions 19-20 were given to winners in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series who had not qualified by owner's points, and positions 21-30 were given to the teams who had both had their entry blanks received by NASCAR and had checked in at the NASCAR on-track check-in hauler the earliest. In addition, one provisional was given out of the maximum two allowable.[6] As a result of this system, Hendrick Motorsports' Geoff Bodine won the pole.[7] Four drivers failed to qualify.
Full starting lineup
Race results
Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | 7 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 4 | running | 180 | $37,880 |
2 | 17 | 26 | Joe Ruttman | King Racing | Buick | 400 | 21 | running | 175 | $16,215 |
3 | 10 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 299 | running | 175 | $19,310 |
4 | 23 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 399 | 0 | running | 160 | $6,275 |
5 | 3 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 398 | 1 | crash | 160 | $14,295 |
6 | 4 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 398 | 0 | running | 150 | $7,240 |
7 | 19 | 12 | Neil Bonnett | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 146 | $10,055 |
8 | 1 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 59 | crash | 147 | $8,435 |
9 | 24 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 12 | running | 143 | $5,890 |
10 | 6 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing
|
Pontiac | 395 | 1 | running | 139 | $6,530 |
11 | 30 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 395 | 3 | running | 135 | $6,510 |
12 | 28 | 95 | Davey Allison | Sadler Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 395 | 0 | running | 127 | $1,860 |
13 | 22 | 64 | Doug Heveron | Langley Racing
|
Ford | 391 | 0 | running | 0 | $4,760 |
14 | 16 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing
|
Ford | 389 | 0 | running | 121 | $4,580 |
15 | 2 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Enterprises | Oldsmobile | 389 | 0 | running | 118 | $7,550 |
16 | 26 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 387 | 0 | running | 115 | $4,325 |
17 | 7 | 75 | Lake Speed | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 382 | 0 | running | 112 | $4,145 |
18 | 5 | 98 | Ron Bouchard | Curb Racing | Pontiac | 380 | 0 | running | 109 | $3,915 |
19 | 20 | 10 | Greg Sacks | DiGard Motorsports | Pontiac | 369 | 0 | running | 106 | $7,100 |
20 | 27 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 363 | 0 | running | 103 | $1,615 |
21 | 9 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 353 | 0 | running | 100 | $9,730 |
22 | 15 | 25 | Tim Richmond | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 352 | 0 | running | 97 | $1,295 |
23 | 29 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 329 | 0 | running | 94 | $4,450 |
24 | 13 | 18 | Tommy Ellis | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 317 | 0 | running | 91 | $1,225 |
25 | 21 | 23 | Michael Waltrip (R) | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 313 | 0 | head gasket | 88 | $1,790 |
26 | 14 | 6 | Trevor Boys | U.S. Racing
|
Buick | 279 | 0 | crash | 85 | $3,335 |
27 | 25 | 2 | Kirk Bryant | Cliff Stewart Racing | Pontiac | 88 | 0 | crash | 82 | $3,300 |
28 | 18 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 29 | 0 | overheating | 79 | $8,385 |
29 | 11 | 17 | Phil Parsons | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 17 | 0 | crash | 76 | $3,210 |
30 | 8 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 17 | 0 | crash | 73 | $7,715 |
31 | 31 | 48 | Eddie Bierschwale | Hylton Motorsports
|
Chevrolet | 2 | 0 | engine | 70 | $2,515 |
Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
32 | 32 | Alan Kulwicki (R) | Terry Racing | Ford | ||||||
33 | 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
34 | 92 | Jonathan Lee Edwards | Edwards Racing | Buick | ||||||
35 | 94 | Eddie Bierschwale | Eller Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
Official race results |
Standings after the race
|
Notes
- ^ Driver changed to Eddie Bierschwale for the race after Bierschwale and Kodak paid owner James Hylton to drive Esau's car. Bierschwale had failed to qualify with a lack of owner's points.
References