1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
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The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series. The season began on February 8 and ended on November 22. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the championship for the third time.

Team Changes

After a championship together in 1985, Darrell Waltrip decided to move from the No. 11 Junior Johnson Chevrolet to the new No. 17 Chevrolet, a third full-time Hendrick Motorsports team.

A famous quote stemmed from this move, which crew chief Jeff Hammond describes in his book Real Men Work In the Pits went like this:

"I finally got me a thoroughbred." – Darrell Waltrip, referring to his new ride.

"I don't know about any thoroughbred. I do know we had a jackass around here who recently left." – Junior Johnson

The rest of "silly season" looked like this among full-time teams: Terry Labonte left the No. 44 Piedmont Oldsmobile owned by Billy Hagan to replace Waltrip in the No. 11. Johnson decided to disband the No. 12 Budweiser team and let go driver Neil Bonnett, who moved to the No. 75 Pontiac. Morgan Shepherd vacated the No. 75 in favor of the No. 26 Buick owned by Kenny Bernstein, driven by Joe Ruttman in 1986. Phil Parsons would replace older brother Benny in the No. 55 Oldsmobile owned by Leo and Richard Jackson. Lake Speed started out 1986 in the No. 75 RahMoc ride but was let go early in the season. Speed would form his own team for 1987 in the No. 83 Oldsmobile.

A few car number changes took place as well. Kyle Petty would continue to drive the Wood Brothers Ford, switching from No. 7 to No. 21. Alan Kulwicki took the No. 7 for his independent team. Cale Yarborough exited the No. 28 Ford team and drove his self-owned No. 29 Oldsmobile. Davey Allison would compete for Rookie Of The Year in the Harry Ranier No. 28 Ford.. Michael Waltrip would continue driving for Chuck Rider but switched from the No. 23 Chevrolet to the No. 30 Chevrolet.

Drivers remaining with the same teams from 1986 would be: No. 3 Dale Earnhardt (owner: Richard Childress), No. 4 Rick Wilson (Larry McClure) No. 5 Geoff Bodine (Rick Hendrick), No. 8 Bobby Hillin, Jr. (Stavola Brothers), No. 9 Bill Elliott ( Harry Melling), No. 15 Ricky Rudd (Bud Moore), No. 18 Tommy Ellis (Eric Freelander), No. 22 Bobby Allison (Stavola Brothers), No. 27 Rusty Wallace (Raymond Beadle), No. 33 Harry Gant (Hal Needham), No. 43 Richard Petty ( Petty Enterprises), No. 52 Jimmy Means, No. 70 J.D. McDuffie (Tom Winkle), No. 71 Dave Marcis, No. 88 Buddy Baker (Baker/Danny Schiff), No. 90 Ken Schrader (Junie Donlavey) and the part-time/independent efforts of No. 14 A. J. Foyt, No. 67 Buddy Arrington, No. 77 Ken Ragan (Marvin Ragan), No. 81 Chet Fillip (Corey Fillip) and No. 89 Jim Sauter (Mueller Brothers).

Top drivers out of a ride included Benny Parsons and Joe Ruttman.

Those who officially threw their hat in the ring for NASCAR Rookie of the Year in 1987 would be: Davey Allison, Steve Christman (No. 62 AC Delco, Tom Winkle), Rodney Combs (No. 10 DiGard) and Derrike Cope (No. 19 Stoke Racing).

Ron Bouchard, Trevor Boys, Eddie Bierschwale and a host of others would battle for the remaining open spots.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew Chief
Buick	King Racing	26	Morgan Shepherd	Larry McReynolds
	Stavola Brothers Racing	8	Bobby Hillin, Jr.
	Stavola Brothers Racing	22	Bobby Allison	Jimmy Fennig
Chevrolet	Bahari Racing	30	Michael Waltrip
	Ellington Racing	1	Brett Bodine (R)	Runt Pittman
	Freedlander Motorsports	18	Dale Jarrett (R)
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Geoff Bodine	Gary Nelson
		17	Darrell Waltrip	Waddell Wilson
		35	Benny Parsons	Harry Hyde
	Junior Johnson & Associates	11	Terry Labonte	Tim Brewer
	Mach 1 Racing	33	Harry Gant	Travis Carter
	Marcis Auto Racing	71	Dave Marcis
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kirk Shelmerdine
Ford	AK Racing	7	Alan Kulwicki	Bill Ingle
	Arrington Racing	67	Buddy Arrington
	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Ricky Rudd	Bud Moore
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ken Schrader	Bob Johnson
	Melling Racing	9	Bill Elliott	Ernie Elliott
	Ranier-Lundy Racing	28	Davey Allison (R)	Joey Knuckles
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Kyle Petty	Leonard Wood
Oldsmobile	Baker-Schiff Racing	88	Buddy Baker	Dougert
	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	29	Cale Yarborough
	Hagan Racing	44	Sterling Marlin	Steve Hmiel
	Jackson Brothers Motorsports	55	Phil Parsons	Andy Petree
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Rick Wilson	Tony Glover
	Speed Racing	83	Lake Speed	Darrell Bryant
Pontiac	Blue Max Racing	27	Rusty Wallace	Barry Dodson
	Dingman Brothers Racing	50	Greg Sacks
	McDuffie Racing	70	J.D. McDuffie	Jeff McDuffie
	Means Racing	52	Jimmy Means	Dennis Conner
	Petty Enterprises	43	Richard Petty	Dale Inman
	RahMoc Enterprises	75	Neil Bonnett	Robin Pemberton
	Winkle Motorsports	62	Steve Christman (R)

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race Driver	Crew Chief	Round(s)
Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	25	Tim Richmond	Dennis Conner	8

Preseason

January 8, 1987 – Tim Richmond announced that he would miss the first part of 1987 due to "double pneumonia." Benny Parsons was hired to replace Richmond in the No. 35 Folgers Chevrolet for car owner Rick Hendrick.
February 4, 1987 – Bruce Jacobi died at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, IN. Jacobi was injured in the first Twin 125-mile qualifying race on February 17, 1983, and had been in a coma since then.

Schedule

No.	Race Title	Track	Date	TV
	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 8	CBS
	7-Eleven Twin 125's		February 12	CBS
1	Daytona 500		February 15	CBS
2	Goodwrench 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	March 1	SETN
3	Miller High Life 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond	March 8	TBS
4	Motorcraft Quality Parts 500	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton	March 15	ABC
5	TranSouth 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	March 29	ESPN
6	First Union 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	April 5	ESPN
7	Valleydale Meats 500	Bristol International Raceway, Bristol	April 12	ESPN
8	Sovran Bank 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	April 26	SETN
9	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega	May 3	ESPN
	Winston Open	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	May 17	ABC
	The Winston		May 17	ABC
10	Coca-Cola 600		May 24	Jefferson-Pilot
11	Budweiser 500	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	May 31	ESPN
12	Miller High Life 500	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond	June 14	SETN
13	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	June 21	ESPN
14	Miller American 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	June 28	CBS
15	Pepsi Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 4	ABC
16	Summer 500	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond	July 19	SETN
17	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega	July 26	CBS
18	Budweiser At The Glen	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	August 10	ESPN
19	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	August 16	ESPN
20	Busch 500	Bristol International Raceway, Bristol	August 22	ESPN
21	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	September 6	ESPN
22	Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond	September 13	SETN
23	Delaware 500	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	September 20	ESPN
24	Goody's 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	September 27	SETN
25	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	October 4	ESPN
26	Oakwood Homes 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	October 11	SETN
27	AC Delco 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	October 25	TBS
28	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	November 8	TBS
29	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton	November 22	ESPN

Busch Clash

The Busch Clash, an annual invitational event for all Busch Pole winners the previous season, was held February 8 at Daytona International Speedway. Bill Elliott drew for the pole. Alan Kulwicki was the wild card.

Results

7-Eleven Twin 125's

The 7-Eleven Twin 125's, a pair of qualifying races for the Daytona 500, were held February 12 at Daytona International Speedway. Bill Elliott and Davey Allison won the poles for both races, respectively, as a result of their speeds in qualifying on February 9.

Race One: Top Ten Results

Notes:

Jocko Maggiacomo DNS.
This race featured two flips, Phil Barkdoll and Tommy Ellis. A. J. Foyt was involved in the Ellis wreck and suffered a shoulder injury.

Race Two: Top Ten Results

Daytona 500

Goodwrench 500

The Goodwrench 500 was held March 1 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Miller High Life 400

The Miller High Life 400 was held March 8 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: 34-Ron Sheppard, 83-Lake Speed, 02-Bob Hollar

Motorcraft Quality Parts 500

The Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was held March 15 at Atlanta International Raceway. Dale Earnhardt won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify:

67-Eddie Bierschwale, 68-Jerry Holden, 74-Bobby Wawak

TranSouth 500

The TranSouth 500 was held March 29 at Darlington Raceway. Bill Elliott was leading at the white flag but ran out of gas in Turn 3. This allowed Dale Earnhardt to overtake Elliott and cruise to victory. Ken Schrader won the pole.

Top Ten Results

First Union 400

The First Union 400 was held April 5 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Brett Bodine got in the No. 11 Budweiser Chevrolet to relieve Terry Labonte, who had been injured the previous week at Darlington.
This was the final race of DiGard Motorsports. The team's assets were sold to businessman Bob Whitcomb in 1988.

Valleydale Meats 500

The Valleydale Meats 500 was held April 12 at Bristol International Raceway. Harry Gant won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Sovran Bank 500

The Sovran Bank 500 was held April 26 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 26 of Morgan Shepherd won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Winston 500

The Winston 500 was held May 3 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole at a record speed of 212.809 mph (44.998 seconds), a record that still stands today and will likely never be broken. But the race was also remembered for a near-tragedy early when Bobby Allison flew into the fence and nearly landed in the frontstretch grandstands. Though Allison was not injured, a female fan lost an eye as a result of being struck by debris. Eventually this crash would lead to the introduction of restrictor plates in 1988.

Top Ten Results

This was the last Winston Cup race at Daytona or Talladega to be run unrestricted with normal engine configurations.
This was Davey Allison's first career Winston Cup victory, in only his 13th career start.
The race was shortened to 178 laps due to darkness. This was as a result of the red flag that lasted about 2 and a half hours to repair the catch fence after Bobby Allison's crash.

The Winston

The Winston, an annual invitational race for previous winners in Winston Cup, was held May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Dale Earnhardt won the race. At one point, Bill Elliott's car nicked the rear of Earnhardt's, sending the latter into the infield grass. But no sooner did Earnhardt drive through the grass than he drove onto the track once more. That incident came to be known as "The Pass in the Grass." With eight laps to go, contact with Earnhardt cut down Elliott's tire. An angry Elliott retaliated by wrecking Earnhardt after the race was over.

This race would be the breakthrough edition NASCAR envisioned, with the adoption of the non-winners "last chance" race and the 19 most recent NASCAR race winners in the feature of 75, 50, and 10 laps.

Top Ten Results

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 9 of Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This race was notable for the sheer amount of attrition. Out of the 42 cars that started the 600 mile event, only 17 of them finished the race.
Kyle Petty won this race by over 1 lap over 2nd place (Morgan Shepherd).
21 years before Marcos Ambrose made his debut in the series, Allan Grice became the first Australian driver to qualify for a Winston Cup race. In his first ever run on an oval track, Grice qualified his Oldsmobile Cutlass in 35th position.

Budweiser 500

The Budweiser 500 was held May 31 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Miller High Life 500

The Miller High Life 500 was held June 14 at Pocono Raceway. The No. 11 of Terry Labonte won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This was Tim Richmond's first start of 1987. Late in the 1986 season, Richmond came down with what was thought of as "double pneumonia." This caused him to miss most of the season.

Budweiser 400

The Budweiser 400 was held June 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Miller American 400

The Miller American 400 was held June 28 at Michigan International Speedway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Pepsi Firecracker 400

The Pepsi Firecracker 400 was held July 4 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 28 of Davey Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to Qualify:

0-Delma Cowart, 6-Connie Saylor, 39-Blackie Wangerin, 48-Tony Spanos, 62-Steve Christman, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 73-Phil Barkdoll, 74-Bobby Wawak

In this race, smaller carburetors (the size used in the Busch Series) were mandated by NASCAR at Daytona and Talladega in an attempt to slow the cars. The pole speed was just over 198 mph as compared to over 210 mph in February.
NASCAR officials experienced scoring difficulties late in the race, and at one point, were scoring leader Bobby Allison as one lap down. Final results properly restored the missing lap to Allison's total, and he was credited with the victory.
On the final lap, Ken Schrader got loose coming out of turn four, spun, and barrel-rolled in the tri-oval just shy of the start/finish line. He collected Harry Gant, slid across the finish line, and still finished in 7th place.
In the movie Days of Thunder, Schrader’s flip can be seen on the TV set at the beginning of the scene where Cole Trickle and Harry Hogge are riding in a trailer.

Summer 500

The Summer 500 was held July 19 at Pocono Raceway. Tim Richmond won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Talladega 500

The Talladega 500 was held July 26 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

The Budweiser At The Glen

The Budweiser At The Glen was held August 10 at Watkins Glen International. Terry Labonte won the pole. The race started a day late due to rain.

Top Ten Results

Wallace had a commanding lead in the final laps of the race, but prior to the white flag, he started running out of fuel. Rusty made a quick pit stop for gas, but kept his lead and held on for the win.

Champion Spark Plug 400

The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 16 at Michigan International Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

This was Tim Richmond's final race.
Members of the print media covering the race were witnesses to the Northwest Airlines Flight 255 plane crash later in the day. Tom Higgins of The Charlotte Observer was involved in coverage of the plane crash, as he had just checked into the nearby hotel awaiting a Monday morning flight to Charlotte following the race.

Busch 500

The Busch 500 was held August 22 at Bristol International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: Tony Spanos (No. 48), Troy Beebe (No. 6), Mike Potter (No. 81), J. D. McDuffie (No. 70)

Southern 500

The Southern 500 was held September 6 at Darlington Raceway. Davey Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400

The Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 was held September 13 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Delaware 500

The Delaware 500 was held September 20 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Goody's 500

The Goody's 500 was held September 27 at Martinsville Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole. A late race caution set up an intense 3-lap sprint among Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Darrell Waltrip. On the final lap, going into turn 3, Labonte hooked Earnhardt's left rear quarter-panel, sending Earnhardt sideways and Labonte spinning towards the outside wall in turn 4. The contact enabled Waltrip to sneak underneath and grab the win.

Top Ten Results

Waltrip became a father just ten days prior to the race with the birth of his oldest daughter Jessica

Holly Farms 400

The Holly Farms 400 was held October 4 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Oakwood Homes 500

The Oakwood Homes 500 was held October 11 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bobby Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

A big, chain reaction crash at lap 125 took out Geoff Bodine, Brett Bodine, Alan Kulwicki, and Bobby Hllin Jr among others.

AC Delco 500

The AC Delco 500 was held October 25 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Dale Earnhardt clinched his 3rd NASCAR Winston Cup Championship with two races to go. In the Bob Latford Winston Cup points system, a driver can clinch the championship with two races to go if he has a 370+ point lead over 2nd, and Earnhardt did just that by having a 515 point lead over Bill Elliott at the end of the race. Earnhardt would become the third driver in NASCAR history to clinch the Winston Cup Championship with two or more races to go, joining Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough, but as of 2018, Earnhardt is the only driver in NASCAR history to clinch the title twice with two races to go. He would accomplish it again in 1994 when he clinched his seventh and final championship with two races to go by 448 points over Rusty Wallace. In 1978, Yarborough clinched his third consecutive Winston Cup Championship with two races to go by 396 points over Bobby Allison, but in 1975 however, Petty clinched his sixth championship with four races to go because his point lead was 740+ over second. His margin was 827 points over James Hylton. Petty's championship win with four races to go is the earliest for a driver to clinch a championship in NASCAR history. Also as of 2018, this feat can never happen again due to several changes in the points system after 2003.

Winston Western 500

The Winston Western 500 was held November 8 at Riverside International Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Failed to qualify: Trevor Boys (No. 12), John Krebs (No. 66), Brad Noffsinger (No. 98), St. James Davis, Jack Sellers

Atlanta Journal 500

The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 22 at Atlanta International Raceway. Bill Elliott won the pole.

Top Ten Results

Dale Earnhardt officially won his third Winston Cup Championship by 489 points over Bill Elliott, the second largest point margin in Bob Latford's Winston Cup points system history. As of 2018, Richard Petty holds the record for the largest point margin, dating back to 1975, when he won his sixth championship by 722 points over Dave Marcis.

Final Points Standings

Dale Earnhardt – 4696
Bill Elliott – 4207
Terry Labonte – 4007
Darrell Waltrip – 3911
Rusty Wallace – 3818
Ricky Rudd – 3742
Kyle Petty – 3737
Richard Petty – 3708
Bobby Allison – 3525
Ken Schrader – 3405
Sterling Marlin – 3381
Neil Bonnett – 3352
Geoff Bodine – 3328
Phil Parsons – 3327
Alan Kulwicki – 3238
Benny Parsons – 3215
Morgan Shepherd – 3099
Dave Marcis – 3080
Bobby Hillin, Jr – 3027
Michael Waltrip – 2840
Davey Allison – 2739
Harry Gant – 2725
Jimmy Means – 2483
Buddy Baker – 2373
Buddy Arrington – 2003
Dale Jarrett – 1840
Steve Christman – 1727
Rick Wilson – 1723
Cale Yarborough – 1450
J. D. McDuffie – 1361
Lake Speed – 1345
Brett Bodine – 1271
Greg Sacks – 1200
Eddie Bierschwale – 1162
Rodney Combs – 1098
Tim Richmond – 1063
Derrike Cope – 797
Mark Stahl – 687
Bobby Wawak – 638
D.K. Ulrich – 625
Ken Ragan – 549
Connie Saylor – 486
Jerry Cranmer – 482
Chet Fillip – 480
Trevor Boys – 460
Mike Potter – 456
Slick Johnson – 444
Ron Bouchard – 440
H. B. Bailey – 428
A. J. Foyt – 409

Rookie of the Year

Davey Allison won the Rookie of the Year award in 1987, winning two races for Harry Ranier after making an aborted attempt at the award the previous season. He was followed by Dale Jarrett, who had two top-ten finishes, and Steve Christman, who did not race in NASCAR again following the season. The other contenders were Rodney Combs, Derrike Cope, and Jerry Cranmer, all running incomplete schedules.

External links

Winston Cup Standings and Statistics for 1987

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