1986 Goodwrench 500

The 1986 Goodwrench 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on March 2, 1986, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.

1986 Goodwrench 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 3 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Souvenir magazine of the 1986 Goodwrench 500
Date October 24, 1986 (1986-October-24)
Official name Goodwrench 500
Location North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance 492 laps, 500.4 mi (804.2 km)
Weather Temperatures of79 °F (26 °C); with wind speeds of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 120.488 miles per hour (193.907 km/h)
Attendance 47,500[3]
Pole position
Driver
Hagan Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises
Laps 306
Winner
No. 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network SETN
Announcers Dave Despain
Dick Berggren

A souvenir program of this race was handed out to the spectators at a cost of $5 USD per copy ($11.66 when adjusted for inflation). A companion race known as the ProTecta Truck Bed Liner 200 was done the previous day while a pit crew challenge was done the morning before the companion race. Pit crew members had to put tires and fuel on the vehicle in the fastest time possible in order to win a championship.

This race was of the few competitive races that Richard Petty had later in his career.

Race report

It took four hours and nine minutes to resolve 492 laps of racing on a paved track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km).[3] The race started at noon and ended approximately at 4:09 P.M.. Terry Labonte defeated Harry Gant by a time of 0.63 seconds in front of 47,500 live spectators with his 1986 Oldsmobile Delta 88 machine;[3] becoming the first front-wheel drive vehicle to win a NASCAR Cup Series racing event. His win was made possible thanks to co-crew chiefs Steve Hmiel, Bob Labonte and Peter Wright.

It would also be the first Cup win for something other than a Ford or Chevy since Richard Petty's Pontiac went to victory lane in the July 4, 1984, Firecracker 400 at Daytona.[3] This would count as the first win for an Oldsmobile since Buddy Baker at the 1980 Talladega race.[3]

Labonte would earn $44,550 in prize winnings for this race ($103,909 when adjusted for inflation).[2][4] Nine cautions slowed the race for 50 laps; the average speed of the race was 120.488 miles per hour (193.907 km/h).[2][3][5] Labonte would earn the pole position with a qualifying speed of 146.348 miles per hour (235.524 km/h). Kirk Bryant and Newsom tangled. Hillin got lost in the smoke and plowed into Newsom during the first 50 laps of the race. Only Kirk Bryant managed to finish the race in 18th place while Hillin and Newsom were knocked out of the race due to inflicting terminal damage to their vehicles.[2][3]

Qualifying time for this race ranged from 25 seconds to 27 seconds. Drivers who failed to qualify for the race were Brad Heath, Mike Potter and Jerry Holden.[6]

Out of the 40-driver grid; Trevor Boys was the only Canadian driver in an otherwise all-American grid.[3] Rick Newsom would acquire the last-place finish due to a crash on lap 39.[2][3] Earle Canavan would retire from NASCAR after this race;[5] but not before making two abortive attempts at re-igniting his top-level stock car racing career at the 1986 Valleydale 500 and at the 1986 First Union 400. Darrell Waltrip would also take the points lead away from Geoff Bodine after this race.[5]

The increased fuel efficiency of the Oldsmobile vehicle driven by Labonte allowed him to spend less time on pit road due to the fact that his car was an apparently a car that predominantly used its rear wheels rather than its front wheels. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

Finishing order

Section reference: [3]

  1. Terry Labonte (No. 44)
  2. Harry Gant (No. 33)
  3. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  4. Morgan Shepherd (No. 47)
  5. Darrell Waltrip (No. 11)
  6. Cale Yarborough (No. 28)
  7. Bill Elliott (No. 9)
  8. Dale Earnhardt† (No. 3)
  9. Neil Bonnett† (No. 12)
  10. Lake Speed (No. 75)
  11. Kyle Petty (No. 7)
  12. Rusty Wallace (No. 27)
  13. Ron Bouchard† (No. 98)
  14. Tommy Ellis (No. 18)
  15. Alan Kulwicki† (No. 32)
  16. Tim Richmond† (No. 25)
  17. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
  18. Kirk Bryant (No. 2)
  19. Jimmy Means (No. 52)
  20. Geoffrey Bodine* (No. 2)
  21. Michael Waltrip (No. 23)
  22. Ken Schrader (No. 90)
  23. Pancho Carter (No. 64)
  24. Jonathan Lee Edwards (No. 92)
  25. Davey Allison* (No. 95)
  26. Ronnie Thomas*† (No. 41)
  27. Dave Marcis* (No. 71)
  28. Ricky Rudd* (No. 15)
  29. Eddie Bierschawle* (No. 94)
  30. Phil Parsons* (No. 17)
  31. J.D. McDuffie*† (No. 70)
  32. Earle Canavan* (No. 01)
  33. Joe Ruttman* (No. 26)
  34. Bobby Allison* (No. 22)
  35. Trevor Boys* (No. 6)
  36. Wayne Slark* (No. 48)
  37. Greg Sacks* (No. 10)
  38. Bobby Wawak*† (No. 74)
  39. Bobby Hillin, Jr.* (No. 8)
  40. Rick Newsom*† (No. 20)

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [3]

  • Start: Terry Labonte was leading the other cars as the green flag was waved in the air.
  • Lap 6: First caution of the event, ended on lap 8.
  • Lap 15: Second caution of the event, ended on lap 18.
  • Lap 40: Third caution of the event due to a four-car accident, ended on lap 52.
  • Lap 73: Fourth caution of the event, ended on lap 75.
  • Lap 110: Fifth caution of the event, ended on lap 114.
  • Lap 121: Sixth caution of the event, ended on lap 123.
  • Lap 235: Seventh caution of the event, ended on lap 239.
  • Lap 243: Eighth caution of the event, ended on lap 249.
  • Lap 435: Ninth caution of the event due to a spun tire on turn two, ended on lap 441.
  • Finish: Terry Labonte was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 Darrell Waltrip 490 0
2 Terry Labonte 478 -12
3 Dale Earnhardt 448 -42
4 Geoffrey Bodine 440 -50
5 Kyle Petty 430 -60
6 Rusty Wallace 408 -82
7 Lake Speed 385 -105
8 Ron Bouchard 383 -107
9 Bill Elliott 375 -115
10 Bobby Hillin, Jr. 361 -129
10 Neil Bonnett 361 -129

References
  1. 1986 Goodwrench 500 weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-17. Archived 2013-06-20.
  2. 1986 Goodwrench 500 information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  3. 1986 Goodwrench 500 information at Racing Reference
  4. 1986 Goodwrench 500 Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine information at Driver Averages
  5. 1986 Goodwrench 500 information at Race Database
  6. 1986 Goodwrench 500 qualifying information at Racing Reference
Preceded by
1986 Miller High Life 400		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1986		 Succeeded by
1986 Motorcraft 500
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