1988 Coca-Cola 600
The 1988 Coca-Cola 600, the 29th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 29, 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 10th race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Darrell Waltrip of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
| Date | May 29, 1988 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures averaging around 74.1 °F (23.4 °C); wind speeds up to 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 124.46 mph (200.30 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ranier-Lundy Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rick Wilson | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | |
| Laps | 106 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier & Johnny Hayes | ||
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and The Winston, as well as the Oakwood Homes 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI). This race took place in the midst of a major tire war between Goodyear and Hoosier, and as a result, featured multiple major crashes, after which, luckily, no one was seriously injured. Prior to the race, Goodyear withdrew their tires after practice when it was discovered that their compound was too soft for the track; as a result, all drivers except Dave Marcis switched to Hoosiers over safety concerns. Goodyear offered Daytona-spec tires for those who wanted them.[2][3]
Top 10 results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac |
| 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford |
| 4 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford |
| 5 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford |
| 6 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick |
| 8 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Brothers Motorsports | Oldsmobile |
| 9 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 50 | Greg Sacks | Dingman Brothers | Pontiac |
- Ricky Rudd was relieved during the race by Mike Alexander (Rudd had suffered injuries from a crash at The Winston).
- Rick Wilson led 107 laps before crashing due to tire failure.
Race statistics
- Time of race: 4:49:15
- Average Speed: 124.46 miles per hour (200.30 km/h)
- Pole Speed: 173.594 miles per hour (279.372 km/h)
- Cautions: 13 for 89 laps
- Margin of Victory: 0.24 sec
- Lead changes: 43
References
- Weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- "Historical Motorsports Stories: Tire Wars! Goodyear vs Hoosier". Racing-Reference.com. July 14, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- "Historical Motorsports Stories: Tire Wars! NASCAR's Asphalt Battlefield". Racing-Reference.com. May 15, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- Race statistics at Race Database