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1986 Miller High Life 400

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1986 Miller High Life 400
Race details
Race 2 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Miller High Life 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1986 Miller High Life 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date February 23, 1986
Official name 32nd Annual Miller High Life 400
Location Richmond, Virginia, 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 Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
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 stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 23, 1986, before an audience of 30,000 in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, a 0.542 miles (0.872 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete.[1]

In what is considered to be one of the most controversial finishes in NASCAR history, Junior Johnson & Associates' Darrell Waltrip and Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt engaged in a battle for the victory. With four laps left, Waltrip made a pass on Earnhardt in the second turn, passing him on the left. However, Waltrip did not fully clear Earnhardt by the third turn. In the third turn, Earnhardt spun out Waltrip, sending the two into a crash that included numerous other cars behind them. As a result, the next driver behind the two who managed to avoid the wreck, Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty, was declared the winner in improbable fashion. The victory was Petty's first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, King Racing's Joe Ruttman and the aforementioned Earnhardt finished second and third, respectively.[2][3]

Background

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Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
2 Kirk Bryant Cliff Stewart Racing Pontiac Spectrum Furniture
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet U.S. Racing
7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 7-Eleven
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
10 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Pontiac TRW Automotive
11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Phil Parsons Hamby Racing Chevrolet Skoal
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Hawaiian Punch
25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Alugard
32 Alan Kulwicki (R) Terry Racing Ford Quincy's Steakhouse
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet Ronnie Thomas Racing
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 Ron Esau[a] Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
64 Doug Heveron Langley Racing Ford Hesco Exhaust Systems
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac Helen Rae Special
75 Lake Speed RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Nationwise Automotive
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Buick Edwards Racing
94 Eddie Bierschwale Eller Racing Pontiac Kodak Film
95 Davey Allison Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet Sadler Brothers Racing
98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac Valvoline

Qualifying

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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 on 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

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Pos. # Driver Team Make
1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile
3 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet
4 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick
5 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac
6 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac
7 75 Lake Speed RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac
8 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford
9 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford
10 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
11 17 Phil Parsons Hamby Racing Oldsmobile
12 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford
13 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet
14 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Buick
15 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
16 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford
17 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick
18 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet
Qualified via winning in the 1985 season
19 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet
20 10 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Pontiac
Qualified via earliest entry blank and check in at the NASCAR hauler
21 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac
22 64 Doug Heveron Langley Racing Ford
23 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick
24 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
25 2 Kirk Bryant Cliff Stewart Racing Pontiac
26 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
27 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac
28 95 Davey Allison Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet
29 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford
30 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
Provisional
31 48 Ron Esau Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
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 starting lineup

Race results

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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

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Notes

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  1. ^ 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

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  1. ^ King, Randy (February 24, 1986). "Kyle Petty surprise winner". News & Record. pp. B4, B7. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 24, 1986). "K. Petty Takes Wild Victory At Richmond". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Pearson, Harold (February 24, 1986). "Late wreck gives K. Petty first victory". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. C1, C6. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Auto Racing Data". Richmond Times-Dispatch. February 21, 1986. pp. D2. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 22, 1986). "Time Trials Delayed At Richmond". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 3B. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ a b Pearson, Harold (February 23, 1986). "Well, they tried". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. E1, E6. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 23, 1986). "Rainout Gives Bodine Pole At Richmond Today". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 10B. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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1986 Daytona 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1986 season
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1986 Goodwrench 500