The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 27, 1986, before an audience of 38,500 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete.[2]

1986 Sovran Bank 500
Race details
Race 8 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott and Darrell Waltrip robbing a bank.
The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott and Darrell Waltrip robbing a bank.
Date April 27, 1986
Official name 37th Annual Sovran Bank 500
Location Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Average speed 76.882 miles per hour (123.730 km/h)
Attendance 38,500
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 20.728
Most laps led
Driver Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering
Laps 163
Winner
No. 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering
Television in the United States
Network SETN (tape-delayed until June 21)[1]
Announcers Mike Joy, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In a race of attrition, Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd took advantage of numerous mechanical failures given to other drivers during the race, lapping the field and leading the final 149 laps. The victory was Rudd's fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, King Racing's Joe Ruttman and Hagan Enterprises' Terry Labonte finished second and third, respectively.[3][4]

Background

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The layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
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 Chevrolet Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
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 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hesco Exhaust Systems
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
19 Mike Skinner Zanworth Racing Team Pontiac Zanworth Racing Team
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
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford Quincy's Steakhouse
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 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
64 Rick Baldwin Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
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 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Ford Nationwise Automotive
79 Derrike Cope Razore Racing Ford Peterbilt
87 Bryan Baker Buck Baker Racing Oldsmobile Bull Frog Knits
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
94 Morgan Shepherd Eller Racing Pontiac Kodak Film

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 24, at 1:30 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Friday, April 25, at 1:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 were decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.

Tim Richmond, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 20.893 and an average speed of 90.716 miles per hour (145.993 km/h) in the first round.[6]

Two drivers failed to qualify.[7]

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.893 90.716
2 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 20.986 90.318
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20.987 90.313
4 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 21.048 90.051
5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 21.065 89.979
6 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.083 89.902
7 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 21.111 89.782
8 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 21.123 89.731
9 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 21.154 89.600
10 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 21.238 89.245
Failed to lock in Round 1
11 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 21.222 89.312
12 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 21.300 88.985
13 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 21.312 88.935
14 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 21.345 88.797
15 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 21.350 88.776
16 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 21.351 88.772
17 79 Derrike Cope Razore Racing Ford 21.388 88.618
18 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 21.401 88.565
19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 21.404 88.552
20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 21.408 88.536
21 94 Morgan Shepherd Eller Racing Pontiac 21.438 88.412
22 64 Jimmy Hensley Langley Racing Ford 21.446 88.379
23 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 21.454 88.346
24 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 21.504 88.140
25 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 21.527 88.046
26 17 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet 21.533 88.021
27 19 Mike Skinner Zanworth Racing Team Pontiac 21.580 87.829
28 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet 21.588 87.797
29 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 21.680 87.424
30 48 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 21.689 87.388
Provisional
31 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 21.906 86.522
Failed to qualify
32 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 21.911 86.422
33 87 Bryan Baker Buck Baker Racing Oldsmobile 22.004 86.139
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 500 163 running 185 $40,850
2 10 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 499 0 running 170 $17,325
3 7 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 496 0 running 165 $17,125
4 16 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 496 0 running 160 $8,350
5 12 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 496 0 running 155 $11,050
6 23 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 495 0 running 150 $7,680
7 20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 493 0 running 146 $7,830
8 11 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 492 0 running 142 $6,710
9 17 79 Derrike Cope Razore Racing Ford 489 0 running 138 $2,350
10 13 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 487 0 running 134 $6,620
11 25 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 484 0 running 130 $2,070
12 31 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 479 0 running 127 $5,000
13 30 48 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 465 0 running 124 $4,790
14 28 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet 465 0 running 121 $4,580
15 24 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 464 0 engine 118 $6,120
16 19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 463 0 running 115 $4,245
17 6 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 455 1 engine 117 $7,280
18 29 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 429 0 running 109 $4,035
19 21 94 Morgan Shepherd Eller Racing Pontiac 381 0 running 106 $1,525
20 1 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 372 13 running 108 $7,440
21 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 347 102 engine 105 $9,915
22 27 19 Mike Skinner Zanworth Racing Team Pontiac 344 0 running 97 $1,205
23 22 64 Jimmy Hensley Langley Racing Ford 326 0 oil pressure 94 $3,375
24 14 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 301 36 engine 96 $1,185
25 15 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 292 83 engine 93 $9,075
26 18 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 267 5 engine 90 $8,265
27 2 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 241 97 engine 87 $12,155
28 8 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 202 0 axle 79 $3,315
29 26 17 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet 78 0 fan belt 76 $3,295
30 5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 56 0 engine 73 $7,125
31 9 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 42 0 engine 70 $9,025
Failed to qualify
32 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet
33 87 Bryan Baker Buck Baker Racing Oldsmobile
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Bogaczyk, Jack (April 24, 1986). "Live TV a dead issue at speedway – for now". The Roanoke Times. pp. D1, D2. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Owens, Mike (April 28, 1986). "Rudd 'Survives' To Win At Martinsville". Statesville Record & Landmark. pp. 6B. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 28, 1986). "Rudd Wins Martinsville Scorcher". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 4D. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ King, Randy (April 28, 1986). "Cool Rudd breezes to victory". The Roanoke Times. pp. B1, B5. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "Martinsville Speedway Hosts Winston Cup Series Sunday". Statesville Record & Landmark. April 24, 1986. pp. 13B. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 25, 1986). "Richmond Takes Pole At Martinsville". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5B. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  7. ^ King, Randy (April 26, 1986). "Allison has top speed on 2nd day". The Roanoke Times. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1986 First Union 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1986 season
Next race:
1986 Winston 500