1987 Oakwood Homes 500

The 1987 Oakwood Homes 500 was the 26th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 11, 1987, before an audience of 145,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete.

1987 Oakwood Homes 500
Race details
Race 26 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Oakwood Homes 500 program cover. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1987 Oakwood Homes 500 program cover. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date October 11, 1987
Official name 28th Annual Oakwood Homes 500
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Scheduled Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Average speed 128.443 miles per hour (206.709 km/h)
Attendance 137,200
Pole position
Driver Stavola Brothers Racing
Time 31.462
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing
Laps 142
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network SETN
Announcers Eli Gold, Jerry Punch
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

With the assist of a fast final pit stop, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott managed to take the lead from the dominant Bobby Allison, leading the final 62 laps en route to his 21st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Bobby Allison and Hagan Racing's Sterling Marlin finished second and third, respectively.

Heading into the next race of the season, the 1987 AC Delco 500, Dale Earnhardt was the write-in champion for the driver's championship, only needing to start the next race to clinch the championship.[3]

Background

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

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 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 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) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet Heyward Grooms Construction
1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Chevrolet Bryant Racing
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet U.S. Racing
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Rodney Combs (R) Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hamby Racing
14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Copenhagen
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
16 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing Chevrolet Chattanooga Chew
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford Stoke Racing
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet All Pro Auto Parts
31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile Slender You Figure Salons
32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet Edwards Racing
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
34 Eddie Bierschwale AAG Racing Chevrolet Allen's Glass
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers Decaf
36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac Almeda Auto Parts
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac Valvoline
52 Jimmy Means Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Classic
56 Ernie Irvan Reno Enterprises Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac AC Spark Plug
64 Trevor Boys 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 Chevrolet Lifebuoy
73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet Barkdoll Racing
74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet Wawak Racing
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford Sylvan Resort
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Auto Bell Car Wash
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Wynn's, Kmart
87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet Sony
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Crisco
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
91 Philip Duffie Duffie Racing Buick Duffie Racing
93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet Salmon Racing

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, October 7, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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 Thursday, October 8, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,[4] 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 provisionals were given.

Bobby Allison, driving for Stavola Brothers Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 31.462 and an average speed of 171.636 miles per hour (276.221 km/h) in the first round.[5]

13 drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 31.462 171.636
2 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.702 170.336
3 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31.965 168.935
4 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 32.008 168.708
5 52 Jimmy Means Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 32.091 168.274
6 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 32.110 168.172
7 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 32.121 168.117
8 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 32.130 168.065
9 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32.164 167.890
10 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 32.174 167.840
11 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 32.243 167.476
12 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 32.276 167.307
13 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 32.305 167.159
14 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 32.374 166.801
15 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 32.382 166.757
16 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 32.391 166.713
17 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 32.425 166.538
18 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 32.426 166.536
19 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 32.462 166.351
20 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 32.487 166.220
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.671 170.503
22 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 31.717 170.256
23 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 31.806 169.779
24 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 31.826 169.673
25 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 31.857 169.507
26 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 31.916 169.194
27 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 31.940 169.067
28 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 31.979 168.861
29 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 31.995 168.776
30 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 32.066 168.403
31 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 32.069 168.387
32 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 32.086 168.298
33 16 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing Chevrolet 32.089 168.282
34 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 32.123 168.104
35 31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile 32.139 168.020
36 56 Ernie Irvan Reno Enterprises Chevrolet 32.220 167.598
37 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 32.227 167.561
38 12 Rodney Combs (R) Hamby Racing Chevrolet 32.245 167.468
39 64 Trevor Boys Langley Racing Ford 32.252 167.431
40 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 32.278 167.297
Provisionals
41 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 32.328 167.038
42 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac - -
Failed to qualify
43 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac -* -*
44 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac -* -*
45 34 Eddie Bierschwale AAG Racing Chevrolet -* -*
46 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet -* -*
47 2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 91 Philip Duffie Duffie Racing Buick -* -*
49 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet -* -*
50 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet -* -*
51 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
52 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet -* -*
53 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet -* -*
54 32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet -* -*
55 48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
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 7 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 334 62 running 180 $74,040
2 1 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 334 142 running 180 $67,765
3 31 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 334 1 running 170 $34,770
4 8 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 333 16 running 165 $30,240
5 41 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 333 0 running 155 $31,860
6 33 16 Larry Pearson Pearson Racing Chevrolet 333 1 running 155 $13,040
7 24 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 332 0 running 146 $10,190
8 36 56 Ernie Irvan Reno Enterprises Chevrolet 332 1 running 147 $9,015
9 17 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 331 0 running 138 $10,365
10 13 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 330 1 running 139 $16,265
11 27 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 329 0 running 130 $15,190
12 9 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 329 2 running 132 $16,440
13 35 31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile 328 17 running 129 $5,790
14 29 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 319 0 running 121 $9,705
15 42 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 303 0 brakes 118 $6,590
16 30 6 Connie Saylor U.S. Racing Chevrolet 301 0 running 115 $9,145
17 12 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 291 0 running 112 $8,925
18 34 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 287 1 running 114 $8,665
19 10 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 279 0 engine 106 $5,190
20 22 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 228 42 engine 108 $8,755
21 23 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 224 1 engine 105 $4,365
22 19 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 223 24 engine 102 $12,065
23 37 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 216 0 overheating 94 $3,765
24 25 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 214 0 running 91 $3,565
25 39 64 Trevor Boys Langley Racing Ford 212 1 engine 0 $6,670
26 20 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 196 0 crash 85 $3,215
27 6 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 194 0 running 82 $3,765
28 18 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 129 0 crash 79 $9,915
29 14 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 127 0 crash 76 $6,835
30 21 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 125 20 crash 78 $3,215
31 3 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 125 1 crash 75 $13,140
32 16 1 Brett Bodine Ellington Racing Chevrolet 125 0 crash 67 $2,565
33 4 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 117 0 engine 64 $7,815
34 40 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 102 0 engine 61 $5,285
35 32 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 82 0 engine 58 $5,265
36 28 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 56 0 crash 55 $5,985
37 38 12 Rodney Combs (R) Hamby Racing Chevrolet 43 0 engine 0 $4,490
38 2 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42 1 engine 54 $16,680
39 11 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 20 0 crash 46 $2,470
40 5 52 Jimmy Means Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20 0 crash 43 $5,960
41 26 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 20 0 crash 40 $2,460
42 15 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 20 0 crash 37 $2,460
Failed to qualify
43 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac
44 36 H. B. Bailey Bailey Racing Pontiac
45 34 Eddie Bierschwale AAG Racing Chevrolet
46 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet
47 2 Kirk Bryant Bryant Racing Chevrolet
48 91 Philip Duffie Duffie Racing Buick
49 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet
50 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet
51 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
52 87 Randy Baker Buck Baker Racing Chevrolet
53 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet
54 32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet
55 48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 12, 1987). "Elliott Takes Brutal 500". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 6D. Retrieved November 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Mulhurn, Mike (October 12, 1987). "Elliott Captures 4th Win". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 25, 28. Retrieved November 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Kelly, Dave (October 12, 1987). "Earnhardt's plans to celebrate title delayed 2 weeks". The State. pp. 2B. Retrieved November 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Race Week Calendar". The Charlotte Observer. October 6, 1987. pp. 1C. Retrieved November 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (October 8, 1987). "B. Allison Grabs Son's Thunder, 500 Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 7C. Retrieved November 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1987 Holly Farms 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
Next race:
1987 AC Delco 500