1987 Winston 500

Bill Elliott won the pole for this race at a qualifying speed of 212.809 mph[3][2] (a lap time of 44.998 seconds) this speed created headlines across the country. Elliott had a picture taken of himself with his car and a sign proclaiming it "World's Fastest Race Car".[3]

For comparison, this qualifying speed was rivaling contemporary Indy Car racing; the 1987 Indianapolis 500 saw a top qualifying speed of 215.390 mph logged by Mario Andretti a few days later.[5]

Concerns were already being raised about these speeds. Chevrolet team drivers were reporting that rear tires of the Monte Carlo SS cars were lifting off the track entering turn 3.[3]

The Winston 500 was scheduled for 188 laps. 178 laps were run.

A major wreck occurred on lap 22, when Bobby Allison ran over debris on the track and suffered a cut tire. "I think I ran over something, I couldn't really tell", Allison explained. "Something bounced under the car and then the tire exploded." This caused the car to turn backwards, go airborne, and shear off about 100 feet of the catch fence in front of the start/finish line. Speeds for this event were upwards of 210 miles per hour or 340 kilometres per hour, a major factor in the severity of Allison's crash. Five spectators would be injured as a result of Allison's crash; two of them had to be treated in the hospital while three were treated in the infield medical center and released.[7] Allison's crash did not cause any fatalities, although one spectator lost an eye as a result of flying debris.[3]

The race was red flagged, and remained stopped for two hours, twenty-six minutes while crews repaired the damaged catch fence.[8] Talladega does not have track lighting, so this delay, as well as other caution periods, caused the race to be cut short at 178 laps due to the dark conditions that occurred after 7:45 PM in the Eastern Time Zone.[9] There were 41 American-born drivers on the starting grid. More than one hundred thousand people would see Davey Allison defeat Terry Labonte by more than three-quarters of a second. While most drivers ran the middle or upper groove through the corners, Davey could hold it down low.[2]

Average speed of the race was 154.228 miles per hour (248.206 km/h) lasting three hours and four minutes, excluding the red flag period.[2] Darrell Waltrip broke the windshield on his Tide Ride #17 early in this race when he drove by Allison's car as it got the catchfence and ended up hitting the crankshaft of the #22 after it was ripped from the car and went flying during the wreck. Waltrip's team put a new windshield in the #17 Chevrolet and DW got back in the race, salvaging an 11th-place finish one lap down despite the damage to the roof of his orange Monte Carlo.[2] Richard Petty spun in the chaos of Bobby Allison's wreck and got the intercooler knocked out of his car, causing problems with rear end fluids plus losing some of the rear panels allowing exhaust to get into the cockpit. Petty started getting gassed by all the carbon monoxide in the car and was legitimately starting to get sleepy at the wheel as a result so he pitted to get out and get some oxygen. Greg Sacks, who had already crashed out his Valvoline #50 Pontiac, took over the King's #43 STP Pontiac for about the last 25 laps of this race once Petty got out.[2]

There were 18 lead changes; Bill Elliott and Davey Allison each led 30 laps. Chet Fillip was the last-place finisher due to a faulty engine on the third lap. Ford and Chevrolet vehicles made up the majority of the participating manufacturers.[2] Ron Bouchard made his final start in NASCAR Cup Series competition in this race while Ed Pimm made his first stock car racing start. Davey Allison would score his first victory in this race.[10]

Section reference:[2]

* Driver failed to finish race

Section reference:[2]

1. Blackie Wangerin (No. 39)
2. Ronnie Sanders (No. 86)