1987 Valleydale Meats 500
The 1987 Valleydale Meats 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 12, 1987, before an audience of 34,000 in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol International Raceway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1987 Valleydale Meats 500 program cover, featuring Morgan Shepherd. | |||
| Date | April 12, 1987 | ||
| Official name | 27th Annual Valleydale Meats 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 75.621 miles per hour (121.700 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 34,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Mach 1 Racing | ||
| Time | 16.588 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 149 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
By race's end, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt had managed to dominate the final 100 laps of the race, coming back from a lap down early to take his 25th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his fifth victory of the season, and his third straight victory.[1][2] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Richard Petty and Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd finished second and third, respectively.
Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 8, at 4:45 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 drivers in the round would be 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 Saturday, April 9, at 12:00 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-30 would be decided on time,[3] 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.
Harry Gant, driving for Mach 1 Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 16.588 and an average speed of 115.674 miles per hour (186.159 km/h) in the first round.[4]
Tony Spanos was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 134 | running | 180 | $43,850 |
| 2 | 18 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 500 | 1 | running | 175 | $21,030 |
| 3 | 15 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 500 | 0 | running | 165 | $17,175 |
| 4 | 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 500 | 149 | running | 170 | $12,570 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 500 | 3 | running | 160 | $11,605 |
| 6 | 1 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 1 | running | 155 | $9,060 |
| 7 | 16 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 500 | 51 | running | 151 | $6,350 |
| 8 | 8 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 499 | 42 | running | 147 | $5,580 |
| 9 | 13 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | running | 138 | $9,800 |
| 10 | 24 | 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | running | 0 | $7,845 |
| 11 | 10 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 492 | 0 | running | 130 | $4,860 |
| 12 | 12 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 490 | 0 | running | 127 | $1,850 |
| 13 | 23 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 487 | 0 | running | 124 | $5,500 |
| 14 | 25 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Chevrolet | 487 | 0 | running | 121 | $4,290 |
| 15 | 28 | 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 483 | 0 | running | 118 | $4,380 |
| 16 | 2 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 479 | 42 | running | 120 | $8,710 |
| 17 | 7 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 451 | 0 | running | 112 | $3,660 |
| 18 | 29 | 81 | Mike Potter | Fillip Racing | Ford | 450 | 0 | running | 109 | $1,430 |
| 19 | 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 436 | 5 | crash | 111 | $7,190 |
| 20 | 19 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 419 | 0 | running | 103 | $1,950 |
| 21 | 26 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 406 | 0 | engine | 100 | $1,260 |
| 22 | 27 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,400 |
| 23 | 6 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 289 | 0 | crash | 94 | $6,880 |
| 24 | 14 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 252 | 54 | crash | 96 | $4,060 |
| 25 | 22 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | 209 | 0 | crash | 88 | $3,360 |
| 26 | 20 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 195 | 0 | engine | 85 | $6,770 |
| 27 | 17 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 18 | crash | 87 | $2,540 |
| 28 | 9 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 0 | crash | 79 | $8,910 |
| 29 | 21 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 127 | 0 | crash | 76 | $2,480 |
| 30 | 30 | 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | 77 | 0 | engine | 73 | $950 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 31 | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (April 13, 1987). "Harsh Words Follow Earnhardt's Win At Bristol". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 3D. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Bawden, Steve (April 13, 1987). "Dale earns win in Valleydale 500". Bristol Herald Courier. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 10, 1988. pp. 4C. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 11, 1988). "Gant 'Nabs' Pole For Sunday's Bristol Race". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 5C. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.