1986 The Winston

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1986 The Winston
Race details [1]
Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Atlanta International Speedway.svg
Date May 11, 1986 (1986-05-11)
Location Hampton, Georgia
Course Atlanta International Raceway
Course length 1.522 miles (2.45 km)
Distance 83 laps, 126.3 mi (203.26 km)
Weather Temperatures around 67.2 °F (19.6 °C), with winds gusting to 8.52 miles per hour (13.71 km/h) [2]
Average speed 159.123 mph (256.084 km/h)
Attendance 18,500
Pole position
Driver
 Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Laps 82
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber, and Benny Parsons

The 1986 The Winston, the second running of the NASCAR All-Star Race, was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 11, 1986. The only time The Winston was held at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia, the 83-lap race was the second exhibition race in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. [3] Bill Elliott of Melling Racing led the most laps (82) and won the caution-free race and US$200,000, along with US$40,000 for leading laps 20, 30, 50, and 60.

Contents

The event featured the Atlanta Invitational, a 100-lap race for drivers who did not meet the eligibility of The Winston. Benny Parsons of Jackson Brothers Motorsports won the race and US$75,000 and became eligible to run the 1987 The Winston. The Atlanta Invitational was held before The Winston, but due to a tape delay, ESPN aired the race after The Winston.

NASCAR's original plan for The Winston was to hold the race at a different track every year, but due to the dismal attendance of this race, The Winston was moved back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the next 32 years before Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the 2020 NASCAR All-Star Race.

Background

The Winston was open to race winners from the 1985 season. Because the field was one short of the minimum requirement of 10 cars, the final spot was awarded to the highest finishing driver in the 1985 points standings without a win. The pole position was awarded to the defending Winston Cup champion while the rest of the field was determined by the total number of wins from last season, with driver's points used as the tiebreaker.

1986 The Winston drivers and eligibility

Race winners in 1985

Awarded by points

Race summary

Atlanta Invitational

The Atlanta Invitational was a 100-lap exhibition race featuring 14 participants that did not meet the eligibility of The Winston. Benny Parsons won the caution-free race and US$75,000. The win also gave him the eligibility to run the 1987 Winston.

Race results
PosGridCarDriverOwnerManufacturerLaps runLaps led
1555 Benny Parsons Jackson Brothers Motorsports Oldsmobile 10037
2225 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10056
338 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1000
464 Lake Speed Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile1003
5726 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick1002
6422 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers RacingBuick1000
7843 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1000
81088 Buddy Baker Baker-Schiff RacingOldsmobile1000
9973 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Ford 990
101167 Buddy Arrington Arrington RacingFord970
111252 Jimmy Means Means Racing Pontiac940
1217 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford692
131470 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac370
14136 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet240
Source: [4]

The Winston

The Winston was an 83-lap exhibition race with a combined purse of US$500,000. The earnings were as follows:

The Winston earnings
First placeUS$200,000
Second placeUS$75,000
Third placeUS$60,000
Fourth placeUS$50,000
Fifth placeUS$30,000
Sixth placeUS$25,000
Seventh placeUS$20,000
Eighth placeUS$15,000
Ninth placeUS$14,500
Tenth placeUS$10,000

In addition, a purse bonus of US$10,000 was given to the drivers who led laps 20, 30, 50, and 60.

Chevrolet Monte Carlo driver Darrell Waltrip and Ford Thunderbird driver Bill Elliott led the field on the green flag. Despite being the pole sitter, Waltrip lost momentum as Elliott and Dale Earnhardt passed him before the first lap. Prior to the first pit stop, Waltrip struggled with an ill-handling car as he dropped below the top five while Cale Yarborough and Harry Gant battled for third and Neil Bonnett and Geoff Bodine fought for fifth place. With no one close enough to challenge him, Elliott earned US$20,000 by leading laps 20 and 30. The two-tire pit stop began on lap 40. After changing left-side tires, Elliott passed Earnhardt at full speed to regain the lead. He once again collected US$20,000 for leading laps 50 and 60. Elliott dominated the race and took the checkered flag to win US$200,000 with Earnhardt, Gant, Waltrip, and Yarborough wrapping up the top five.

Race results
PosGridCarDriverOwnerManufacturerLaps runLaps led
129 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 8382
233 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 831
3433 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet830
4111 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet830
5628 Cale Yarborough Rainier-Lundy Racing Ford830
6512 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & AssociatesChevrolet830
7105 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet830
8715 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford820
9844 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Chevrolet820
10910 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet820
Source: [1]

References

  1. 1 2 "1986 The Winston". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Weather information for the 1986 The Winston". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Photos: 30 years of NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners". Fox Sports. October 20, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  4. ↑ "1986 Atlanta Invitational". Racing-References. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
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