1986 Miller High Life 500

The 1986 Miller High Life 500 was the 13th stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the fifth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 8, 1986, before an audience of 50,000 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono International Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.[1]

1986 Miller High Life 500
Race details
Race 13 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Miller High Life 500 program cover, featuring Buddy Baker.
The 1986 Miller High Life 500 program cover, featuring Buddy Baker.
Date June 8, 1986
Official name 5th Annual Miller High Life 500
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono International Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 113.279 miles per hour (182.305 km/h)
Attendance 50,000
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 58.584
Most laps led
Driver Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 97
Winner
No. 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network SETN
Announcers Mike Joy, Jerry Punch
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

In the final laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports' Tim Richmond gambled on fuel strategy, opting to run the final 36 laps under one tank of fuel. With four laps left, a crash involving several drivers, incliudng Buddy Arrington, Geoff Bodine, and Morgan Shepherd occurred. Due to a lengthy cleanup, the race finished under caution, securing Richmond's sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt and Ranier-Lundy Racing's Cale Yarborough finished second and third, respectively.[2][3]

Background

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The layout of Pocono International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

The race was held at Pocono International Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

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 D. K. Ulrich U.S. Racing Chevrolet U.S. Racing
7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 7-Eleven
07 Randy LaJoie Snellman Racing Chevrolet Snellman Construction
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 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet Kmart
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Buick Newsom Racing
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Hawaiian Punch
24 Buddie Boys Crawford Clements Racing Pontiac Crawford Clements Racing
25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Alugard
28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Hardee's
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Chevrolet Race Hill Farm Team
48 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
64 Eddie Bierschwale Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal
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
74 Jack Ely Wawak Racing Chevrolet Wawak Racing
75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Nationwise Automotive
76 Jerry Ward Arrington Racing Ford Arrington Racing
81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford Circle Bar Truck Corral
85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet Bobby Gerhart Racing
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Crisco
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Buick Edwards Racing
98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac Valvoline

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, June 7, at 10:00 AM 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 Saturday, at 3:00 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 were given.

Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 58.584 and an average speed of 153.625 miles per hour (247.235 km/h) in the first round.[5]

Jerry Ward, a United States Air Force lieutenant colonel and chaplain, was the only driver that failed to qualify.[5]

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 58.584 153.625
2 55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 58.729 153.246
3 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 58.840 152.957
4 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 58.871 152.877
5 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 58.935 152.711
6 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 58.975 152.607
7 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 58.988 152.573
8 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 59.062 152.382
9 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 59.102 152.176
10 28 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 59.169 152.107
11 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 59.194 152.042
12 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 59.270 151.847
13 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 59.271 151.845
14 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 59.295 151.783
15 47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Buick 59.328 151.699
16 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 59.454 151.378
17 66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 59.491 151.283
18 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 59.529 151.187
19 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 59.604 150.997
20 07 Randy LaJoie Snellman Racing Chevrolet 59.822 150.446
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 59.831 150.424
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac 59.910 150.225
23 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 59.935 150.163
24 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 1:00.012 149.970
25 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:00.046 149.880
26 17 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet 1:00.344 149.145
27 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 1:00.546 148.647
28 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 1:00.600 148.515
29 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 1:00.841 147.912
30 6 D. K. Ulrich U.S. Racing Chevrolet 1:00.980 147.589
31 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 1:01.239 146.965
32 64 Eddie Bierschwale Langley Racing Ford 1:01.604 146.094
33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 1:01.794 145.645
34 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 1:01.977 145.215
35 48 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 1:02.014 145.129
36 74 Jack Ely Wawak Racing Chevrolet 1:02.105 144.916
37 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1:02.865 143.164
38 24 Buddie Boys Crawford Clements Racing Pontiac 1:02.896 143.093
39 92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Buick 1:03.149 142.529
40 20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Buick 1:03.570 141.576
Failed to qualify
41 76 Jerry Ward Arrington Racing Ford 1:05.556 137.287
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 97 running 185 $46,705
2 8 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 8 running 175 $29,750
3 10 28 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 165 $15,450
4 14 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 3 running 165 $18,375
5 11 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200 10 running 160 $19,725
6 7 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 150 $13,825
7 18 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 200 4 running 151 $10,150
8 25 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 2 running 147 $12,085
9 1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 65 running 143 $14,660
10 37 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 199 0 running 134 $9,915
11 24 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 199 0 running 130 $8,035
12 16 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 199 0 running 127 $3,750
13 12 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 198 0 running 124 $10,530
14 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac 198 0 running 121 $7,230
15 21 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 197 0 running 118 $5,190
16 31 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 196 0 running 115 $6,505
17 30 6 D. K. Ulrich U.S. Racing Chevrolet 196 0 running 0 $6,245
18 15 47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Buick 195 4 accident 114 $3,475
19 13 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 195 0 running 106 $5,770
20 29 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 194 0 running 103 $3,510
21 27 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 193 4 accident 105 $5,400
22 33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 193 0 running 97 $5,025
23 5 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 189 0 running 94 $10,545
24 35 48 Jerry Cranmer Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0 running 0 $4,855
25 36 74 Jack Ely Wawak Racing Chevrolet 185 0 running 0 $2,135
26 4 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 184 0 accident 85 $10,780
27 23 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 162 0 valve 82 $5,680
28 26 17 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet 145 2 engine 84 $4,605
29 20 07 Randy LaJoie Snellman Racing Chevrolet 144 0 engine 76 $1,815
30 39 92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Buick 136 0 ignition 73 $1,760
31 17 66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 131 0 engine 70 $1,705
32 32 64 Eddie Bierschwale Langley Racing Ford 126 0 accident 67 $3,625
33 2 55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 90 1 valve 69 $1,570
34 34 85 Bobby Gerhart Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 87 0 handling 61 $1,515
35 6 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 60 0 engine 58 $8,405
36 19 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 60 0 engine 55 $1,460
37 40 20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Buick 59 0 engine 52 $1,380
38 38 24 Buddie Boys Crawford Clements Racing Pontiac 51 0 accident 49 $1,355
39 28 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 12 0 engine 46 $1,200
40 9 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 7 0 engine 43 $12,225
Failed to qualify
41 76 Jerry Ward Arrington Racing Ford
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Jordan, Jack (June 9, 1986). "Rain Fails to Dampen Tim Richmond's Parade". Times Leader. p. 15. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (June 9, 1986). "Richmond Tops Wreck-Marred 500 At Pocono". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Sernoffsky, Dan (June 9, 1986). "Richmond Takes Yellow, Checkered Flags". Lebanon Daily News. p. 11. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Wasser, Scott (June 7, 1986). "Running of Miller 500 set Sunday". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1C, 8C. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ a b Higgins, Tom (June 8, 1986). "Bodine Leads Pack Today At Pocono". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 8B. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1986 Budweiser 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1986 season
Next race:
1986 Miller American 400