The 1986 Valleydale 500 was the fifth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 6, 1986, before an audience of 34,200 in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol International Raceway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack.

1986 Valleydale 500
Race details
Race 5 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Valleydale 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1986 Valleydale 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date April 6, 1986
Official name 26th Annual Valleydale 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 89.747 miles per hour (144.434 km/h)
Attendance 34,200
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 16.707
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Laps 174
Winner
No. 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

By race's end, Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace managed to dominate the late stages of the race, leading the final 101 laps to take his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Bud Moore Engineering's Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson & Associates' Darrell Waltrip finished second and third, respectively.

Background

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

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

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
01 Earle Canavan Canavan Racing Pontiac Gates Hydraulics
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Cap'n Coty's, Bewley Oldsmobile
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet U.S. Racing
7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 7-Eleven
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet Miller American
08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Buick Classic Chevrolet
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 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet Protecta Truck Bed Liner
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Hawaiian Punch
25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Alugard
30 Willy T. Ribbs DiGard Motorsports Pontiac Red Roof Inn
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford Quincy's Steakhouse
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet Ronnie Thomas Racing
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
64 Morgan Shepherd 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 Pontiac Helen Rae Special
75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Ford Nationwise Automotive
81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford Circle Bar Truck Corral
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet Edwards Racing
94 Eddie Bierschwale Eller Racing Pontiac Kodak Film
95 Davey Allison Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet Sadler Brothers 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 Friday, April 4, at 4:00 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 5, at 12:30 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.

Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 16.707 and an average speed of 114.850 miles per hour (184.833 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Six drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.707 114.850
2 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 16.899 113.545
3 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.906 113.498
4 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 16.907 113.491
5 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 16.924 113.377
6 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 16.942 113.257
7 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 16.968 113.083
8 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 16.975 113.037
9 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 16.976 113.030
10 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 17.022 112.725
11 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 17.039 112.612
12 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 17.064 112.447
13 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 17.064 112.447
14 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 17.064 112.447
15 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 17.103 112.191
Failed to lock in the first round
16 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 17.107 112.165
17 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 17.156 111.844
18 94 Eddie Bierschwale Eller Racing Pontiac 17.162 111.805
19 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 17.174 111.727
20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 17.201 111.552
21 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Buick 17.213 111.474
22 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 17.235 111.332
23 17 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet 17.249 111.241
24 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Buick 17.289 110.984
25 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 17.340 110.657
26 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 17.348 110.606
27 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 17.370 110.466
28 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 17.400 110.276
29 95 Davey Allison Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 17.471 109.828
30 64 Morgan Shepherd Langley Racing Ford 17.536 109.421
Provisionals
31 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford -* -*
32 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify (results unknown)
33 01 Earle Canavan Canavan Racing Pontiac -* -*
34 30 Willy T. Ribbs DiGard Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
35 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac -* -*
37 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
38 92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing 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 14 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 500 174 running 185 $34,760
2 8 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 500 0 running 170 $20,125
3 7 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 500 84 running 170 $17,825
4 5 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 499 0 running 160 $11,770
5 12 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 499 0 running 155 $12,050
6 10 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 499 2 running 155 $2,900
7 4 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 498 47 running 151 $8,250
8 3 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 498 0 running 142 $2,550
9 17 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 497 0 running 138 $7,750
10 6 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 497 106 running 139 $10,650
11 28 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 496 0 running 130 $1,750
12 13 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 494 0 running 127 $2,100
13 20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 492 0 running 124 $5,130
14 11 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 491 0 running 121 $4,760
15 22 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 483 0 running 118 $2,000
16 21 08 Butch Miller Throop Racing Buick 482 0 running 0 $1,260
17 31 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 477 0 running 112 $4,370
18 32 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet 466 0 running 109 $4,260
19 9 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 443 0 running 106 $1,140
20 29 95 Davey Allison Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 441 0 running 103 $1,350
21 23 17 Doug Heveron Hamby Racing Chevrolet 351 0 engine 100 $4,030
22 25 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 319 0 engine 97 $1,020
23 19 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 256 0 engine 94 $3,840
24 1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 238 23 engine 96 $8,640
25 26 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 183 0 axle 88 $3,750
26 27 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 157 0 accident 85 $1,370
27 15 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 103 0 accident 82 $3,480
28 16 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 103 1 accident 84 $3,790
29 18 94 Eddie Bierschwale Eller Racing Pontiac 102 0 accident 76 $780
30 2 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 74 63 accident 78 $8,350
31 30 64 Morgan Shepherd Langley Racing Ford 22 0 engine 70 $2,940
32 24 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Buick 22 0 engine 67 $750
Failed to qualify (results unknown)
33 01 Earle Canavan Canavan Racing Pontiac
34 30 Willy T. Ribbs DiGard Motorsports Pontiac
35 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
36 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
37 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
38 92 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 7, 1986). "Wallace Wins; NASCAR Streaks Alive". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 5D. Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Bawden, Steve (April 7, 1986). "Rusty Wallace wins Valleydale 500". Bristol Herald Courier. pp. 1B, 3B. Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "The Schedule". Bristol Herald Courier. April 4, 1986. pp. 2B. Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 5, 1986). "Bodine Wins Poles, Ribbs Wrecks Car". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 3C, 5C. Retrieved December 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1986 Motorcraft 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1986 season
Next race:
1986 TranSouth 500