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.

1987 Valleydale Meats 500
Race details
Race 7 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Valleydale Meats 500 program cover, featuring Morgan Shepherd.
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

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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
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 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Slick Johnson Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hesco Exhaust Systems
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet Bahari Racing
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet Busch Polishes
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Turtle Wax
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
64 Jerry Cranmer Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
81 Mike Potter Fillip Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza

Qualifying

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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

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 16.588 115.674
2 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 16.635 115.347
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 16.665 115.140
4 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.677 115.057
5 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 16.710 114.829
6 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 16.723 114.740
7 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 16.727 114.713
8 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 16.736 114.651
9 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.755 114.521
10 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 16.794 114.255
11 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 16.800 114.214
12 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 16.826 114.038
13 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 16.839 113.950
14 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 16.858 113.821
15 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 16.881 113.666
Failed to lock in Round 1
16 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 16.946 113.230
17 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 16.948 113.217
18 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 16.998 112.884
19 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 17.211 111.487
20 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 17.255 111.203
21 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 17.262 111.157
22 67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford 17.292 110.965
23 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 17.292 110.965
24 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 17.295 110.945
25 12 Slick Johnson Hamby Racing Chevrolet 17.420 110.149
26 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 17.448 109.972
27 64 Jerry Cranmer Langley Racing Ford 17.522 109.508
28 6 D. K. Ulrich U.S. Racing Chevrolet 17.611 108.955
29 81 Mike Potter Fillip Racing Ford 17.619 108.905
30 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet 17.807 107.755
Failed to qualify
31 48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 18.480 103.831
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 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

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  1. ^ 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.  
  2. ^ Bawden, Steve (April 13, 1987). "Dale earns win in Valleydale 500". Bristol Herald Courier. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 10, 1987. pp. 4C. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 11, 1987). "Gant 'Nabs' Pole For Sunday's Bristol Race". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 5C. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


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1987 First Union 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
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1987 Sovran Bank 500