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1986 Goodwrench 500

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Official name
  
Goodwrench 500

Date
  
October 24, 1986 (1986-October-24)

Location
  
North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina

Course
  
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km)

Distance
  
492 laps, 500.4 mi (804.2 km)

Weather
  
Temperatures reaching a maximum of 79 °F (26 °C); with wind speeds reaching a maximum of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)

The 1986 Goodwrench 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on March 2, 1986, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in the American community of Rockingham, North Carolina.

Contents

A souvenir magazine of this race was handed out to the spectators at a cost of $5 USD per copy ($10.92 when adjusted for inflation). A companion race known as the ProTecta Truck Bed Liner 200 was done the previous day while a pit crew challenge was done the morning before the companion race. Pit crew members had to put tires and fuel on the vehicle in the fastest time possible in order to win a championship.

Summary

It took four hours and nine minutes to resolve 492 laps of racing on a paved track spanning 1.017 miles (1.637 km). The race started at noon and ended approximately at 4:09 P.M.. Terry Labonte defeated Harry Gant by a time of 0.63 seconds in front of 47,500 live spectators with his 1986 Oldsmobile Delta 88 machine; becoming the first front-wheel drive vehicle to win a NASCAR Cup Series racing event. His win was made possible thanks to co-crew chiefs Steve Hmiel, Bob Labonte and Peter Wright.

Labonte would earn $44,550 in prize winnings for this race ($97,336.48 when adjusted for inflation). Nine cautions were given out for 50 laps; the average speed of the race was 120.488 miles per hour (193.907 km/h). Labonte would earn the pole position with a qualifying speed of 146.348 miles per hour (235.524 km/h).

Out of the 40-driver grid; Trevor Boys was the only Canadian driver in an otherwise all-American grid. Rick Newsom would acquire the last-place finish due to a crash on lap 39. Earle Canavan would retire from NASCAR after this race; but not before making two abortive attempts at re-igniting his top-level stock car racing career at the 1986 Valleydale 500 and at the 1986 First Union 400. Darrell Waltrip would also take the points lead away from Geoff Bodine after this race.

The increased fuel efficiency of the Oldsmobile vehicle driven by Labonte allowed him to spend less time on pit road due to the lighter weight of the materials needed to make the FWD vehicle as opposed to the rear-wheel drive (RWD) vehicles driven by most of his competitors. Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

Finishing order

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

  • Start: Terry Labonte was leading the other cars as the green flag was waved in the air
  • Lap 6: First caution of the event, ended on lap 8
  • Lap 15: Second caution of the event, ended on lap 18
  • Lap 40: Third caution of the event due to a four-car accident, ended on lap 52
  • Lap 73: Fourth caution of the event, ended on lap 75
  • Lap 110: Fifth caution of the event, ended on lap 114
  • Lap 121: Sixth caution of the event, ended on lap 123
  • Lap 235: Seventh caution of the event, ended on lap 239
  • Lap 243: Eighth caution of the event, ended on lap 249
  • Lap 435: Ninth caution of the event due to a spun tire on turn 2, ended on lap 441
  • Finish: Terry Labonte was officially declared the winner of the event
  • References

    1986 Goodwrench 500 Wikipedia