Official name Atlanta Journal 500 | ||
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Date November 20, 1988 (1988-November-20) Course Permanent racing facility1.522 mi (2.449 km) Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km) Weather Mild with temperatures up to 75 °F (24 °C); wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) | ||
The 1988 Atlanta Journal 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 20, 1988, at the prestigious Atlanta International Raceway (located in the Atlanta suburb of Hampton, Georgia).
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Background
Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.
The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.
Summary
One of the drivers who failed to qualify for this race was Bobby Coyle; who attempted to qualify in his #50 Pontiac machine but failed to reach the proper speed to make an appearance.
Bill Elliott would earn his only NASCAR Winston Cup championship here despite not finishing in the top ten; turning the race into the Cup Series' version of the classic fable The Tortoise and the Hare. However, Elliott also consistently placed in the other races of the 1988 season with six wins, 15 finishes in the top five, and 10 finishes in the top ten. The race took three hours and fifty-two minutes; resulting in a 4¼ second win by Rusty Wallace over Davey Allison.
Seventy-two thousand fans would experience speeds of up to 129.024 miles per hour (207.644 km/h) while Wallace qualified for a pole position with a speed of 179.499 miles per hour (288.876 km/h) - the equivalent of 30.525 seconds. Tommy Ellis would "earn" himself a last-place finish after encountering a transmission problem on lap 2 out of 328. Nine cautions were authorized by NASCAR for 55 laps. Benny Parsons and Brad Noffsinger would also compete in their final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race here. Parsons would finish in 34th place while Noffsinger would finish in 26th place. Hoss Ellington, Mike Curb, and Harry Ranier would end their respective careers as NASCAR owners after this race. All of the drivers would earn $387,785 in total race winnings ($785,280.99 when adjusted for inflation).