1987 Coca-Cola 600
The 1987 Coca-Cola 600 was the tenth stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 24, 1987, before an audience of 165,000 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1987 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, featuring Buddy Baker and Dale Earnhardt. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | May 24, 1987 | ||
| Official name | 28th Annual Coca-Cola 600 | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.483 miles per hour (211.601 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 165,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 31.597 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 186 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Jefferson-Pilot | ||
| Announcers | Mike Hogewood, Jerry Punch | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
In a race of attrition that saw numerous crashes and engine failures due to high heat, Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty managed to take advantage of several incidences of drivers dropping out of the race, taking the lead by lap 383 when Rusty Wallace's engine malfunctioned. On the final restart with 12 laps left, Petty was able to pull away to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, King Racing's Morgan Shepherd and owner-driver Lake Speed finished second and third, respectively.
Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 20, at 3:00 PM 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 Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 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.
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 31.597 and an average speed of 170.901 miles per hour (275.038 km/h) in the first round.[5]
14 drivers failed to quallify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 35 | running | 180 | $89,405 |
| 2 | 20 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 399 | 0 | running | 170 | $49,070 |
| 3 | 14 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 399 | 0 | running | 165 | $27,625 |
| 4 | 28 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 160 | $24,925 |
| 5 | 31 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 155 | $16,900 |
| 6 | 19 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 150 | $22,180 |
| 7 | 11 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 398 | 0 | running | 146 | $12,000 |
| 8 | 8 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 398 | 0 | running | 142 | $13,400 |
| 9 | 37 | 89 | Jim Sauter | Mueller Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 396 | 0 | running | 138 | $9,400 |
| 10 | 23 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 396 | 62 | running | 139 | $28,375 |
| 11 | 38 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 130 | $13,390 |
| 12 | 30 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Ford | 384 | 0 | running | 127 | $11,770 |
| 13 | 22 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 379 | 1 | accident | 129 | $11,140 |
| 14 | 27 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 363 | 2 | running | 126 | $10,470 |
| 15 | 42 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 358 | 0 | running | 118 | $11,150 |
| 16 | 16 | 28 | Davey Allison (R) | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 351 | 88 | engine | 120 | $6,550 |
| 17 | 33 | 87 | Randy Baker | Buck Baker Racing | Chevrolet | 338 | 0 | running | 112 | $5,500 |
| 18 | 21 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 322 | 7 | running | 114 | $12,700 |
| 19 | 40 | 74 | Bobby Wawak | Wawak Racing | Chevrolet | 308 | 0 | engine | 106 | $4,950 |
| 20 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 0 | running | 103 | $19,600 |
| 21 | 9 | 1 | Brett Bodine | Ellington Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 17 | engine | 105 | $4,850 |
| 22 | 2 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 298 | 1 | engine | 102 | $16,200 |
| 23 | 1 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 267 | 186 | engine | 104 | $82,050 |
| 24 | 5 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | engine | 91 | $8,405 |
| 25 | 25 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 254 | 0 | accident | 88 | $11,950 |
| 26 | 13 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | engine | 85 | $12,100 |
| 27 | 10 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 229 | 1 | accident | 87 | $6,945 |
| 28 | 18 | 77 | Eddie Bierschwale | Ragan Racing | Ford | 221 | 0 | accident | 79 | $2,300 |
| 29 | 4 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 215 | 0 | engine | 76 | $7,375 |
| 30 | 32 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 207 | 0 | accident | 73 | $2,000 |
| 31 | 6 | 16 | Larry Pearson | Pearson Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 0 | accident | 70 | $2,600 |
| 32 | 24 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 179 | 0 | camshaft | 67 | $4,615 |
| 33 | 29 | 6 | Connie Saylor | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 177 | 0 | engine | 64 | $4,555 |
| 34 | 15 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 162 | 0 | overheating | 61 | $8,750 |
| 35 | 36 | 03 | Allan Grice | Jane Racing | Oldsmobile | 161 | 0 | rear end | 0 | $1,700 |
| 36 | 17 | 50 | Greg Sacks | Dingman Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 114 | 0 | a frame | 55 | $1,650 |
| 37 | 26 | 19 | Derrike Cope (R) | Stoke Racing | Ford | 93 | 0 | water pump | 52 | $1,600 |
| 38 | 35 | 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 84 | 0 | engine | 49 | $4,310 |
| 39 | 41 | 12 | Mark Martin | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 68 | 0 | engine | 46 | $3,550 |
| 40 | 39 | 99 | Brad Teague | Ball Motorsports | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 | electrical | 43 | $1,525 |
| 41 | 34 | 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 28 | 0 | engine | 40 | $1,525 |
| 42 | 12 | 29 | Cale Yarborough | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 19 | 0 | oil line | 37 | $1,525 |
| Failed to qualify (results unknown) | ||||||||||
| 43 | 04 | Graeme Crosby | Jane Racing | Oldsmobile | ||||||
| 44 | 32 | Jonathan Lee Edwards | Edwards Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 45 | 34 | Jesse Samples Jr. | AAG Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 46 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 47 | 40 | Robbie Faggart | Faggart Racing | Oldsmobile | ||||||
| 48 | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 49 | 64 | Rodney Combs | Langley Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 50 | 66 | Donnie Allison | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | ||||||
| 51 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 52 | 73 | Phil Barkdoll | Barkdoll Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 53 | 80 | Jimmy Horton | S&H Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 54 | 81 | Chet Fillip | Fillip Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 55 | 82 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 56 | 93 | Charlie Baker | Salmon Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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Notes
- Johnson was injured in a practice accident practicing for a late model race on Friday, May 22. The team replaced Johnson with short track driver Mark Martin as a last second replacement.[3]
References
- Higgins, Tom (May 25, 1987). "Kyle Petty Survives Brutal 600". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 4C. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Mulhurn, Mike (May 25, 1987). "Young Petty Emerges as World 600 King". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 19, 26. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Webb, Donnie (May 24, 1987). "Final adjustments made during Happy Hour". The Anniston Star. pp. 5B. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Race Week '87: The Schedule". The Charlotte Observer. May 19, 1987. pp. 1B. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (May 21, 1987). "Elliott Races To Record 600 Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 7D. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.