1988 TranSouth 500
The 1988 TranSouth 500 was the fifth stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 27, 1988, before an audience of 58,000 in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race, Lake Speed, driving for his owner-driver operation Speed Racing, would dominate the late stages of the race with Hoosier tires to score his first and only career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, AK Racing driver Alan Kulwicki and Ranier-Lundy Racing driver Davey Allison would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1988 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | March 27, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 32nd Annual TranSouth 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.284 miles per hour (211.281 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 58,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 30.233 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | |
| Laps | 178 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. Pole qualifying for the race was held on Thursday, March 24, 1988. Per the NASCAR rules in 1988, a one-lap qualifying attempt was utilized. The top twenty cars in pole qualifying were locked into the starting field. The remainder of the cars could stand on their time, or make a new attempt in second-round qualifying. If a driver did decide to make an attempt, their first-round times would be scrubbed. Second-round qualifying was held Friday, March 25, 1988. The drivers that had qualified 1st–20th on Thursday were locked-in to those positions and did not have to re-qualify.[2]
Ken Schrader, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.233 and an average speed of 162.657 miles per hour (261.771 km/h).[3]
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin[4] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 367 | 178 | running | 185 | $49,435 |
| 2 | 3 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 367 | 1 | running | 175 | $30,905 |
| 3 | 9 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 367 | 42 | running | 170 | $26,095 |
| 4 | 15 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 366 | 1 | running | 165 | $19,260 |
| 5 | 16 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 366 | 5 | running | 160 | $14,800 |
| 6 | 21 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 365 | 59 | running | 155 | $7,025 |
| 7 | 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 365 | 61 | running | 151 | $10,490 |
| 8 | 19 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Brothers Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 365 | 0 | running | 142 | $9,135 |
| 9 | 18 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 365 | 0 | running | 138 | $11,505 |
| 10 | 23 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker-Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 365 | 3 | running | 139 | $9,630 |
| 11 | 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 363 | 0 | running | 130 | $14,825 |
| 12 | 32 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 362 | 0 | running | 127 | $3,520 |
| 13 | 22 | 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Ford | 360 | 0 | running | 124 | $4,640 |
| 14 | 25 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 360 | 0 | running | 121 | $3,160 |
| 15 | 6 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 353 | 0 | running | 118 | $11,990 |
| 16 | 38 | 36 | H. B. Bailey | Bailey Racing | Pontiac | 352 | 0 | running | 115 | $2,795 |
| 17 | 29 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 351 | 0 | running | 112 | $6,585 |
| 18 | 35 | 80 | Jimmy Horton (R) | S&H Racing | Ford | 344 | 0 | running | 109 | $3,025 |
| 19 | 26 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 339 | 0 | running | 106 | $9,465 |
| 20 | 20 | 31 | Brad Teague | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 330 | 0 | ignition | 103 | $2,905 |
| 21 | 27 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 324 | 0 | running | 100 | $6,070 |
| 22 | 31 | 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,785 |
| 23 | 11 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 276 | 0 | running | 94 | $9,100 |
| 24 | 13 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 268 | 1 | running | 96 | $9,015 |
| 25 | 5 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 265 | 2 | engine | 93 | $11,585 |
| 26 | 34 | 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | 263 | 0 | engine | 85 | $5,180 |
| 27 | 7 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 230 | 0 | distributor | 82 | $2,925 |
| 28 | 41 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Ford | 227 | 0 | crash | 79 | $4,780 |
| 29 | 1 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 225 | 14 | running | 81 | $10,815 |
| 30 | 10 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 208 | 0 | engine | 73 | $4,635 |
| 31 | 36 | 50 | Greg Sacks | Dingman Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 185 | 0 | engine | 70 | $1,645 |
| 32 | 33 | 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | 135 | 0 | engine | $2,455 | |
| 33 | 37 | 22 | Steve Moore | Hamby Motorsports | Chevrolet | 118 | 0 | engine | 64 | $2,315 |
| 34 | 28 | 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 108 | 0 | engine | 61 | $4,230 |
| 35 | 39 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 103 | 0 | engine | 58 | $4,175 |
| 36 | 40 | 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick | 64 | 0 | engine | $1,470 | |
| 37 | 24 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | engine | 52 | $4,090 |
| 38 | 12 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 45 | 0 | engine | 49 | $4,050 |
| 39 | 14 | 47 | Morgan Shepherd | Shepherd Racing Ventures | Buick | 19 | 0 | crash | 46 | $1,410 |
| 40 | 17 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 5 | 0 | engine | 43 | $8,360 |
| 41 | 30 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 4 | 0 | crash | 40 | $3,960 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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References
- "Speed finds magic, wins TranSouth 500". Wisconsin State Journal. March 28, 1988. p. 16. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. March 24, 1988. p. 34. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Pearson, Harold (March 27, 1988). "Schrader has car, game plan to win at Darlington". The Times Dispatch. p. 13. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "1988 TranSouth 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 15, 2022.