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1987 Daytona 500

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1987 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Geoff Bodine.
The 1987 Daytona 500 program cover, featuring Geoff Bodine.
Date February 15, 1987
Official name 29th Annual Daytona 500
Location Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 137.531 miles per hour (221.335 km/h)
Attendance 130,000
Pole position
Driver Melling Racing
Time 42.783
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Laps 104
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Chris Economaki, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1987 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 29th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 15, 1987, before an audience of 130,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

Nearing the race's end, two contenders for the race, Hendrick Motorsports' Geoff Bodine and Melling Racing's Bill Elliott, differed on pit strategy for the end of the race. Bodine, who was at the lead at the time, ran out of fuel with three laps left in the race, giving the lead to Elliott. Elliott was then able to fend off Bodine's teammate, Benny Parsons, to take his 18th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his second and final Daytona 500 victory.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Benny Parsons and owner-driver Richard Petty finished second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Daytona International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 Dick McCabe McCabe Racing Chevrolet McCabe Racing
1 Ron Bouchard Ellington Racing Chevrolet Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
02 Joe Booher Booher Racing Pontiac Booher Racing
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Trevor Boys 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
09 Jeff Swindell Swindell Racing Chevrolet Swindell Racing
10 Rodney Combs (R) DiGard Motorsports Oldsmobile Oberg Filters
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 David Sosebee Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hamby Racing
14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Copenhagen
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford Stoke Racing
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
24 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet Herb Adcox Chevrolet
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Ranier-Lundy Racing
29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet Oxford Plains Speedway, Domino's
32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet Edwards Racing
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford Wangerin Racing
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Pontiac Busch Cleaners
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 Steve Moore Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
49 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet H. L. Waters Racing
50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac Valvoline
51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet Mount Steel & Supply, The Tom Company
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Turtle Wax
54 Donnie Allison Gray Racing Chevrolet Jerzees
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac AC Spark Plug
63 Jocko Maggiacomo[a] Linro Motorsports Chevrolet Linro Motorsports
64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
66 Tom Sneva Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal
67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford Jim Peacock Ford, Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Winkle Pontiac
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile Barkdoll Racing
74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet Wawak Racing
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford Southlake Ford
81 Chet Fillip Fillip Racing Ford Marshall Batteries
82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford Auto Bell Car Wash
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Wynn's, Kmart
86 Ronnie Sanders Moss Racing Ford Moss Racing
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Crisco
89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
92 Ralph Jones LC Racing Ford Country Boy Waterbeds, K. T. B. Custom Photo Lab
93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet Salmon Racing
98 Ed Pimm Curb Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco

Qualifying

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Qualifying was set by the 1987 7-Eleven Twin 125s. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Twin 125 Qualifiers held on Monday, February 9, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting was set in the Twin 125 Qualifiers, held on Thursday, February 12, during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers set positions 31-40 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Saturday. If needed, up to two extra provisionals were given to teams high enough in the previous season's owner's standings that did not qualify for the race by either qualifying speed or from the Twin 125 Qualifiers.

Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 42.783 and an average speed of 210.364 miles per hour (338.548 km/h) in Monday's session.[4]

19 drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

[edit]
Pos. # Driver Team Make Reason
1 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Qualified on pole
2 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Qualified on outside pole
3 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford First in Twin 125 #1
4 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet First in Twin 125 #2
5 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Third in Twin 125 #1
6 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Second in Twin 125 #2
7 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Fourth in Twin 125 #1
8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Third in Twin 125 #2
9 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Fifth in Twin 125 #1
10 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Fourth in Twin 125 #2
11 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Sixth in Twin 125 #1
12 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Fifth in Twin 125 #2
13 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Seventh in Twin 125 #1
14 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Seventh in Twin 125 #2
15 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Eighth in Twin 125 #1
16 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Eighth in Twin 125 #2
17 1 Ron Bouchard Ellington Racing Chevrolet Ninth in Twin 125 #1
18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet Ninth in Twin 125 #2
19 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Tenth in Twin 125 #1
20 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Tenth in Twin 125 #2
21 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 11th in Twin 125 #1
22 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 11th in Twin 125 #2
23 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 12th in Twin 125 #1
24 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 12th in Twin 125 #2
25 64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford 13th in Twin 125 #1
26 81 Chet Fillip Fillip Racing Ford 13th in Twin 125 #2
27 86 Ronnie Sanders Moss Racing Ford 14th in Twin 125 #1
28 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet 14th in Twin 125 #2
29 66 Tom Sneva Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 15th in Twin 125 #1
30 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 15th in Twin 125 #2
31 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Speed provisional (204.634)
32 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Speed provisional (204.448)
33 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Speed provisional (204.160)
34 67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford Speed provisional (203.087)
35 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Speed provisional (202.789)
36 10 Rodney Combs (R) DiGard Motorsports Oldsmobile Speed provisional (202.425)
37 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Speed provisional (201.771)
38 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Speed provisional (200.929)
39 12 David Sosebee Hamby Racing Chevrolet Owner's points provisional
40 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Owner's points provisional
Forced to start at rear
41 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Speed provisional (203.832)
42 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac Speed provisional (201.428)
Failed to qualify or withdrew
43 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet 16th in Twin 125 #1
44 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet 19th in Twin 125 #2
45 02 Joe Booher Booher Racing Pontiac 19th in Twin 125 #1
46 92 Ralph Jones LC Racing Ford 20th in Twin 125 #2
47 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet 20th in Twin 125 #1
48 39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford 21st in Twin 125 #2
49 24 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet 22nd in Twin 125 #1
50 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 23rd in Twin 125 #2
51 32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet 23rd in Twin 125 #1
52 49 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet 24th in Twin 125 #2
53 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac 25th in Twin 125 #1
54 09 Jeff Swindell Swindell Racing Chevrolet 25th in Twin 125 #2
55 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 27th in Twin 125 #1
56 98 Ed Pimm Curb Racing Oldsmobile 27th in Twin 125 #2
57 48 Steve Moore Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 28th in Twin 125 #1
58 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Pontiac 29th in Twin 125 #2
59 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile 30th in Twin 125 #1
60 54 Donnie Allison Gray Racing Chevrolet 30th in Twin 125 #2
61 00 Dick McCabe McCabe Racing Chevrolet 31st in Twin 125 #2
WD 63 Jocko Maggiacomo Linro Motorsports Chevrolet Injuries sustained in a practice crash
Official Twin 125s results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 200 104 running 185 $204,150
2 4 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2 running 175 $122,420
3 11 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 200 2 running 170 $76,040
4 7 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 200 45 running 165 $74,450
5 13 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 16 running 160 $64,925
6 6 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 200 0 running 150 $60,475
7 3 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 200 14 running 151 $68,545
8 5 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 1 running 147 $39,925
9 31 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 0 running 138 $38,425
10 22 29 Cale Yarborough Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 200 0 running 134 $29,600
11 19 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 200 0 running 130 $26,200
12 15 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 199 5 running 132 $29,600
13 21 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 199 0 running 124 $29,005
14 8 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 10 running 126 $36,365
15 37 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 198 0 running 118 $22,740
16 35 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 198 0 running 115 $20,660
17 24 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Ford 197 0 running 112 $17,085
18 14 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 197 0 running 109 $25,915
19 36 10 Rodney Combs (R) DiGard Motorsports Oldsmobile 197 0 running 106 $15,295
20 42 50 Greg Sacks Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 196 0 running 103 $14,335
21 27 86 Ronnie Sanders Moss Racing Ford 195 0 running 0 $13,930
22 18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 193 0 running 97 $18,110
23 28 6 Trevor Boys U.S. Racing Chevrolet 191 0 running 94 $16,795
24 40 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 191 0 running 91 $14,480
25 38 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 191 0 running 88 $11,810
26 33 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 188 0 engine 85 $11,105
27 2 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 184 0 running 82 $14,045
28 39 12 David Sosebee Hamby Racing Chevrolet 184 0 running 79 $14,145
29 29 66 Tom Sneva Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 182 0 engine 76 $11,135
30 10 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 167 1 clutch 78 $16,875
31 12 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 156 0 transmission 70 $15,100
32 17 1 Ron Bouchard Ellington Racing Chevrolet 125 0 engine 67 $11,370
33 23 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Ford 124 0 overheating 64 $10,840
34 16 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 115 0 oil leak 61 $13,975
35 20 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 72 0 valve 58 $13,455
36 34 67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford 44 0 engine 55 $12,235
37 9 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 37 0 clutch 52 $11,420
38 30 82 Mark Stahl Stahl Racing Ford 36 0 engine 49 $9,540
39 26 81 Chet Fillip Fillip Racing Ford 19 0 engine 46 $9,705
40 25 64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford 12 0 engine 43 $11,470
41 32 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 10 0 piston 40 $15,720
42 41 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 10 0 spark plug 37 $7,870
Failed to qualify or withdrew
43 74 Bobby Wawak Wawak Racing Chevrolet
44 51 David Simko Simko Racing Chevrolet
45 02 Joe Booher Booher Racing Pontiac
46 92 Ralph Jones LC Racing Ford
47 93 Charlie Baker Salmon Racing Chevrolet
48 39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford
49 24 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet
50 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac
51 32 Jonathan Lee Edwards Edwards Racing Chevrolet
52 49 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet
53 89 Jim Sauter Mueller Brothers Racing Pontiac
54 09 Jeff Swindell Swindell Racing Chevrolet
55 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet
56 98 Ed Pimm Curb Racing Oldsmobile
57 48 Steve Moore Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
58 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Pontiac
59 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Oldsmobile
60 54 Donnie Allison Gray Racing Chevrolet
61 00 Dick McCabe McCabe Racing Chevrolet
WD 63 Jocko Maggiacomo Linro Motorsports Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ Maggiacomo suffered a crash during a Wednesday, February 11 practice session. As the team had no backup car, the team withdrew.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 16, 1987). "Elliott Outlasts Daytona Field". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 4B. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Coble, Don (February 16, 1987). "Elliott conquers Daytona 500". Florida Today. pp. 1C, 2C. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Chuhran, John (February 13, 1987). "Mamaroneck team can only watch". The Standard-Star. pp. E10. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 12, 1987). "Daytona 500 Pole Goes To Elliott". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


Previous race:
1986 Winston Western 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
Next race:
1987 Goodwrench 500