1986 Daytona 500
Encyclopedia
The 28th annual Daytona 500 was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway
. The #9 of Bill Elliott
won the pole.
Top Ten Results
Failed to qualify:
0-Delma Cowart
, 19-Bob Park, 23-Michael Waltrip
, 29-Grant Adcox
, 35-Alan Kulwicki
, 39-Blackie Wangerin
, 48-Ron Esau
, 49-Ferdin Wallace, 53-Donny Paul, 54-Slick Johnson
, 60-Dick Skillen, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 73-Phil Barkdoll
, 74-Bobby Wawak
, 76-Clark Dwyer, 81-Chet Fillip
, 82-Mark Stahl
, 95-Davey Allison
, 99-Connie Saylor
, 07-Randy LaJoie
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...
. The #9 of Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...
won the pole.
Top Ten Results
- 5-Geoff BodineGeoff BodineGeoffrey Eli Bodine is an American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers . Bodine currently lives in Cornelius, North Carolina....
* - 44-Terry LabonteTerry LabonteTerrance Lee Labonte is a semi-retired NASCAR driver who occasionally drives in the Sprint Cup Series when called upon and is a two-time Winston Cup and IROC champion. He currently drives the #32 U.S. Chrome Ford for FAS Lane Racing. Labonte was introduced to the sport through his father, who had...
- 11-Darrell WaltripDarrell WaltripDarrell Lee Waltrip is a 3-time NASCAR Cup Series champion , 3-time runner-up , winner of the 1989 Daytona 500 and 5-time winner of the prestigeous Coca-Cola 600 ,...
- 8-Bobby Hillin, Jr.Bobby Hillin, Jr.Bobby Hillin, Jr. , is an American stock car racecar driver. Hillin's love for racing began when he was a young boy watching his father's USAC Sprint and Indy cars race across the Midwest. At the age of 13, after a short period of racing go-karts and motocross, Hillin drove his first race car in...
- 55-Benny ParsonsBenny ParsonsBenjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
- 98-Ron BouchardRon BouchardRon Bouchard is a former NASCAR driver who was the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. His brother Ken Bouchard was the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.-Local driving career:...
- 4-Rick Wilson
- 27-Rusty WallaceRusty WallaceRussell William Wallace, Jr. is a past NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, currently a broadcaster on ESPN, car owner in the Nationwide Series, and a co-host of NASCAR Angels.-Early racing career:...
- 1-Sterling MarlinSterling MarlinSterling Marlin is a retired NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. He is the son of late NASCAR driver Coo Coo Marlin. He is married to Paula and has a daughter, Sutherlin, and a son, Steadman, who sometimes races in the Nationwide Series....
- 75-Lake SpeedLake Speed-Background:Lake was named after the best friend of his father, Bob Lake. Lake's father Leland L. Speed took office as the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi in 1948, the same year that he was born. He started his racing career at the age of thirteen racing karts, much to the displeasure of his family...
Failed to qualify:
0-Delma Cowart
Delma Cowart
Delma Cowart , is a retired NASCAR and ARCA driver.-Career:Cowart made his maiden voyage into NASCAR by qualifying for the 1981 Daytona 500 with sponsor Heyward Grooms.-Tracks:...
, 19-Bob Park, 23-Michael Waltrip
Michael Waltrip
Michael Curtis Waltrip is a semi-former professional race car driver, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, and a published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500; having won the race in...
, 29-Grant Adcox
Grant Adcox
Grant Adcox was a stock car racing driver who died in a single-car accident in the 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.-Career:...
, 35-Alan Kulwicki
Alan Kulwicki
Alan Dennis Kulwicki , nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series racecar driver. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional stock car touring series...
, 39-Blackie Wangerin
Blackie Wangerin
Blackie Wangerin is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver from Bloomington, Minnesota. In 1971 he attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but did not make it past the qualifying race. He returned to the series in 1977 and made at least one start every season thereafter until 1984...
, 48-Ron Esau
Ron Esau
Ron Esau is a retired NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who has competed from 1975 to 1990.The primary vehicle for this driver was the #56 Marc Reno-owned Gear Vendor Chevrolet. He has competed in 1704 laps - the equivalent of of racing - while picking up 8 DNQs in the process...
, 49-Ferdin Wallace, 53-Donny Paul, 54-Slick Johnson
Slick Johnson
Julius "Slick" Johnson was a NASCAR race car driver from Florence, South Carolina. He was killed due to a skull fracture suffered during a crash at the Automobile Racing Club of America race at Daytona International Speedway in 1990...
, 60-Dick Skillen, 70-J. D. McDuffie, 73-Phil Barkdoll
Phil Barkdoll
Phil Barkdoll is a former NASCAR owner-driver from Phoenix, Arizona who only ran at two tracks in his entire career: Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.-NASCAR career:...
, 74-Bobby Wawak
Bobby Wawak
Bobby Wawak was an American NASCAR driver from Villa Park, Illinois. He made 141 Grand National/Winston Cup starts, with 14 Top 10 finishes.-Local racing:...
, 76-Clark Dwyer, 81-Chet Fillip
Chet Fillip
Chet Fillip , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. Fillip raced stock cars and a modified during his teens and early twenties at Arena Park Raceway in Lubbock, Texas. His father Marvin Fillip also raced at this track...
, 82-Mark Stahl
Mark Stahl
Mark Stahl is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League....
, 95-Davey Allison
Davey Allison
David Carl "Davey" Allison was a NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to Bobby Allison and wife Judy...
, 99-Connie Saylor
Connie Saylor
Connie Saylor was a journeyman NASCAR racecar driver. He did one-off events in the Winston Cup series during the 1980s and early '90s, and also raced in ARCA and Late Model sportsman series...
, 07-Randy LaJoie
Randy LaJoie
Randall LaJoie was a driver in the NASCAR Busch Series , where he is a two-time champion. Presently, he does not have a full-time ride. He is the father of racers Casey and Corey LaJoie.-Early racing career:LaJoie started racing go-karts when he was 12 years old...
- Geoff BodineGeoff BodineGeoffrey Eli Bodine is an American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers . Bodine currently lives in Cornelius, North Carolina....
won this race on fuel mileage after engaging in a long feud with Dale EarnhardtDale EarnhardtRalph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR...
. Earnhardt was forced to pit for gas with 3 laps to go, then blew the engine leaving the pits. This allowed Bodine to cruise to victory by a margin of over 11 seconds. - It was the first of many hard luck finishes for Earnhardt that would last until the 1998 Daytona 5001998 Daytona 500The 1998 Daytona 500 was run on February 15, 1998. It is memorable in that it marked Dale Earnhardt's only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts and many heartbreaking finishes. Not only was it Earnhardt's 20th 500 start, but also CBS's 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500...
.
- Prior to the race, they paid tribute to the astronauts who were killed in the Challenger disasterSpace Shuttle Challenger disasterThe Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
, which was several miles away from the track 19 days ago. They would do so again in 2003 when the Columbia disasterSpace Shuttle Columbia disasterThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
occurred.