1987 Winston Western 500

The 1987 Winston Western 500 was the 28th and penultimate stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the eighth and the final race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 8, 1987, before an audience of 64,500 in Riverside, California, at the short layout of Riverside International Raceway, a 2.62 miles (4.22 km) permanent road course layout at the track. The race took the scheduled 119 laps to complete.

1987 Winston Western 500
Race details
Race 28 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Winston Western 500 program cover, featuring Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt.
The 1987 Winston Western 500 program cover, featuring Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt.
Date November 8, 1987
Official name 27th Annual Winston Western 500
Location Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.62 mi (4.216 km)
Distance 119 laps, 311.78 mi (501.761 km)
Scheduled Distance 119 laps, 311.78 mi (501.761 km)
Average speed 95.503 miles per hour (153.697 km/h)
Attendance 64,500
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 1:19.977
Most laps led
Driver Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 92
Winner
No. 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, Johnny Hayes
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Taking advantage of misfortune caused by an aggressive battle for the lead in the closing laps between Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine, Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace was able to pull ahead when Bodine blew a tire and Earnhardt blew his engine. Wallace was able to score his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports' Benny Parsons and Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty finished second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Riverside International Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riverside and 50 mi (80 km) east of Los Angeles, in 1957. In 1984, the raceway became part of the newly incorporated city of Moreno Valley. Riverside was noted for its hot, dusty environment and for being somewhat of a complicated and dangerous track for drivers. It was also considered one of the finest tracks in the United States.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
2 St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick St. James Racing
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
04 Hershel McGriff Gary Smith Racing Pontiac Wershow–Ash–Lewis Auctioneers
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hamby Racing
14 Harry Goularte Goularte Racing Chevrolet Goularte Racing
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Coats & Clark
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
25 Rick Hendrick Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Texaco. Havoline
29 George Follmer Midgley Racing Chevrolet Budget Rent a Car
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet Bahari Racing
32 Ruben Garcia Stoke Racing Chevrolet Suncrest Motorhomes
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers Decaf
41 Jack Sellers Vincent Racing Chevrolet Coca-Cola
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Eureka
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Classic
63 Jocko Maggiacomo Linro Motorsports Chevrolet Linro Motorsports
64 Rick McCray Langley Racing Chevrolet Fluro-Cote
66 John Krebs Krebs Racing Oldsmobile Skoal Classic
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet Tom Bell Chevrolet
75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
76 Tommy Kendall Spears Motorsports Buick Spears Manufacturing
78 Jim Robinson Lois Williams Racing Oldsmobile Lois Williams Racing
79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford Western Peterbilt
81 Glen Steurer Steurer Racing Chevrolet Steurer Racing
88 Irv Hoerr Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Bull Frog Knits
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
93 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet Wholesale Truck Parts
95 Chad Little George Jefferson Racing Ford Coors
98 Brad Noffsinger Curb Racing Pontiac Curb Records

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 6, at 4:30 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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 Saturday, November 7, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-40 were decided on time,[3] 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 provisionals were given.

Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 1:19.977 and an average speed of 117.934 miles per hour (189.796 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Five drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:19.977 117.934
2 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 1:20.139 117.696
3 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 1:20.296 117.465
4 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 1:20.466 117.217
5 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:20.611 117.006
6 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 1:20.719 116.850
7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 1:21.009 116.432
8 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:21.383 115.896
9 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 1:21.407 115.862
10 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:21.577 115.621
11 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1:21.634 115.540
12 93 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet 1:21.656 115.509
13 78 Jim Robinson Lois Williams Racing Oldsmobile 1:21.708 115.435
14 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 1:21.711 115.431
15 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 1:21.765 115.355
16 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1:21.778 115.337
17 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 1:21.799 115.307
18 88 Irv Hoerr Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 1:21.825 115.270
19 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 1:22.185 114.766
20 79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford 1:22.255 114.668
21 25 Rick Hendrick Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:22.258 114.664
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1:22.513 114.309
23 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 1:22.693 114.060
24 29 George Follmer Midgley Racing Chevrolet 1:22.908 113.765
25 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 1:22.992 113.650
Failed to lock in Round 1
26 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 1:20.641 116.963
27 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:21.250 116.086
28 81 Glen Steurer Steurer Racing Chevrolet 1:22.176 114.778
29 64 Rick McCray Langley Racing Chevrolet 1:22.580 114.217
30 63 Jocko Maggiacomo Linro Motorsports Chevrolet 1:22.812 113.897
31 76 Tommy Kendall Spears Motorsports Buick 1:22.883 113.799
32 04 Hershel McGriff Smith Racing Pontiac 1:23.046 113.576
33 14 Harry Goularte Goularte Racing Chevrolet 1:23.063 113.552
34 6 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Chevrolet 1:23.107 113.492
35 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 1:23.128 113.464
36 95 Chad Little George Jefferson Racing Ford 1:23.152 113.431
37 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 1:23.269 113.271
38 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 1:23.299 113.231
39 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 1:23.304 113.224
40 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 1:23.323 113.198
Winston Cup provisional
41 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 1:23.845 112.493
Winston West provisional
42 32 Ruben Garcia Stoke Racing Chevrolet 1:23.391 113.106
Failed to qualify
43 12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet 1:23.352 113.159
44 66 John Krebs Krebs Racing Oldsmobile 1:23.879 112.448
45 98 Brad Noffsinger Curb Racing Pontiac 1:26.247 109.360
46 2 St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick 1:29.126 105.828
47 41 Jack Sellers Vincent Racing Chevrolet 1:31.808 102.736
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 119 11 running 180 $47,725
2 10 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 119 0 running 170 $28,700
3 5 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 119 0 running 165 $21,125
4 16 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 119 0 running 160 $13,780
5 11 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 119 0 running 155 $14,575
6 27 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 119 1 running 155 $6,745
7 23 75 Joe Ruttman RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 119 0 running 0 $8,025
8 4 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 119 1 running 147 $12,400
9 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 119 0 running 138 $9,415
10 1 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 119 92 running 144 $18,275
11 7 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 119 0 running 130 $8,655
12 13 78 Jim Robinson Lois Williams Racing Oldsmobile 118 0 running 127 $4,785
13 37 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 118 0 running 124 $2,350
14 25 28 Davey Allison (R) Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 118 0 running 121 $3,000
15 36 95 Chad Little George Jefferson Racing Ford 117 0 running 118 $4,775
16 24 29 George Follmer Midgley Racing Chevrolet 117 8 running 120 $2,005
17 39 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 116 0 running 112 $5,370
18 19 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 116 0 running 109 $1,905
19 34 6 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Chevrolet 116 0 running 106 $5,060
20 12 93 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet 114 0 running 103 $2,355
21 41 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 114 0 running 100 $4,800
22 18 88 Irv Hoerr Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 114 0 running 0 $1,705
23 6 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 114 0 running 94 $10,255
24 17 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 112 0 running 91 $4,380
25 26 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 110 0 running 88 $4,920
26 9 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 109 0 running 85 $4,180
27 40 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 108 0 running 82 $4,110
28 14 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 106 0 engine 79 $3,325
29 38 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 102 0 clutch 76 $3,275
30 8 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 93 1 engine 78 $11,975
31 2 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 90 5 engine 75 $9,600
32 33 14 Harry Goularte Goularte Racing Chevrolet 79 0 suspension 67 $1,675
33 21 25 Rick Hendrick Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 0 transmission 0 $1,150
34 15 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 63 0 engine 61 $8,125
35 29 64 Rick McCray Langley Racing Chevrolet 63 0 suspension 58 $3,100
36 35 73 Bill Schmitt Schmitt Racing Chevrolet 36 0 clutch 55 $1,500
37 30 63 Jocko Maggiacomo Linro Motorsports Chevrolet 26 0 transmission 52 $975
38 31 76 Tommy Kendall Spears Motorsports Buick 26 0 oil pressure 0 $950
39 42 32 Ruben Garcia Stoke Racing Chevrolet 24 0 engine 46 $1,425
40 20 79 Roy Smith Razore Racing Ford 23 0 overheating 43 $1,425
41 28 81 Glen Steurer Steurer Racing Chevrolet 19 0 suspension 0 $925
42 32 04 Hershel McGriff Smith Racing Pontiac 7 0 engine 37 $2,525
Failed to qualify
43 12 Trevor Boys Hamby Racing Chevrolet
44 66 John Krebs Krebs Racing Oldsmobile
45 98 Brad Noffsinger Curb Racing Pontiac
46 2 St. James Davis St. James Racing Buick
47 41 Jack Sellers Vincent Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 9, 1987). "Wallace Snatches Victory From Geoff Bodine". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 6D. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Glick, Shav (November 9, 1987). "Wallace Gets the Win, but Not the Cheers". The Los Angeles Times. pp. III-2, III-4. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. November 6, 1987. pp. 7C. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (November 7, 1987). "Bodine Holds On To Capture Sunday's Western 500 Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 3C. Retrieved November 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1987 AC Delco 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
Next race:
1987 Atlanta Journal 500