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1987 Sovran Bank 500

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1987 Sovran Bank 500
Race details
Race 8 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1987 Sovran Bank 500 program cover.
The 1987 Sovran Bank 500 program cover.
Date April 26, 1987
Official name 38th Annual Sovran Bank 500
Location Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Average speed 72.808 miles per hour (117.173 km/h)
Attendance 40,000
Pole position
Driver King Racing
Time 20.728
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 156
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network SETN
Announcers Eli Gold, Jerry Punch
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1987 Sovran Bank 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 26, 1987, before an audience of 40,000 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete.

Taking advantage of a misfortunate Geoff Bodine, who spun from a large lead over the field with 17 laps in the race, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to hold the lead after Bodine's spin to take his 26th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his sixth victory of the season, and his fourth straight victory, increasing his driver's championship points lead to 157 points.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace and the aforementioned Geoff Bodine finished second and third, respectively.

Background

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

Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
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 Slick Johnson Hamby Racing Chevrolet Hesco Exhaust Systems
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet Stoke Racing
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet Bahari Racing
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Turtle Wax
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac AC Spark Plug
64 Jerry Cranmer Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
81 Buddy Arrington Fillip Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza

Qualifying

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Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 23, at 2:00 pm EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21–30 meant to be determined the following day on Friday, April 24.[3] However, due to rain, the second round was cancelled. As a result, the rest of the starting lineup was set using the results from the first round. Depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars that had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.[4]

Morgan Shepherd, driving for King Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 20.728 and an average speed of 91.355 miles per hour (147.022 km/h).[5]

No drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 20.728 91.355
2 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 20.737 91.315
3 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 20.761 91.209
4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20.786 91.100
5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 20.820 90.951
6 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 20.832 90.899
7 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.868 90.742
8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 20.869 90.737
9 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 20.869 90.737
10 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 20.907 90.573
11 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.913 90.547
12 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 20.939 90.434
13 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 20.953 90.374
14 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 20.966 90.318
15 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 20.969 90.305
16 81 Buddy Arrington Fillip Racing Ford 21.004 90.154
17 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 21.030 90.043
18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 21.052 89.949
19 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 21.079 89.833
20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 21.128 89.625
21 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 21.158 89.498
22 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 21.199 89.325
23 64 Jerry Cranmer Langley Racing Ford 21.329 88.781
24 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 21.356 88.668
25 67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford 21.404 88.469
26 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 21.437 88.333
27 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 21.487 88.128
28 12 Slick Johnson Hamby Racing Oldsmobile 21.523 87.980
29 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet 21.578 87.756
30 48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 23.044 82.173
Provisional
31 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford - -
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

[edit]
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 156 running 185 $50,850
2 5 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 500 63 running 175 $27,325
3 7 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 116 running 170 $20,750
4 19 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 500 0 running 160 $10,275
5 2 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 498 0 running 155 $16,425
6 31 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 498 66 running 155 $12,950
7 20 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 498 0 running 146 $8,280
8 13 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 497 0 running 142 $8,850
9 9 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 496 0 running 138 $6,630
10 18 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Chevrolet 495 0 running 134 $7,285
11 16 81 Buddy Arrington Fillip Racing Ford 494 0 running 130 $2,370
12 6 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 493 0 running 127 $6,020
13 29 19 Derrike Cope (R) Stoke Racing Chevrolet 490 0 running 124 $2,720
14 26 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 488 0 running 121 $5,450
15 22 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 452 0 rear end 118 $7,820
16 15 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 440 0 rear end 115 $9,050
17 1 26 Morgan Shepherd King Racing Buick 396 34 engine 117 $9,550
18 30 48 Tony Spanos Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet 386 0 running 0 $1,555
19 21 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 378 0 running 106 $4,385
20 23 64 Jerry Cranmer Langley Racing Ford 369 0 clutch 103 $4,850
21 11 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 360 45 engine 105 $2,200
22 10 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 347 0 timing chain 97 $4,375
23 12 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 333 0 rear end 94 $4,100
24 25 67 Eddie Bierschwale Arrington Racing Ford 269 0 engine 91 $3,485
25 24 62 Steve Christman (R) Winkle Motorsports Pontiac 264 0 running 88 $1,375
26 17 35 Benny Parsons Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 223 0 valve 85 $9,350
27 3 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 186 20 rear end 87 $5,405
28 8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 185 0 oil line 79 $4,970
29 14 18 Dale Jarrett (R) Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 113 0 engine 0 $4,135
30 28 12 Slick Johnson Hamby Racing Oldsmobile 87 0 timing chain 73 $2,660
31 27 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 21 0 engine 70 $1,160
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 27, 1987). "Hot Streak Gets Hotter As Earnhardt Takes Martinsville". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 4C. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ King, Randy (April 27, 1987). "Wheels of fortune keep spinning as Earnhardt wins fourth straight". The Roanoke Times. pp. C1, C5. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 23, 1987. pp. 6B. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 24, 1987). "Rain at Martinsville Puts Elliott In Back". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 14C. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 24, 1987). "Driver Shepherd Awakens In Time To Take Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 10B. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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1987 Valleydale Meats 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1987 season
Next race:
1987 Winston 500