The 1986 Miller High Life 400 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

race that was held on February 23, 1986, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (now Richmond Raceway) in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Almost the entire grid was born in the

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;

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Trevor Boys Trevor Boys (born November 3, 1957) is a Canadian race car driver. He raced in 102 Winston Cup races from 1982 to 1993, posting two top-ten finishes, and ran six races in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2003, his best finish a 22nd at Memphis Motors ...

was the only foreigner. Individual winnings for this event ranged from the winner's share of $37,880 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place share of $2,515 ($ when adjusted for inflation); the total prize purse stood at $225,435 ($ when adjusted for inflation). Richmond was a .542 symmetrical oval until 1988. Just after the Pontiac Excitement 400, the first big steps were taken to transform RIR into the 3/4-mile tri-oval we know today. That's why the grandstands were so far away from guardrail; reconfiguration had already begun.

Background

In 1953, Richmond International Raceway began hosting the Grand National Series with Lee Petty winning that first race in Richmond. The original track was paved in 1968. In 1988, the track was re-designed into its present ''D''-shaped configuration. The name for the raceway complex was "Strawberry Hill" until the Virginia State Fairgrounds site was bought out in 1999 and renamed the "Richmond International Raceway".

Race report

31 of 35 entered drivers qualified for this race. The drivers who failed to qualify were: Johnathan Lee Edwards,

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...

, and Ronnie Thomas.

Eddie Bierschwale Eddie Bierschwale (born June 29, 1959) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver from San Antonio, Texas. He made his Cup debut in 1983 in a car owned by his father Don. In 1985 he got a full-season ride with D.K. Ulrich and stayed with the team unti ...

would be the first car out of the race. Kyle Petty would defeat Joe Ruttman in his 1986 Ford Thunderbird, finishing under caution in front of twenty-five thousand fans. On the final lap, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt tangled, causing a 5-car pileup. Running second at the time was Ruttman, who led for 100 feet before spinning out due to hitting the apron while trying to avoid the pile-up. This allowed Kyle to prevail. It was a win that was oddly similar to his father's 1979 Daytona 500 win in that the two competitors running 1-2 wrecked and the winner capitalized. This was also the only time since 1968 that a Wood Brothers car visited victory lane without the famed #21 vehicle. Despite having the most wins at the track, Petty vigorously disliked the half-mile and preferred the more traditional short track racing venues of the 1960s and the 1970s. Richard Petty would finish in 20th place at this race despite qualifying in 27th place. Earnhardt dominated the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1986 to 1995; and his third-place finish at this race proved that he could be dominant on almost any track during the 1980s and the 1990s.Driver Dale Earnhardt Career Statistics
at Racing Reference Looking at the wins after this wreck between Dale and Darrell, this was the turning point of their "rivalry". Earnhardt took off and never looked back while Waltrip's competitiveness dwindled up until his retirement in 2000. Considered to be a classic short track race typical of the 1980s, it had a great finish as well as a first-time winner.

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

dominated the middle section of the race by leading for 128 laps, but crashed with

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

in the closing laps after a controversial fender-banging duel. Earnhardt and Waltrip's battle was considered daring enough for Dale to stick Darrell's car head-on into the guardrail. Dale Earnhardt was really hounding Geoff Bodine for the lead early in this race. At one point Earnhardt got the dirt off Turn 2 and the back end kicked out on him but he held on and not only didn't spin the Wrangler #3 Chevy but saved it, didn't lose a spot, and didn't really lose a spot as he went right back to hunting Bodine. NASCAR was more about raw skill, determination, and grit during the 1980s instead of luck-based strategies. Even if some of the changes made to NASCAR during the 21st century weren't implemented, the natural evolution of the sport would make it look vastly different compared to the 1980s. This race had no pit road speed, race back to the caution, and was still scored by hand. Richard Childress was a minor figure in NASCAR history until Dale Earnhardt came along and provided him with this powerful performance to make him a dominant team owner in NASCAR. Terry Labonte came into the pits with what he thought was an engine failure and pulled the #44 Piedmont Airlines Oldsmobile behind the wall to retire it. A pit crew member checked the car and found a piece of metal was screwing with the ignition and once he removed it the car refired, running fine. Texas Terry jumped back in it, rejoined the race, and they still came away with a 15th-place finish at the end of the day. Doug Heveron was a late entry for this race but made the most of his one-off in Elmo Langley's signature #64 Ford. Heveron brought his T-Bird home 13th to match his career-best finish in Cup action. It was Petty's first NASCAR Winston Cup series victory and his only one on a short track.Results of the ''1986 Miller High Life 400''
at Race Database After the race, Earnhardt had to pay a $3,000 fine ($ when adjusted for inflation) plus a $10,000 security bond for the late-race incident involving himself and

. Earnhardt was also placed on probation for the remainder of the season - the longest probation period ever given in the sport at the time. Earnhardt suffered a sore neck and blurred vision as a result of this incident. After the penalties were announced, Earnhardt appealed. On appeal, the infraction was reduced to a minor offense, with the $10,000 bond and probation period being overturned. However, the $3,000 fine was upheld. Geoffrey Bodine would lead the championship standings after this race with 332 points with Darrell Waltrip only two points behind him. Notable crew chiefs in the race were Darrell Bryant, Kirk Shelmerdine,

Robin Pemberton Robert (Robin) Pemberton (born August 15, 1956) is an American motor racing official and former vice president for competition of NASCAR. Previously, Pemberton was a pit stop, crew chief for several NASCAR teams over the course of 17 years, head ...

, Jeff Hammond,

Tim Brewer Timothy Ivan "Tim" Brewer (born February 4, 1955) is an American former stock car racing crew chief and television analyst for ''NASCAR on ESPN''. He was part of ''NASCAR Countdown'', the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow analys ...

, Bud Moore,

Larry McReynolds Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III (born January 10, 1959) is a current NASCAR crew chief and current racing analyst on Fox Sports as well as a columnist on Foxsports.com. In the past, he has served as an advisor to Petty Enterprises, and as a mi ...

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three de ...

, Junie Donlavey among many others.1986 Miller High Life 400 crew chiefs
at Racing Reference

Qualifying results

Timeline

Section reference: * Start: Geoffrey Bodine was leading the racing grid as the green flag was waved. * Lap 2: Eddie Bierschwale wrecked his vehicle's engine to become the last-place finisher. * Lap 10: Caution due to a 4-car accident on turn 2; caution ended on lap 13. * Lap 15: Caution due to Lake Speed's accident on turn 1; caution ended on lap 17. * Lap 17: Ricky Rudd and Phil Parsons managed to wreck their vehicle around the same time. * Lap 18: Caution due to a multi-car accident on turn 3; caution ended on lap 35. * Lap 29: Harry Gant managed to overheat his vehicle. * Lap 59: Caution due to Kirk Bryant's accident on the front stretch; caution ended on lap 64. * Lap 60: Dave Marcis took over the lead from Geoffrey Bodine. * Lap 72: Jimmy Means took over the lead from Dave Marcis. * Lap 75: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Jimmy Means. * Lap 88: Kirk Bryant had a terminal crash. * Lap 153: Caution due to a 2-car accident on turn 2; caution ended on lap 158. * Lap 202: Caution due to Ken Schrader's accident on turn 4; caution ended on lap 209. * Lap 203: Rusty Wallace took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. * Lap 204: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Rusty Wallace. * Lap 272: Greg Sacks managed to spin his vehicle on the track; leading to a caution that ended on lap 277. * Lap 273: Kyle Petty took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. * Lap 274: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Kyle Petty. * Lap 279: Trevor Boys had a terminal crash. * Lap 313: Problems with the vehicle's head gasket caused Michael Waltrip's day at the track to end prematurely. * Lap 321: Caution due to a 2-car accident on turn 2; caution ended on lap 330. * Lap 322: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. * Lap 323: Joe Ruttman took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. * Lap 344: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Joe Ruttman. * Lap 397: Geoffrey Bodine had a terminal crash. * Lap 398: Kyle Petty took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt; a 6-car accident occurred which forced the race to end under a caution flag. * Finish: Kyle Petty was officially declared the winner of the event.

Finishing order

Section reference: # Kyle Petty (No. 7) # Joe Ruttman (No. 26) #

(No. 3) # Bobby Allison (No. 22) #

* (No. 11) #

Bobby Hillin Jr. Robert "Bobby" Keith Hillin Jr. (born June 5, 1964) is an American stock car racing driver. He is a former competitor in NASCAR's Winston Cup and Busch Series, and once held the record for being the youngest driver ever to win a Winston Cup Serie ...

(No. 8) #

Neil Bonnett Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994) was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby an ...

(No. 12) # Geoffrey Bodine* (No. 5) #

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

(No. 71) # Rusty Wallace (No. 27) # Jimmy Means (No. 52) # Davey Allison (No. 95) # Doug Heveron (No. 64) # Buddy Arrington (No. 67) # Terry Labonte (No. 44) #

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

(No. 70) # Lake Speed (No. 75) #

Ron Bouchard Ronald R. Bouchard (November 23, 1948December 10, 2015) was an American 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. His father-in-law, Ed Flemk ...

(No. 98) # Greg Sacks (No. 10) #

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

(No. 43) #

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

(No. 9) #

Tim Richmond Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one of the first drivers to change fro ...

(No. 25) # Ken Schrader (No. 90) # Tommy Ellis (No. 18) #

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother o ...

* (No. 23) #

* (No. 6) # Kirk Bryant* (No. 2) #

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940), known for his many nicknames such as "The Ban ...

* (No. 33) # Phil Parsons* (No. 17) # Ricky Rudd* (No. 15) #

* (No. 48) ''* Driver failed to finish race''

Standings after the race

References

{{authority control Miller High Life 400 Miller High Life 400 Miller High Life 400 NASCAR races at Richmond Raceway