|| *Comments on the 1986 Winston 500:* View the most recent comment <#48> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. MegaRacer posted: 10.03.2005 - 6:53 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Who could forget the nut trying to steal the pace car just before the starting command? Classic! 2. Bill posted: 04.28.2006 - 5:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bill Elliott dominated until his engine blew. After that, it turned out to be a pretty good race for the lead in the final laps with Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Buddy Baker. 3. Jeff posted: 11.14.2006 - 5:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The entire field qualified at over 200 mph. 4. Matt posted: 12.22.2006 - 5:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ: Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Ken Ragan, and Dick Skillen. 5. Matt posted: 12.22.2006 - 5:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also missing the field were J.D. McDuffie, Davey Allison, and Steve Moore. 6. Canadian Fan posted: 01.03.2007 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICi3kIzSIZg 7. myself posted: 02.15.2007 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was this, by any chance, the Stavola Bros. first ever win as car owners? 8. Thomas posted: 03.07.2007 - 2:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Indeed it was. They had only 3 other wins. 2 were with Bobby Allison, and the other was in the July 1986 Talladega race with Bobby Hillin, his first and only career win. 9. Steve.M. posted: 10.28.2007 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Finish http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRFVjouKig 10. SK posted: 12.28.2007 - 6:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Bouchard leads his final lap in Winston Cup competition here at Talladega, five years after stunning the racing world with a last-second pass to win as a rookie at this same track. 11. Scott posted: 05.03.2008 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You know something. When Earnhardt threatened on the inside, I had a gut feeling that he wouldn't win. Bobby wasn a home town favorite. That was when everthing was good. The TV graphics, and the cars both were cool back then. And the commercials were awesome. 12. Scott posted: 05.04.2008 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I went to the race with my buddy, and when that guy stole the pace car, we were hysterical laughing. I said, "So we've sunk this low?" 13. hyltonfan08 posted: 01.14.2009 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Final Cup start for Tommy Gale. 14. Anonymous posted: 02.25.2009 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First top 5 for Phil Parsons. 15. RaceFanX posted: 04.08.2009 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) This is Mark Martin's ONLY Cup DNQ to date and with all probability will be the only one of his career. 16. Jeff Wagoner posted: 07.17.2009 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Starting lineup for this race: http://hscr.topcities.com/Lineups/Cup_Lineups/1986_Winston_500_Starting_Lineup.htm Includes speeds for the cars that DNQed. 17. Ryan posted: 03.07.2010 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Great finish between two of the greatest 18. 'Modern Era' Nascar Sucks posted posted: 01.13.2011 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bill Elliot's pole speed of 212.229 m.p.h. was almost three miles per hour faster than Bobby Allison's 209.274 m.p.h. This calculates out to Elliot being .637 seconds faster. That may not sound like much but at 212.229 m.p.h. Elliot covers 198 feet more in that amount of time. That's maybe 15-20 car lengths. Amazing! 19. Unser1 posted: 01.24.2011 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Allison's first win since the 1984 World 600, he had been shut out of the win column in 1985 20. Unser1 posted: 01.24.2011 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was also his only win of 1986 21. AnonymousEFR posted: 09.27.2011 - 9:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You can ask the YouTube users daveygunn and deersmacker for more info about the nut who stole the pace car. daveygunn recently worked with him, and deersmacker is related to him. Here's what I know. The idiot who stole the pace car is "Mad" Mike Moore, and he is an iron worker. He, as you may expect, was inebriated at the time. My dad went to the race with his buddy. He showed me his recording of it. Here's what they said. My Dad: Looks like the race'll get under way. This will be great. Friend: Wait a sec. What the heck!? My Dad: Oh wait, is that the pace car on course? I think the regular driver isn't behind the wheel! (Skip ahead two minutes of laughing hysterically) Friend: Ah, blockade. My Dad: Let's see if this works!... Friend: Yep, he's stopping. My Dad: HI HONEY! UH, SOME %*&$ER STOLE THE PACE CAR! Friend: Come on over to Alabama, where pace car stealing is a one-man sport! 22. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 04.07.2012 - 2:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kulwicki was #35 23. Dega77 posted: 05.03.2012 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The cops chased the guy around the track a couple of times. The whole crowd was cheering him on. Funniest thing I ever saw at a racetrack. 24. Terry Maynard posted: 01.25.2013 - 8:49 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The name of the guy who stole the pacecar was Darren Charles Crowder not some iron worker named Mike Moore 25. 83andJoe posted: 09.16.2013 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #17 sponsor: K-Mart/Wynn's Oil (same for all races with Carter driving this year) 26. SRT posted: 10.30.2013 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ken Ragan's DNQ car # was 77 and sponsor was McCord Gaskets 27. SRT posted: 10.30.2013 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The makes of the DNQs, for those needed. Ken Ragan - Pontiac Alan Kulwicki - Ford Mark Martin - Ford JD McDuffie - Pontiac Davey Allison - Buick Dick Skillen - Chevrolet Steve Moore- Chevrolet 28. RaceFanX posted: 12.07.2013 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alan Kulwicki DNQ sponsor- Quincy's Steak House (owned by Bill Terry) 29. 23andJoe posted: 02.26.2014 - 1:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #02 sponsor: Lone Star Peterbilt #77 was a Chevrolet (owner Herb Adcox) Davey Allison was in the #95 Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet (Sadler Brothers) Dick Skillen was in the #60 Goff Rcing Chevrolet (Tom Goff) J.D. McDuffie was in the #70 Rumple Furniture Pontiac (J.D. McDuffie) 30. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 11.01.2014 - 6:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution 1: Lap 6-8: #75 engine failure Caution 2: Lap 10-13: #81 spin turn 2 Caution 3: Lap 27-29: debris backstretch Caution 4: Lap 64-69: #5,6,7,29 accident backstretch Caution 5: Lap 94-101: #23 accident turn 1 Caution 6: Lap 104-108: #11 engine failure Caution 7: Lap 118-121: debris Caution 8: Lap 148-153: #7 accident turn 3 Caution 9: Lap 177-178: oil on track 31. @Statscrash posted: 09.10.2018 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the cautions there is no 29 car. Is it supposed to be Yarborough in the 28? 32. Steve posted: 11.27.2019 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is the 28, Yarborough blew an engine, causing the wreck 33. Joshua posted: 12.20.2019 - 1:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Last Top 10 for DiGard Racing 34. Tide1732 posted: 03.21.2020 - 1:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Future Restrictor Plate winner Michael Waltrip makes his first Superspeedway Cup start here. 35. RaceFanX posted: 03.21.2020 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry Tide. While this was Michael Waltrip's first race at Talladega he was a full-time competitor and already came into this race with super speedway Cup experience both earlier in the season and a few sample races he'd run the prior year. 36. GoRC10 posted: 03.21.2020 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @35 When? He didn't race at Talladega or Daytona in '85 and DNQed for the 500 in '86. 37. RaceFanX posted: 03.21.2020 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A superspeedway is any oval track one mile or more in length. Mikey had already run Charlotte, MIS, Darlington, Atlanta, and Rockingham before this one along. It was his first points race on a future plate track but not his first superspeedway outing. 38. Corey posted: 03.21.2020 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @37 A Superspeedway is any speedway 2 miles or more. This still proves Tide wrong as Mikey ran Michigan before this. 39. David posted: 03.21.2020 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @38 RaceFanX has it right: NASCAR considers tracks *1* mile or more in length as superspeedways, aside from road courses. So even Dover and Phoenix are considered superspeedways even though that might seem a bit ludicrous. 40. Corey posted: 03.21.2020 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @39 Then NASCAR is wrong. No one considers places like Phoenix and Loudon as Superspeedway. The drivers just look at them as large short tracks. 41. possum posted: 03.21.2020 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @40 - I agree with you. NASCAR's classification is a leftover from the days when there were a lot more short tracks, it hasn't been relevant for 30 years or more. Generally the teams will call tracks less than a mile short tracks, tracks longer than a mile and shorter than 2 intermediates, and 2 or longer superspeedways. Whether the miles are short tracks or intermediates depends on who you ask (and to some extent which track - Dover's more a intermediate, Loudon a short, etc). 42. Spen posted: 03.22.2020 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even in the mid-late '90's, the broadcasters still counted Dover and Loudon when gushing over Gordon's superspeedway win total. 43. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 05.15.2020 - 12:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN broadcast this race. Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber were in the booth with Dick Berggren and Jack Arute in the pits. 44. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 05.15.2020 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As mention in previous posts, some local yocal stole the pace car before the start of the race and took her for a spin around the track. Alabama Highway Patrol set up a roadblock at the exit of turn 4 to stop the drunken fool. ESPN's Jack Arute mentioned before the start that NASCAR was planning to throw a competition caution around lap 15 due to tire concerns. The caution was not needed; Jody Ridley blew an engine after just 5 laps and on the restart, Chet Fillip and Eddie Bierschwale made contact, sending Fillip spinning into turn 1. These early cautions allowed the field to make early pitstops, giving Goodyear the check tires. The first half of the race was mostly a thrilling three-way battle between Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and Bobby Allison. No one else seemed to be able to run with the three, though many tried. Sterling Marlin was running well early until he shredded a tire going down the backstretch, eventually falling out of the race with a burnt piston. Kyle Petty may have had the fastest car on track, carving his way up to third place at one point. On lap 65, Petty was running inside the top 5 when Cale Yarborough blew an engine right in front of the pack. Petty went low top avoid the spinning Yarborough, clipped the infield grass on the backstretch, and spun up right in front of Geoff Bodine and Trevor Boys. Bodine piled into the side of Petty's Ford, while Boys went low and t-boned Yarborough. All four cars were eliminated, though Bodine and Petty would briefly return later on. Petty would eventually drop out after a second crash late in the event. By halfway, Elliott, Allison, and Earnhardt were pretty much running by themselves. Darrell Waltrip looked as if he might be able to challenge the trio, but blew his motor on lap 104 while chasing the leaders down. Elliott would go on to dominate the second half of the race, as Earnhardt found himself unable to catch up to Elliott. Allison meanwhile was forced to make an extended pitstop to replace his windshield after a beer can thrown by a fan struck it at speed. With about 13 laps to go, Elliott suddenly slowed on track. For the second straight week in a row, his engine had expired. Bobby Allison, who had been drafting with Rick Wilson, inherited the lead briefly before the yellow came out for oil from Elliott's engine. Buddy Baker, having run midfield all day, took the lead on the restart. Baker, Allison, and Earnhardt enjoyed a good scrap for the lead over the last 10 laps, with Allison coming out on top after taking the lead with 6 to go. Allison's victory was his first since Charlotte in 1984. Dale Earnhardt's second-place finish, combined with Darrell Waltrip's engine failure, led to Earnhardt taking control of the Winston Cup points lead, which he wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the year. Buddy Baker's third was his best result of the season, while Bobby Hillin Jr. and Phil Parsons scored career-best results of fourth and fifth respectively. 45. possum posted: 05.15.2020 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @44 - presume you mean "best to that point in their career" for Hillin and Parsons, since Hillin won the fall race that year, and Parsons took the spring race 2 years later. Both then fell victim to the Talladega curse, and never won again in Cup. 46. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 05.16.2020 - 7:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @45 - yes that's what I meant to say. Thanks for catching that. 47. Tarheel posted: 07.28.2020 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you had to pick a specific race to call the changing of the guard from Waltrip to Earnhardt, this is a good candidate. Waltrip was coming off a championship in 85, his third in five years. He started off 86 with seven straight top fives and was leading the points coming into this race. After blown engines the previous race and in this one, Waltrip lost the points lead to Earnhardt. Aside from the single week after his 89 Daytona 500 win, he would never hold a points lead or win a championship again. Earnhardt on the other hand would lead the points for the rest of 86 and all but the first week of 87, and win six of the next nine championships. 48. Seibaru posted: 04.22.2021 - 12:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nascarman finally found what happened to the guy who stole the pace car. His name was Darion - not Darren - Charles Crowder, and he, unfortunately, died in 2016. Every single news source called him Darren, so makes sense it took so long to find him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: