|| *Comments on the 1986 Budweiser 400:* View the most recent comment <#21> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Darrell posted: 06.09.2006 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chad Little's first start. 2. myself posted: 02.15.2007 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Check out Chad Little's car owner for this race! Also nice of the not-so-distinguished senator from Massachusetts to compete in this race....a 23rd place finish! Not bad for a guy that was probably drunk! 3. Wayne posted: 10.30.2008 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm guessing this Ted Kennedy was a West Coast driver, not the U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. 4. Zeppelin posted: 01.21.2009 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Funny, there also was a John Kennedy and a Bob Kennedy who drove NASCAR races as well. 5. Jim posted: 09.10.2009 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Only career start for Richard Lach of Van Nuys,Ca. 6. Matthew Lewis posted: 10.20.2009 - 2:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Willy T. Ribbs was driving a car owned by Henley Gray. But it was a wacky deal with DiGard, Red Roof Inns & (aparently now that I notice the car #) Elmo Langley. I know Gray had agreed to allow DiGard, who were getting close to being on their last legs, to use his car for Ribbs at North Wilkesboro and Riverside. Gray would prepare the car & I'm sure he got money from Ribbs/DiGard/RedRoof for his efforts. I'm assuming they used the car #64 after either a DNQ with DiGard/Gray's regular #10 or either perhaps as an car-owner's points safety net. Langley always campaigned Fords during the 80's so I'm guessing the latter. 7. Anonymous posted: 12.19.2009 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ 41 Marta Leonard 20 St. James Davis 8. Frogger49 posted: 03.06.2010 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) There was a wreck coming to the white flag involving three cars in Turn 9. J.D. McDuffie was one of the three involved. At the same time, Terry Labonte's #44 Piedmont Oldsmobile turned due right in turn 1 (a left hand turn) and apparently "drove right through a concrete wall," thrashing the car in the process (he was ok). The only clip from this race online never showed the wall, but if he punched a hole in that wall, that wasn't the only time that year that the wall was punctured (the infamous Robinson/Bundy/St. James crash also broke it). Richmond was leading the race entering turn 9 when he slowed to avoid a disabled car. This allowed Waltrip to pass exiting the turn and beat Richmond back to the white and yellow to win. 9. Anonymous posted: 07.17.2011 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I find it "funny" that the Budweiser car wins the Budweiser 400 after a crash just HAPPENS to occur on the last lap and cost the deserving winner the race. Just makes me think is all... 10. The Great Dave posted: 08.13.2011 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What is Ray Kelley's Sponsor? 11. Michael Schwartz posted: 07.09.2015 - 2:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ron Esau (16th) and Bill Osborne (35th) are shown as receiving no points for this race. Could this be a mistake, or is it due to some quirk in the NASCAR points system of the time? 12. RaceFanX posted: 05.07.2016 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Darrell Waltrip's fifth and final win at Riverside. The California road course was the only one he ever won at. 13. Guest posted: 09.21.2016 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Michael Schwartz posted: Ron Esau (16th) and Bill Osborne (35th) are shown as receiving no points for this race. Could this be a mistake, or is it due to some quirk in the NASCAR points system of the time? Michael, Those were PE entries, meaning they entered the race after the entry deadline that NASCAR had for that event, so they are allowed to race for purse only and receive no points. 14. RaceFanX posted: 09.21.2016 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Rewatching the end of this race Richmond and DW both only slowed slightly if at all in Turn 9. The wrecked car was against the outside wall and they both went low. Tim went lower and got his right side wheels in the dirt which seemed to cause his car to lose traction afterward as the #25 Chevy slide wide into a mild drift as he came off the last corner, that let Darrell get to the inside with the momentum he needed to win the final drag race to the finish line. TNN televised this race on its "American Sports Cavalcade" program. 15. JSPorts posted: 09.21.2016 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I had always wondered about that. I know there is a post entry rule now, but wasn't sure if it was in place back then. And I had seen the points like that on this site for prior years. Thanks for the clarification. 16. RaceFanX posted: 09.21.2016 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With the rules today Tim would have won automatically with the field being frozen at the moment of caution. You'd never see a race back to the line to take the yellow like this today. 17. JSPorts posted: 09.21.2016 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I wish we still had racing back to the line. It creates such a sense of urgency, and often the caution isn't going to cause a problem for the front-runners. Maybe freeze the field only under certain circumstances. 18. 48johnsonfan posted: 11.04.2017 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The second caution was for debris, according to the broadcast. 19. acerogers58 posted: 11.17.2019 - 5:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) According to newspapers, Labonte actually ended up flipping the car twice, possibly mid air as there doesn't appear to be roof damage. 20. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 05.22.2020 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) TNN broadcast this race. Steve Evans and Brock Yates were in the booth. This event was a companion race with the Winston West Series. It was also just the second race of the year for the Winston West drivers, as NASCAR had shortened their schedule from 12 events in 1985 to just 8 for 1986. Hershel McGriff qualified highest among the West regulars in 13th place. Outside polesitter Geoff Bodine grabbed the lead at the initial start, followed by Darrell Waltrip and Tim Richmond. Richmond blew past Waltrip for second on lap 2 and began to hound teammate Bodine for the lead. Waltrip fell back into the clutches of Terry Labonte, who passed him for third and joined the battle for the lead. On lap 7, Richmond muscled alongside Bodine, going through the dirt in the esses to gain an advantage, and pulled ahead into the lead. Point leader Dale Earnhardt was on the move early, pulling off an incredible pass on Richard Petty around the outside of turn 9 (which was usually impossible to do). Earnhardt quickly caught Neil Bonnett for fifth place, now setting his sights on Waltrip in 4th. Bill Elliott, who had also qualified poorly, moved into the top 10 after a lengthy battle with Rusty Wallace. At the front, the Hendrick Motorsports teammates of Richmond and Bodine began to pull away from the rest of the field, while Waltrip reclaimed third from Labonte. Green-flag pitstops began around lap 20, with Richard Petty the first of the top-10 runners to hit the pits. Richmond was next to make his stop, taking left-side tires and fuel. The #25 briefly stalled as he exited, though Richmond was able to get a push from his crew to help restart. Bodine and Waltrip inherited first and second before pitting, with Waltrip taking two tires compared to Bodine's four tires. Terry Labonte and Harry Gant each took over the lead briefly before pitting, with Richmond cycling back out as the leader. Geoff Bodine's day suddenly came to an abrupt end when he dove into the pits shortly after his pitstop, having blown a piston on his out lap. Meanwhile, Darrell Waltrip began to real in Tim Richmond, the two-tire strategy having given both leaders a massive gap over third-placed Ricky Rudd. But said strategy backfired for Richmond; a flat tire caused him to lose the lead to Waltrip in turn 9. Richmond pitted a lap later for fresh rubber on the right side, kicking off another round of green-flag stops. Second-place runner Ricky Rudd was the next leader to pit, grabbing four new tires and fuel on his stop. Waltrip pitted next, surrendering the lead to Terry Labonte. Meanwhile, Tim Richmond found himself in a predicament: he was running older left-side tires and newer right-side tires due to the two-tire strategy he was on. Not wanting to suffer another flat, crew chief Harry Hyde had planned to bring his driver in for left-side tires under green, which would have cost Richmond even more track position. Thankfully, debris in turn 9 brought out the days first caution, allowing Richmond and the rest of the leaders to pit. Terry Labonte led the field back to green on lap 56, Waltrip close behind in second. Richmond restarted fourth but was second after just two laps, charging past Harry Gant and Waltrip. As Richmond hunted down Labonte for the lead, there was more action further back; Ricky Rudd began to challenge Harry Gant for fourth, while Rusty Wallace, despite having a leaking transmission, forced his way past Dale Earnhardt for seventh and then dove past Richard Petty for sixth. The second yellow flag of the day came out on lap 71 after Dave Marcis looped it in the esses, stalling the car in the process. Spotting the caution before anyone else, Darrell Waltrip dove into the pits, taking tires and fuel as well as a rear chassis adjustment. Labonte and Richmond hit the pits the next lap, as they had already passed the start-finish line when the yellow came out. Both driver's pits were right next to each other, leading to a good old-fashioned pit-crew battle. Harry Hyde's crew managed to get Richmond out ahead of Labonte, Texas Terry angrily spinning his wheels as he pulled out behind the #25. Waltrip's keen eye had ended up paying off, as his quick pitstop had placed him in the lead. Waltrip peeled away on the restart, while Richmond, having restarted sixth, began cleaving his way through the field. Richmond sliced past Richard Petty and Harry Gant for fifth and fourth, then pulled past Rusty Wallace for third. Labonte wasn't having as much luck, as he found himself stuck behind the slower car of Dale Earnhardt. Richmond's tear through the field continued as he pushed past Ricky Rudd for second. Suddenly, Waltrip's rearview mirror was filled with Richmond's front bumper, as the #25 launched past with 14 laps to go. Waltrip kept close to Richmond as the laps wound down, the #25 just not able to pull away like he wanted to. With two laps to go, Richmond had about a four car-length advantage over the #11. Further back, two completely separate incidents occurred that changed the entire outcome of the race. Entering turn 1, Terry Labonte suddenly lost control and slammed into the concrete barrier separating pit road from the track. The barrier easily broke, with Labonte's car coming to a rest at the pit exit. At the same time, Harry Gant collided with the lapped car of J.D. McDuffie in turn 9. McDuffie slid through the infield dirt, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that obscured the racetrack. Michael Waltrip, blinded by the dust, drove straight into the side of Gant's stricken Chevy. As the leaders came down the backstretch, neither was aware of the calamity in turn 9. Entering the final turn, both drivers slowed as they spotted the wrecked cars. Richmond braked hard, clipping the infield grass and drifting high on the track. Spotting an opportunity, Waltrip pounced, cutting to Richmond's inside and drag-racing Richmond back to the yellow and white flag. In a photo finish, Waltrip claimed the lead at the stripe and took the checkered flag a lap later for his first win of the 1986 season. 21. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 05.22.2020 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution #1 was for debris in turn 9 Caution #2 was for #71 crash in the esses ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: