|| *Comments on the 1986 Winston Western 500:* View the most recent comment <#18> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. CanucksAndNASCAR Fan posted: 05.15.2006 - 4:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of note, this was Darrell Waltrip's last race with Junior Johnson. He would be racing for Rick Hendrick the following season. It was also Tim Richmond's last race for sometime because he was admitted into the hospital with what was assumed to be double pneumonia. Turned out to be AIDS. He came back anyway and won a couple of more races before disappering after the August 1987 Michigan race. He died two years later in 1989. 2. Thomas posted: 08.31.2006 - 5:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Al Unser's last NASCAR start. 3. myself posted: 02.16.2007 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who uttered these famous words following the 86' season: "I feel like I'm getting off of a mule & getting onto a thoroughbred!" The famous rebuttal to that statement was: "It only ran like a mule cause' a jackass was driving it!" Who said these 2 statements?! 4. Bill posted: 03.16.2007 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson. 5. myself posted: 05.16.2007 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ding!Ding!Ding!Ding!Ding! Bill is the winner! 6. Anonymous posted: 10.30.2007 - 1:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I heard those before. 7. Petty43 posted: 12.25.2007 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) what was unser doing in this race anyway he had not run a cup event in like 15 years 8. Steve.M. posted: 02.03.2008 - 7:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Last time that Riverside would close out a Cup season From 1987-2000 It would be Atlanta 9. Steve.M. posted: 05.28.2008 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Intro = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbd0uI29q0 Start = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=uUEouZPmr_c Robinson Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=c2T2xch36sM Kennedy Spin/Wilson Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-uj4_KZwU Shepherd/Gant Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=LPOcbDMRkkg Finish = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=h2ukPLX7iIw Post Race = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=fYp7wuNl3Wc 10. Anonymous posted: 12.19.2009 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ 35 Jimmy Insolo 45 Randy Becker 42 Kevin Terris 72 Brad Tidrick 22 St. James Davis 74 Ray Kelly 17 Harry Goularte 11. Billy Kingsley posted: 12.15.2011 - 2:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) St. James Davis ran #2. Harry Goularte was #14 17 Eddie Bierchwale 24 Ray Kelley 35 Pat Mintey 45 Bob Kennedy 63 Jocko Maggiacomo 72 Brad Tidrick 93 Ron Rainwater 94 John Soares This is the DNQ list based on what drivers/cars appear on the entry list and are not in the race. 12. 23andJoe posted: 02.26.2014 - 1:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pat Mintey was in the #35W #2 sponsor: Lifeline Buick/Reynolds Buick Buick #14 sponsor: Omniprise Buick #24 sponsor: L&L Conrod/Leonhardt Racing Engines Pontiac #35W sponsor: Boulevard Automotive Chevrolet #45 sponosr: Erlich Motors/R.J. Theda Co. Chevrolet #63 make: Buick #72 sponsor: Lenards Automotive Buick #93 sponsor: Al Rainwater Insurance Chevrolet #94 sponsor: R.P.M. Co/J&J Enterprises Ford 13. kup posted: 11.15.2017 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1986 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1509 _ Dale Earnhardt 11164 / 7.4 1063 _ Tim Richmond 10526 / 9.9 995 _ Darrell Waltrip 9946 / 10.0 854 _ Bill Elliott 10591 / 12.4 820 _ Rusty Wallace 10416 / 12.7 803 _ Ricky Rudd 10193 / 12.7 730 _ Bobby Allison 9928 / 13.6 699 _ Kyle Petty 10338 / 14.8 674 _ Bobby Hillin Jr. 9978 / 14.8 608 _ Geoffrey Bodine 9359 / 15.4 603 _ Terry Labonte 9588 / 15.9 & TOTAL: UPS! 38 years 1949-1986: Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Bobby Allison 3 in: '81, '82, '83. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Dale Earnhardt 2 in: '80, '86. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. Terry Labonte 1 in: '84. Darrell Waltrip 1 in: '85. 14. RaceFanX posted: 05.05.2018 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt finishes runner-up at Riverside for the third time in his career. Old Ironhead never broke through to win at the Southern California road course but he came close several times. 15. nohbody posted: 10.05.2019 - 9:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DW was never as competitive ever again because he left Junior Johnson and went to Hendrick. He only had one year with them that was somewhat comparable to his time with Junior, 1989. 16. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 07.29.2020 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TBS broadcast this race. Ken Squier and Phil Parsons were in the booth with Chris Economaki and Jerry Garrett in the pits. Dave Despain was in the STP Pit Communication Center. This was a combination race with the Winston West Series. 17. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 07.30.2020 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cautions: 1-#3, 4 accident turn 3 (Lap 28-30) 2-#33, 73, 75 accident turn 4 (Lap 32-36) 3-#78 spun turn 6 (Lap 48-51) 4-#23 spun turn 9 (Lap 70-73) 5-#64 crash turn 9 (Lap 94-97) 6-#78 stalled turn 9 (Lap 105-107) 7-#50 fire backstretch (Lap 111-113) 18. NewGuyOnTheBlock posted: 07.31.2020 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tim Richmond scored his seventh win of the 1986 season with another steller road course performance. Richmond led 22 laps throughout the afternoon, taking the lead from Dale Earnhardt with 11 laps to go in a steller three-wide pass on him and Darrell Waltrip. Unknown at the time, this would be Richmond's final start until the 1987 All-Star race, as his battle with HIV/AIDS would begin to cross over into his racing life. Having been crowned champion two weeks earlier at Atlanta, Dale Earnhardt came into this race with no pressure and left with a solid top-5 finish in second. Earnhardt recovered from an early crash with Rick Wilson to lead a lap and end his season on a high note. Geoff Bodine was yet again the fastest car throughout the day, leading a race-high 55 laps. But, as had happened so many times that year, he would not see the checkered flag first. Bodine faded in the closing laps, falling to third at the finish. Darrell Waltrip came into this race needing a top-5 finish to clinch second in points. He would do just that, leading 19 laps and finishing fourth in his final start for Junior Johnson's team. Joe Ruttman ran with the leaders throughout the day, finishing in fifth for his 7th top-10 finish in the final 8 races of the year. His hot streak to close the season would not be enough to secure a ride for 1987, as Morgan Shepherd was scheduled to replace Ruttman in the Quaker State Buick. Bobby Hillin Jr. finished a solid sixth, his best result on a road course in 1986. Hillin's solid performance throughout the season helped him to net a top-10 points finish, the only time in his career he would do so. Bobby Allison finally managed to end his bad luck streak, finishing in seventh. After having sat in the top-5 in points for most of the season, Allison collapsed late, falling to seventh in points. Rusty Wallace showed signs of the great road racer he would become in the future as he ran inside the top-10 throughout the afternoon, netting an eighth-place finish. Neil Bonnett was running very well during the first half of the race, leading 12 laps and running within the top-5. But a poor pit strategy would end up trapping Bonnett a lap down, where he would stay for the rest of the afternoon, coming home in ninth. Terry Labonte ended his rough 1986 campaign with a tenth-place run, 1 lap off the pace. Labonte had struggled all season with Hagan Racing due to the team's switch to Oldsmobile. His top-10 run here was the last time he would start a race for the team until 1991, as Labonte moved to Junior Johnson's team for 1987. Ken Schrader rallied from a poor qualifying effort to finish in eleventh, 1 lap down. Dave Marcis shocked everyone with a solid run in the top-10 throughout the race, fading late to finish 2 laps down in twelfth. Mark Martin ran well throughout the afternoon despite mechanical woes, finishing 2 laps down in thirteenth. Winston West regular Bill Schmitt survived two spins and a run-in with the wall to finish 3 laps down in fourteenth, highest of the West Coast drivers. Kyle Petty ended his year in relative disappointment, as he was never a factor during the race, finishing 3 laps down in fifteenth. Winston West regular Glen Steurer followed up his solid spring race finish with another good run, coming home 3 laps down in sixteenth. Jimmy Means kept his car out of trouble to finish 3 laps down in seventeenth, the highest of the independents. Buddy Arrington had a couple of off-track excursions, yet still came away with a top-20 finish as he placed eighteenth, 3 laps down. Ricky Rudd led 2 laps early but was yet again beset by mechanical gremlins. He would cross the line 4 laps down in nineteenth. Al Unser's final career start in Winston Cup saw the open-wheel veteran run mid-pack for most of the race for the Dingman Brothers in the second-ever race for the team. Unser was taken out late by an engine failure that caused his car to catch on fire after 110 laps. Richard Petty had to battle his way through the field multiple times after he was involved in several crashes with other drivers. Despite heavy damage to the front-end of his Pontiac, Petty was still running top-10 when his engine expired after 108 laps. Ruben Garcia seemed to be all over the place, going off course on several occasions as well as spinning in front of a pack of cars at one point. Garcia would manage to make it to the finish, 11 laps off the pace in twenty-second. A solid run for Bill Elliott was ruined when his engine blew after 102 laps. Elliott had led 7 laps early and seemed to be en route to a top-5 finish before he retired. Alan Kulwicki had already clinched ROTY honors entering this race. Probably for the best, as he had one of his worst runs of the year. Kulwicki spun early, then spent much of the race in the pits with mechanical problems. He would come home in twenty-fourth, 18 laps down. Three-time Winston West champion Jim Robinson crashed twice during the race, eventually dropping out with a blown motor after 100 laps. Although Hershel McGriff retired after 97 laps with a blown engine, he still clinched the 1986 Winston West championship thanks to the issues that his title rivals had suffered. Benny Parsons ran as high as second before transmission issues put him out after 92 laps. This was the final start for Parsons at Jackson Bros. Motorsports, as he would be leaving the team for Hendrick Motorsports in 1987 (Although originally he had planned to run part-time for the Jackson Brothers before Rick Hendrick gave him a call). Rick McCray was hired for a one-off drive for Elmo Langley's team. McCray was involved in a few spins, eventually slamming into the turn 9 wall on lap 94. Buddy Baker was never a factor, dropping out with a broken shifter after 89 laps. Ted Kennedy dropped out with transmission issues after 83 laps. Kennedy had an early spin that ended up causing a crash between Dale Earnhardt and Rick Wilson. Michael Waltrip stranded his car in the turn 9 dirt after blowing an engine and spinning on his own oil, dropping out after 82 laps. Jim Bown ran very well in the opening laps before a blown transmission knocked him out after 81 laps. 1986 Southwest Tour champion Ron Esau took over the reins of James Hylton's #48 for this race. While Esau may have excelled in the June event, his fall race ended with a broken rear end after just 76 laps. Winston West rookie Terry Petris entered this race with a chance at the Winston West title. A broken water pump would end his chances of victory after 61 laps. Chad Little had a legit shot at the Winston West title, but mechanical woes at the start ended his race before it even began. To add insult to injury, Little suffered terminal engine failure after 53 laps of him struggling to keep on track. George Follmer's second start of the year was much like the same: Off the pace and in the way. Follmer retired from the event after his suspension snapped on lap 42. Harry Gant ended his 1986 season winless, as he was collected in an early crash on lap 32. Gant suffered terminal damage to the rear of his car, forcing him to retire from the event. For the first time since 1981, Gant would not visit victory lane. Morgan Shepherd led a lap early under caution but would finish his race just a few laps later. Driving through a cloud of dust kicked up by Geoff Bodine's car, Shepherd slammed into the rear of Harry Gant's car, knocking him out of the running. Shepherd would be sent to the hospital with non-serious neck injuries due to the crash. 64-year-old Jim Fitzgerald, a legend from the SCCA ranks, entered this race for Bobby Wawak's team as the oldest debut racer in NASCAR history. Fitzgerald would retire after 28 laps with a burnt clutch. Rick Wilson was collected in an early crash when, while trying to avoid the stalled car of Ted Kennedy, he drove into the side of Dale Earnhardt, ending his race before it really began. Derrike Cope dropped out early with terminal engine problems after 20 laps. Cope wouldn't be on the sidelines forever, as he took over Bill Schmitt's car around halfway. John Krebs may have start-and-parked, as he dropped out of the race after just 17 laps when his oil temperature got too high. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: