|| *Comments on the 1988 Pontiac Excitement 400:* View the most recent comment <#38> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. MegaRacer posted: 03.19.2005 - 9:08 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The last race on the old half mile configuration. 2. Anonymous posted: 09.24.2005 - 3:01 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Final Top 5 finish for Richard Petty. 3. Matt posted: 01.03.2006 - 3:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ricky Rudd's team actually filed a protest over the result of the race claiming that Neil Bonnett was at the tail end of the lead lap instead of leading but NASCAR ruled in favor of Bonnett. Pole winner Morgan Shepherd's fuel was tested by NASCAR for possible additives but luckily for the Tom Winkle team nothing was found as it would have been a lengthy suspension for the team as well as a loss of the result and pole. Notable DNQ's: Rick Wilson and Ken Schrader. Schrader who won the pole at Daytona one week before got into the race by buying his way into the driver's seat of Buddy Arrington's car. 4. Bufford posted: 09.18.2006 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) First Winston Cup win for Hoosier Tire. 5. Frogger49 posted: 10.26.2006 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) At the time, owner points could not be passed to a different number like they can be today. This, along with a slipping clutch in qualifying, is why Schrader failed to qualify the #25 (it only had a couple races from 1987 on it, as opposed to the #35, which ran the full season in 1987), or so says Schrader in his book, "Gotta Race!" 6. Steve posted: 11.23.2006 - 9:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) just one week after the huge flip for petty gets a top 5 way to go 7. FHgrad99 posted: 09.13.2007 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Richard Petty's last top 5 finish. 8. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2008 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lennie Pond returns to NASCAR after an absence of nearly 2 and half years 9. Neal posted: 03.03.2008 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The race was run on a bitterly cold day. A cold track and cold tires lead to several early cautions due to wrecks. 10. stricklinfan82 posted: 04.18.2008 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually I believe Rick Hendrick could have 'swapped points' and given the #35's 1987 points to the #25 team for the start of the 1988 season but chose not to for financial reasons. In lieu of Tim Richmond's off-season health issues before 1987, Rick ran two Folgers cars in 1987 - one full-time #35 for Benny Parsons (0 wins, top 20 in points) and one #25 for Richmond that ran part-time after he came back from his illness (2 wins, very low in points). When they shrunk bank to one Folgers team in 1988, they chose to take the #25's points since Richmond's 2 wins in 1987 put that team on the 1988 Winner's Circle program that promised several more thousands of dollars in appearance money. They bit the bullet for the lack of '87 owner's points and hoped Schrader could qualify for the first 2 races on speed (those were the only 2 races that used 1987 points for provisionals), which obviously backfired big-time. 11. stricklinfan82 posted: 04.19.2008 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One other footnote to Ken Schrader and the #25 Folgers team not qualifying for the race.... After qualifying the official starting lineup NASCAR released gave the provisional starting spots to the #25 and #67 teams based on 1987 owner's points. Only after Roger Hamby (owner of the #22 car that was #12 in '87) protested did NASCAR admit they made "a mistake" and bumped Schrader out of the field. (Dale Jarrett started last but was not a provisional starter, back then when drivers were forced to start at the rear for backup cars and such the adjustments were reflected in the starting lineup as well) Upon further research Rick Hendrick did swap owner's points on the 25 and 35 cars before the 1987 season, since Benny's #35 team was on the Winner's Circle program throughout '87 based on Richmond's 6 wins in the #25 car in 1986. So it certainly reasons that Rick Hendrick could have swapped again before '88 but chose not to because the 1987 #25 team's points put the 1988 #25 team on the 1988 Winner's Circle Program. 12. Steve.M. posted: 05.28.2008 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Intro = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-1FIkFafiX0 Starting Lineup = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=eVB4DBB3kZY Start/1st & 2nd Yellow = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=-wLysMtpG-k Means Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=cX83ZkpGehI K.Petty Spin = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=8anNUUR0eB4 L.Speed Spin = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=98IpnGLvLW4 P.Parsons Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=yguUIv3vuY8 Multi Car Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=fUx3ybrHGyg B.Bodine Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=RKBz32b2agk G.Bodine Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=RgtXwGTqj6k K.Bouchard Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=b07O9rJcE2I D.Cope Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=O86PSzUkHaY Gant Spin = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=HsY0n2Lkh7o Gant Spin 2 = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=bWZtTJMUJEY Hillin Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=e2uGl8BkTD4 Jarrett Crash = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=PexRqW7yzVo Finish = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7HNmJbhsCOU Post Race 1 = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=dGpGVRF7YNU Post Race 2 = http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=dGpGVRF7YNU 13. 18fan posted: 03.18.2009 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jerry Punch was in the middle of breaking the story that the Kenny Bernstein team was going to formally file a protest when Hillin cut a tire and sent Bonnett into the wall. Petty was fast enough to get third, but couldn't catch Rudd and Bonnett. 14. Doc posted: 09.20.2010 - 2:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the last time a car started that was owned by Roger Hamby. Hamby gave Sterling Marlin his first big break in 1983 to start a full schedule. Hamby attempted a race later that year, I believe but DNQ. 15. Anonymous posted: 03.26.2011 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Only after Roger Hamby (owner of the #22 car that was #12 in '87) protested did NASCAR admit they made "a mistake" and bumped Schrader out of the field." This just proves that NASCAR favors Hendrick! Oh, wait... 16. Steve posted: 01.12.2013 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This will probably be the last Cup race in history to have ZERO drivers from California in the field. Rookie Ernie Irvan failed to qualify for this event, and in the only race he missed between this and his Michigan crash in 1994 (1988 Charlotte 500) Upland, CA's Joe Ruttman was in the field, and by 1994 Jeff Gordon, who has never missed a race, had already debuted. 17. Jimy posted: 10.08.2013 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) didn't they race in Australia after this ?? 18. Nascarman posted: 10.15.2013 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes they raced in Australia the next week. Bonnett won that also. 19. Steve posted: 12.04.2013 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add to my comment on California drivers, in 2014 there will be more full-time Sprint Cup drivers from the state of California than from all Southern States COMBINED. The times, they are a'changin. California: Allmendinger, Gilliland, Gordon, Harvick, Johnson, Larson (R), Mears, Whitt (R), & Wise. Southeast: FL-Almirola, NC-Dillon (R), NC-Earnhardt Jr, VA-Hamlin, FL-Nemechek, GA-Ragan, MS-Stenhouse Jr, & NC-Vickers. 20. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 05.20.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution 1: #31 spin turn 3 Caution 2: #28 accident turn 2 Caution 3: #10 accident turn 2 Caution 4: #68 accident turn 1 Caution 5: #8 accident turn 4 Caution 6: #52 accident turn 1 Caution 7: #6,15,55 accident turn 1 Caution 8: #33 accident turn 4 Caution 9: #83 spin turn 4 Caution 10: #55 accident turn 1 Caution 11: #21 spin turn 2 Caution 12: #5 accident turn 1 Caution 13: #33 accident turns 3&4 Caution 14: #29 accident turn 1 21. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 09.29.2014 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor of the #25 was Folger's Coffee. Owner was Rick Hendrick and car was Chevy Crew Chief: Dennis Conner Sponsor of the #4 was Kodak Film. Owner Larry McClure and car was a Oldsmobile Crew Chief: Tony Glover Dave Pletcher drove a #03 owned by J.C. Weaver. Sponsor was Wild Turkey Music and car was a Ford Larry Moyer drove a #07 owned by John Stark. Car was a Pontiac 22. schraderfan posted: 01.15.2015 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #19 Steve - not if you count Bakersfield as part of the south. It is more part of the south than Florida too. 23. Anthony Nagle posted: 12.11.2015 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To Matt, whose comment was written nearly 10 years ago, the irony is overwhelming: The 26 car complains that the eventual race winner should have been on the tail end of the lead lap. Fast forward four years later to North Wilkesboro when the 26 was picked up as the leader when everyone else thought that car was on the tail end of the lead lap. 24. Rob posted: 05.16.2017 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wouldn't that be two years later? 25. RaceFanX posted: 05.18.2017 - 10:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looking back on this race its easy to see why Richmond was due for its big rebuild. This race visually almost looked like an ARCA event with big, modern stock cars on a track that looked like it hadn't changed in 15 years. 26. RaceFanX posted: 05.18.2017 - 10:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some of the pace laps for this race were very at very high speed for this race, due to the cold temperatures NASCAR had the teams run much faster pace laps than normal to heat their engines up before the race started. The pace car for this race was just a Pontiac Grand Prix and it was hauling. Nice qualifying run by Morgan Shepherd, putting the #97 Buick from Tom Winkle's underdog team on the pole. This was the second of the three races they ran together and the only time any of Winkle's cars qualified better than ninth. Shepherd won the pole by having his car given the exact same set up he had when he won a pole at this track back in 1981 when he drove for Cliff Stewart's team. Shepherd led the first lap of the race but got passed on the second when Dale Earnhardt disregarded the "gentlemen's agreement" and passed him racing back to the yellow after Brad Teague's early spin. Shepherd never regained the lead. Ken Squire referred to Dale Earnhardt as "Darth Vader" just before the start of this one in reference to his new black-and-silver car, this was only the second points race for the #3 Chevy Monte Carlo with GM Goodwrench's iconic colors. It's a shame that didn't catch on but the Man in Black would prove more enduring. 27. RaceFanX posted: 05.18.2017 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Demolition of the old Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway began IMMEDIATELY after this race. Construction equipment was parked alongside the backstretch's outside wall throughout the race and less than ten minutes after the final checkered flag fell the first bulldozer pulled out into turn 4 and began plowing up the pavement. After finishing third Richard Petty fittingly hoped into a bulldozer, fittingly decorated with a STP logo on the grill, and helped plow up some of the track all three generations of racing Pettys to this point had recorded victories. 28. Anonymous posted: 05.27.2017 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So nobody is gonna mention the fact Richard Petty finished third with a broke ankle from his crash the previous race at Daytona..ok I guess I'll have to do it 29. Matthew Lewis posted: 06.07.2017 - 7:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Doc, this was not Roger Hamby'sast race. Steve Moore qualified Hamby's #22 Hesco Exhaust Chevy at Darlington a few weeks later for his final race. Moore entered the Rookie of the Year competition for 1988 and was planning a (nearly) full season with Hamby before the team closed up due to financial reasons. 30. Aussie fan x posted: 01.10.2018 - 7:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for #5 crash on lap 267 approx was extended because after pit stop Brett Bodine of #15 had both left side tyres fall off the car Lug nuts were not tightened. He got stuck on the inside of turns 1&2 31. Anonymous posted: 09.20.2019 - 12:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sponsor Update: #67 Ken Schrader - Pannill Knitting / Folger's Coffee As part of Schrader buying Arrington's ride, he also got Folger's sponsorship on the side of his car. 32. Ryan posted: 10.06.2019 - 10:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @26 Squier also referred to him as that at the Daytona 500 earlier that year. I liked it just as good as the Man in Black, The Intimidator, Ironhead, or Mr. Restrictor Plate (although he hated restrictor plate racing). 33. SweetRich posted: 02.15.2020 - 10:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Ken Squier And Johnny Hayes. The Pit Road Reporters Were Chris Economaki And Mark Allen. Anchoring The STP Pit Communication Center Was Dave Despain. 34. AwesomeBillfan91194921 posted: 03.30.2020 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bob Varsha was part of the broadcast as well. 35. rateus posted: 04.26.2020 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone know if Buddy Arrington was driving the #67 himself or if someone else was driving for him? Rick Jeffrey was in the car for the next race so there's no guarantee that Buddy himself was at the wheel. Either way it should be listed on the site as a driver change. 36. Anonymous posted: 05.27.2020 - 7:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Schrader's sponsor should be Pannill Sweatshirts instead of Knitting. 37. SweetRich posted: 07.06.2020 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first race for Dale Jarrett competing in the #29 Hardee's Oldsmobile for owner Cale Yarborough. 38. rateus posted: 02.05.2021 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To answer my own question from a year ago, starting line-up shows Buddy Arrington himself at the wheel of the #67. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: