|| *Comments on the 1988 Coca-Cola 600:* View the most recent comment <#41> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Chicago posted: 05.25.2005 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rick Wilson had the car to beat, but tire issues that plagued the field ended his day in an exciting 600 from Charlotte. 2. Matt posted: 01.24.2006 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt was penalized five laps by NASCAR for intentionally spinning Geoff Bodine which triggered a four car wreck on lap 58 which ended the day of Cale Yarborough, Jim Sauter, and Derrike Cope as well as ending any shot that Bodine had at winning. Earnhardt and Bodine had tangled twice in the previous day's Busch Series race. 3. Darrell posted: 06.28.2006 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wasn't Harry Gant injured in this race? 4. Thomas posted: 08.30.2006 - 6:59 am Rate this comment: (1) (4) Typical Earnhardt racing. I'm just glad NASCAR decided to take appropriate action this time. I don't remember if Harry Gant was injured, but I do believe that Buddy Baker had a blood clot on his brain for a while (or something like that) from injuries sustained when he blew a tire and crashed hard on lap 243. 5. CBCMikeyfan posted: 01.12.2007 - 3:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harry Gant was indeed injured. He broke his leg in a hard crash. 6. myself posted: 02.13.2007 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Cale's last attempt at claiming the only jewel he was unable to attain....the World 600! 7. myself posted: 05.16.2007 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Waltrip's first "big" win for Hendrick. 8. Matt posted: 05.24.2007 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Alexander relief drove for Ricky Rudd in this race because Rudd tore ligaments in his left knee in a crash during The Winston. Alexander brought the car home in 7th place. Buddy Baker's crash was actually caused by Eddie Bierschwale's car losing an engine in turn 1 causing Baker, Bierschwale, Speed, Ruttman, and Bobby Allison to pile up. 9. Neal posted: 06.30.2007 - 5:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The race also featured Dave Marcis launching his car into the turn 3 wall. Sterling Marlin hit the wall off turn 2 and bent the front end. Going into 3 Marlin couldn't steer the car. Marcis drove right over the side of him and his car jumped off the ground and nailed the outside wall. The impact was so hard bent rollcage bars were visible in the cockpit when TBS interviewed Dave after the crash. 10. Mark O. posted: 12.16.2007 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A clip of the Earnhardt/Bodine spill can be found http://youtube.com/watch?v=dP-6OyzjU4c. I remember seeing a clip of the Marcis/Marlin wreck in a video released around 1991 that Ken Squier narrated. 11. Taylor posted: 04.30.2008 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Noffsinger's only lap led ever. 12. Clayton posted: 05.07.2008 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) Rick Wilson had the car to beat but a blown tire ended his chance at his only Cup win! and thank you NASCAR for finally noticing that Dale Sr drove like a complete ass! 5 lap penalty was very apporiate! loll! 13. Matthew posted: 08.22.2008 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (7) (8) Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! You all neglect to mention that Phil Parsons took Earnhardt and Bodine three-wide down the back straighaway. But that's okay, it was always nice to see Geoff Bowhine in the wall. 14. Mark O. posted: 09.14.2008 - 6:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clayton obviously didn't watch the Firecracker 400 later that year. 15. Neal posted: 05.06.2009 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bodine and Earnhardt had issues in the 300 miler the day before. Earnhardt wrecked Bodine, and Geoff came back on the track and tried to wreck Earnhardt. It all spilled over into the 600 and culminated with NASCAR penalizing Earnhardt 5 laps after he spun Bodine. 16. jr88fan posted: 08.25.2009 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! You all neglect to mention that Phil Parsons took Earnhardt and Bodine three-wide down the back straighaway. But that's okay, it was always nice to see Geoff Bowhine in the wall. Matthew | 08.22.08 - 2:19 pm stop being a baby!! 17. Doc posted: 04.01.2010 - 3:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Saw this race on ESPN Classic... It was one of only I think a couple of races that Rick Wilson was competitive and had a chance to win. This was certainly his best car of his career. 18. Stadler And Waldorf posted: 09.03.2010 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bud Moore also got a broken leg out of this race when his driver, Brett Bodine ran over Bud in a pit stop. 19. myself posted: 01.26.2012 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 7. Doc posted: 04.01.10 - 3:17 am Saw this race on ESPN Classic... It was one of only I think a couple of races that Rick Wilson was competitive and had a chance to win. This was certainly his best car of his career. You must not be familiar with the 1988 Firecracker 400 20. myself posted: 01.26.2012 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18. Stadler And Waldorf posted: 09.03.10 - 1:28 am Bud Moore also got a broken leg out of this race when his driver, Brett Bodine ran over Bud in a pit stop. How Brett Bodine kept a ride all those years is beyond me. 21. Smiff_2 posted: 07.26.2013 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a link to the Marcis/Marlin crash. Marcis' car takes an INSANE hit to the outside wall (on two wheels, no less) at a terrible angle, almost pancaking the passenger's side of the roof. 22. Smiff_2 posted: 07.26.2013 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiqtUjnbiuk&list=WLC625467C46673BDB 23. Walleyewhacker posted: 02.16.2014 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (4) (9) Where is Ryan trying to defend Earnhardt? Earnhardt was not only an onery SOB on the track, but he was also a vindictive and dirty driver who was a danger to his fellow drivers. He should have been suspended for at least 1 if not more Cup events. If I ever write a Hall of Shame book on drivers, Earnhardt will have the longest chapter. 24. Flywheel89 posted: 03.31.2016 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPad4tR4Zbw Someone finally posted the Bodine/Earnhardt shenanigans on YouTube. 25. Josh posted: 10.04.2016 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmy Means avoids the carnage and gets a 12th place finish. Greg Sacks finishes in the Top 10 in a mostly plain blood red Pontiac. 26. Matthew Lewis posted: 01.12.2017 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The spring Dega race *could* have been the last race that Dale Jarrett drove for Hoss Ellington in 1988. The team announced that they may cease operations due to lack of sponsorship prior to that event. Glenn Doyle of Raven Boats purchased a car from Ellington for Jarrett to drive in the next event he was due to drive for Hoss (Charlotte) in case the team folded. This can be heard at the 1:58.00 mark of the satellite feed broadcast of the 1988 Winston 500 at Talladega. 27. SK posted: 01.16.2017 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Came across a gnarly photo of the aftermath of Dave Marcis' wreck today, will share it here in case anyone is interested. http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/94177277 28. Jeff Wagoner (ARCA Results Archive) posted: 02.07.2017 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cautions: 1: competition 2: #67 crash, Turn 4 3: #5,#29,#68,#89 crash Turns 3/4 4: #6 engine 5: #75 crash, Turn 2 6: Debris 7: #44, #71, Crash, Turn 3 8: #98 Crash, Turn 2 9: #33 Crash, Turn 2 10: #2,#23,#31,#83,#88, Crash, Turns 1/2 11: #9 Crash, Turn 4 12: #4 Crash, Turn 2 13: #30 Spin, Turn 4 29. nascarman posted: 02.07.2017 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) This race was plagued by tire problems. Goodyear brought too soft of a rubber compound and withdrew after practice. Dave Marcis used old Goodyears he had and was the only driver to use the brand. As @28 pointed out, NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 20, perhaps one of the first of the modern era. Hoosiers had tire problems too. In tire-related accidents, Neil Bonnett cracked ribs, Rick Wilson broke a shoulder blade, and Harry Gant broke his leg. 30. JSPorts posted: 02.07.2017 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder how the sport would be different if we had different tire manufacturers today. With the safer cars, I would be willing to see what might happen, but the manufacturers would have to adhere to some guidelines. 31. Steve posted: 11.05.2017 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) The Earnhardt penalty (and the biased TBS coverage) was BS. Dale had Phil Parsons passing him on the inside, so he was held for 5 laps because Geoff Bodine can't see. The more classic Winston Cup races I see, the more I see Bo-whine run someone over. He didn't have haters just because of being a Northerner. 32. Guest posted: 04.03.2018 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) One of the most BS penalties I've ever seen. 5 laps for Earnhardt for nothing, Bodine crowded him and Earnhardt has Parsons on his inside. There was nothing intentional about that wreck. Anytime you go three wide into the corner at Charlotte you risk it. 33. Gray Gaulding's Distant Cousin posted: 05.23.2018 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larry Pearson ran the #16 Chattanooga Chew Chevrolet 34. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.10.2018 - 5:01 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I've been going back and watching a lot of these races from when i was too young to remember them. They do an interview with Terry Labonte at the start of this race. Comparing it to any interview in the 1987 season, even less than a year before this race, Terry Labonte went from looking like a 25 year old to a Tom Selleck mustache having gray headed 45 year old in a matter of months. The good news for him is that i think he stopped his rapid aging for a while after this. 35. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.10.2018 - 5:46 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) That wreck wasn't even Phil Parson's fault for taking them 3 wide. Watch the replay. They even show it in slow motion. This track has dotted lines like a highway, so there is no mistaking which direction the cars are moving in. Geoff Bodine moved down and Earnhardt didn't move. No doubt about it, Bodine was still hot and tried to wreck Earnhardt and wrecked himself like he did several times in the past. They actually did a segment about Bodine putting a hex on Earnhardt before this race. What kind of a crazy driver does that? Good ole Bodine does. 36. Jimnsimforever posted: 12.10.2018 - 6:00 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) And when TBS realizes this, they never show that replay again and instead keep showing a replay from Phil Parsons in car camera looking back, after he has already cleared them and way after the incident started. Hilarious at what lengths people will go to prove a false stereotype and fall in line with what Nascar decides so they will be happy with your coverage of them for future television rights consideration. Dale Earnhardt never wrecked a single person on purpose his entire career that i've seen so far looking back at it. Just a bunch of people that couldn't hang with his awesomeness as a driver. 37. GoPM21 posted: 01.13.2019 - 7:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) @36 Back then, the tracks made the deals with TV, not NASCAR. Sorry to bust your conspiracy theory. Furthermore, he's wrecked many people on purpose. '86 Richmond comes to mind, as does '95 and '99(?) Bristol. Per that same coverage 36 is referring to, Ken Bouchard was sent to the rear of the field for missing the driver's meeting, so that can probably be added to the race data. 38. SweetRich posted: 02.15.2020 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Ken Squier And Johnny Hayes. The Pit Road Reporters Were Mike Joy And Bob Varsha. Anchoring The STP Pit Communication Center Was Dave Despain. 39. Andrew posted: 09.24.2020 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brett Bodine nearly won this race but the 15 car broke a valve spring late in the race while he was leading. 40. Ryan posted: 10.13.2020 - 1:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) @31 @32 @34 @35 I was at this race and needless to say I along with all the Earnhardt fans was pissed about the 5 lap "penalty box". Many of the fans left early because of it. We were in the GM section at the track and after they announced the penalty I found out what it meant for people to lose their religion. Looking back on it Dave Despain was with TBS and he was so anti-Earnhardt during the race and about the contact that it was down right ridiculous how biased he was. He was still pissed about Richmond in '86. As mentioned Earnhardt stayed within the dotted lines on the backstretch and Jethro Bodine did not. Many Earnhardt fans vowed not to go back to Charlotte, but I doubt that was the case. Childress was livid on pit road because of the penalty. @37 "Back then, the tracks made the deals with TV, not NASCAR. Sorry to bust your conspiracy theory." Dumb comment. You don't think NASCAR had any input on telling track owners what they should do when it came to broadcasting? Not only that, but NASCAR already owned a lot of the tracks. This may not have been the case with Charlotte, but they knew who was buttering their bread when it came down to it and would be willing to do whatever it took to keep them in mind for future considerations. TBS covered Charlotte races for a long time during the late 80's and 90's. @23 I'm here. Unfortunately, I had to see your biased hate towards the 3 car. And once again, you were wrong about him. The replay clearly shows that Earnhardt held his line and the 5 didn't. 41. Anonymous posted: 12.09.2020 - 7:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race featured the first competition caution in cup since 1974 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: