1986 Sovran Bank 500
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Short description|Eighth race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Avg={{convert|76.882|mph|km/h}}|Official_name=37th Annual Sovran Bank 500|Network=SETN (tape-delayed until June 21){{Cite news |last=Bogaczyk |first=Jack |date=April 24, 1986 |title=Live TV a dead issue at speedway – for now |pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-live-tv-a-dead-issue-a/137567222/ D2] |work=The Roanoke Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-live-tv-a-dead-issue-a/137567197/ |access-date=December 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}|Announcers=Mike Joy, Benny Parsons|Most_laps=163|Pole_Driver=Tim Richmond|Pole_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|First_Driver=Ricky Rudd|Most_Driver=Ricky Rudd|Most_Team=Bud Moore Engineering|First_Team=Bud Moore Engineering|Car=15|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Location=Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway|Race_Name=Sovran Bank 500|Date=April 27|Scheduled_laps=500|Scheduled_km=423.257|Course_km=0.847|Distance_km=423.257|Distance_laps=500|Scheduled_mi=263|Course_mi=0.526|Season_No=29|Race_No=8|Year=1986|Pole_Time=20.728|Distance_mi=263|Caption=The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott and Darrell Waltrip robbing a bank.|Image=1986 Sovran Bank 500.jpeg|Attendance=38,500}}
The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 27, 1986, before an audience of 38,500 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a {{Convert|0.526|mi|km}} permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete.{{Cite news |last=Owens |first=Mike |date=April 28, 1986 |title=Rudd 'Survives' To Win At Martinsville |pages=6B |work=Statesville Record & Landmark |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesville-record-and-landmark-rudd-su/137594122/ |access-date=December 28, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
In a race of attrition, Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd took advantage of numerous mechanical failures given to other drivers during the race, lapping the field and leading the final 149 laps. The victory was Rudd's fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, King Racing's Joe Ruttman and Hagan Enterprises' Terry Labonte finished second and third, respectively.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=April 28, 1986 |title=Rudd Wins Martinsville Scorcher |pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-rudd-wins-martins/137563204/ 4D] |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-rudd-wins-martins/137563189/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=King |first=Randy |date=April 28, 1986 |title=Cool Rudd breezes to victory |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-cool-rudd-breezes-to-v/137563343/ B5] |work=The Roanoke Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-cool-rudd-breezes-to-v/137563302/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Background
File:Martinsville_Speedway_track_map.png, the venue where the race was held.]]
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
= Entry list =
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 24, at 1:30 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Friday, April 25, at 1:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 were decided on time,{{Cite news |date=April 24, 1986 |title=Martinsville Speedway Hosts Winston Cup Series Sunday |pages=13B |work=Statesville Record & Landmark |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesville-record-and-landmark-martinsv/137631257/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.
Tim Richmond, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 20.893 and an average speed of {{Convert|90.716|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=April 25, 1986 |title=Richmond Takes Pole At Martinsville |pages=5B |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-richmond-takes-po/137564695/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Two drivers failed to qualify.{{Cite news |last=King |first=Randy |date=April 26, 1986 |title=Allison has top speed on 2nd day |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-allison-has-top-speed/137567324/ B4] |work=The Roanoke Times |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-allison-has-top-speed/137567289/ |access-date=December 29, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
= Full qualifying results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|25 |20.893 |90.716 |
|---|
| 2
|11 |20.986 |90.318 |
| 3
|3 |20.987 |90.313 |
| 4
|15 |Ford |21.048 |90.051 |
| 5
|27 |21.065 |89.979 |
| 6
|5 |21.083 |89.902 |
| 7
|44 |21.111 |89.782 |
| 8
|43 |21.123 |89.731 |
| 9
|9 |Ford |21.154 |89.600 |
| 10
|26 |21.238 |89.245 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to lock in Round 1 |
| 11
|22 |21.222 |89.312 |
| 12
|7 |Ford |21.300 |88.985 |
| 13
|75 |21.312 |88.935 |
| 14
|18 |21.345 |88.797 |
| 15
|33 |21.350 |88.776 |
| 16
|35 |Alan Kulwicki (R) |Ford |21.351 |88.772 |
| 17
|79 |Ford |21.388 |88.618 |
| 18
|12 |21.401 |88.565 |
| 19
|71 |21.404 |88.552 |
| 20
|90 |Ford |21.408 |88.536 |
| 21
|94 |21.438 |88.412 |
| 22
|64 |Ford |21.446 |88.379 |
| 23
|8 |21.454 |88.346 |
| 24
|67 |Ford |21.504 |88.140 |
| 25
|23 |Michael Waltrip (R) |21.527 |88.046 |
| 26
|17 |21.533 |88.021 |
| 27
|19 |21.580 |87.829 |
| 28
|6 |21.588 |87.797 |
| 29
|70 |21.680 |87.424 |
| 30
|48 |21.689 |87.388 |
| colspan="7" |Provisional |
| 31
|52 |21.906 |86.522 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to qualify |
| 32
|41 |21.911 |86.422 |
| 33
|87 |22.004 |86.139 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-sovran-500/137566795/ Official first round qualifying results] |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-sovran-bank-500/137567141/ Official starting lineup] |
Race results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Fin !St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts !Winnings |
| 1
|4 |15 |Ford |500 |163 |running |185 |$40,850 |
|---|
| 2
|10 |26 |499 |0 |running |170 |$17,325 |
| 3
|7 |44 |496 |0 |running |165 |$17,125 |
| 4
|16 |35 |Alan Kulwicki (R) |Ford |496 |0 |running |160 |$8,350 |
| 5
|12 |7 |Ford |496 |0 |running |155 |$11,050 |
| 6
|23 |8 |495 |0 |running |150 |$7,680 |
| 7
|20 |90 |Ford |493 |0 |running |146 |$7,830 |
| 8
|11 |22 |492 |0 |running |142 |$6,710 |
| 9
|17 |79 |Ford |489 |0 |running |138 |$2,350 |
| 10
|13 |75 |487 |0 |running |134 |$6,620 |
| 11
|25 |23 |Michael Waltrip (R) |484 |0 |running |130 |$2,070 |
| 12
|31 |52 |479 |0 |running |127 |$5,000 |
| 13
|30 |48 |465 |0 |running |124 |$4,790 |
| 14
|28 |6 |465 |0 |running |121 |$4,580 |
| 15
|24 |67 |Ford |464 |0 |engine |118 |$6,120 |
| 16
|19 |71 |463 |0 |running |115 |$4,245 |
| 17
|6 |5 |455 |1 |engine |117 |$7,280 |
| 18
|29 |70 |429 |0 |running |109 |$4,035 |
| 19
|21 |94 |381 |0 |running |106 |$1,525 |
| 20
|1 |25 |372 |13 |running |108 |$7,440 |
| 21
|3 |3 |347 |102 |engine |105 |$9,915 |
| 22
|27 |19 |344 |0 |running |97 |$1,205 |
| 23
|22 |64 |Ford |326 |0 |oil pressure |94 |$3,375 |
| 24
|14 |18 |301 |36 |engine |96 |$1,185 |
| 25
|15 |33 |292 |83 |engine |93 |$9,075 |
| 26
|18 |12 |267 |5 |engine |90 |$8,265 |
| 27
|2 |11 |241 |97 |engine |87 |$12,155 |
| 28
|8 |43 |202 |0 |axle |79 |$3,315 |
| 29
|26 |17 |78 |0 |fan belt |76 |$3,295 |
| 30
|5 |27 |56 |0 |engine |73 |$7,125 |
| 31
|9 |9 |Ford |42 |0 |engine |70 |$9,025 |
| colspan="11" |Failed to qualify |
| 32
! rowspan="2" | |41 ! colspan="5" rowspan="2" | |
| 33
|87 |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-sovran-bank-500/137563148/ Official race results] |
Standings after the race
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
;Drivers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |
| ! Pos
! Driver ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,247 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,242 (-5) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,113 (-134) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,092 (–155) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,082 (–165) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,040 (–207) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,018 (–229) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,008 (–239) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 1,000 (–247) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 987 (–260) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-nascar-winston/137564535/ Official driver's standings] |
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
{{col-end}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1986 First Union 400|Next_race=1986 Winston 500|Monsteryear=1986|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{1986 Winston Cup}}
Category:1986 in sports in Virginia
Category:1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series