1986 TranSouth 500
{{Short description|Sixth race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Date=April 13|Most_laps=335|Pole_Driver=Geoff Bodine|Pole_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|First_Team=Richard Childress Racing|First_Driver=Dale Earnhardt|Most_Team=Richard Childress Racing|Most_Driver=Dale Earnhardt|Car=3|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Jack Arute|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Season_No=29|Location=Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway|Race_No=6|Avg={{convert|128.994|mph|km/h}}|Official_name=30th Annual TranSouth 500|Race_Name=TranSouth 500|Year=1986|Scheduled_laps=367|Distance_laps=367|Distance_km=806.799|Scheduled_km=806.799|Scheduled_mi=501.322|Course_km=2.198|Course_mi=1.366|Pole_Time=30.890|Distance_mi=501.322|Caption=The 1986 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott and Jack Ingram.|Image=1986_TranSouth_500.jpeg}}
The 1986 TranSouth 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 13, 1986, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a {{Convert|1.366|mi|km}} permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete.
In a race of attrition, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to fend off Junior Johnson & Associates' Darrell Waltrip on the final restart with two laps left, completing a dominant performance where he led 335 of the total 367 laps. The victory was Earnhardt's 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=April 14, 1986 |title=Earnhardt Holds Off Waltrip Run |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-earnhardt-holds-o/137186306/ 5C] |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-earnhardt-holds-o/137186291/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=Bill |date=April 14, 1986 |title=Earnhardt Humbles Darlington |pages=7A |work=Florence Morning News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/florence-morning-news-earnhardt-humbles/137186377/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Waltrip and Stavola Brothers Racing's Bobby Allison finished second and third, respectively.
Background
File:Darlington_raceway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
= Entry list =
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor |
| 1 |
| 01 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7
|Ford |
| 8 |
| 9
|Ford |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 15
|Ford |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 22 |
| 23
|Michael Waltrip (R) |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28
|Ford |
| 33 |
| 35
|Alan Kulwicki (R) |Ford |
| 36 |
| 43
|STP |
| 44 |
| 47 |
| 48 |
| 52 |
| 55 |
| 64
|Ford |
| 66 |
| 67
|Ford |
| 68
|Ford |
| 70 |
| 71 |
| 74 |
| 75 |
| 82
|Ford |
| 88 |
| 90
|Ford |
| 91 |
| 92 |
| 94 |
| 95 |
| 98 |
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 10, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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 11, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,{{Cite news |last=Whitlock |first=Joe |date=April 10, 1986 |title=Drivers will try to tame Darlington Sunday |pages=5B |work=The Sun News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news-drivers-will-try-to-tame-darlin/137186825/ |access-date=December 22, 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.
Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 30.890 and an average speed of {{Convert|159.197|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=April 11, 1986 |title=Bodine Charges To Darlington Qualifying Record |pages=1C, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-bodine-charges-to/137186582/ 4C] |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-bodine-charges-to/137186564/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Five drivers failed to qualify.
= Full qualifying results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|5 |30.890 |159.197 |
|---|
| 2
|25 |30.928 |159.002 |
| 3
|55 |30.949 |158.891 |
| 4
|3 |31.009 |158.586 |
| 5
|12 |31.215 |157.540 |
| 6
|26 |31.380 |156.711 |
| 7
|1 |31.404 |156.592 |
| 8
|15 |Ford |31.418 |156.522 |
| 9
|33 |31.451 |156.358 |
| 10
|11 |31.529 |155.971 |
| 11
|44 |31.546 |155.887 |
| 12
|22 |31.549 |155.872 |
| 13
|27 |31.563 |155.803 |
| 14
|88 |31.567 |155.783 |
| 15
|47 |31.578 |155.729 |
| 16
|43 |31.589 |155.674 |
| 17
|75 |31.707 |155.095 |
| 18
|8 |31.725 |155.007 |
| 19
|23 |Michael Waltrip (R) |31.806 |154.612 |
| 20
|66 |31.813 |154.578 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to lock in the first round |
| 21
|9 |Ford |31.821 |154.539 |
| 22
|90 |Ford |31.927 |154.026 |
| 23
|28 |Ford |31.942 |153.954 |
| 24
|98 |32.052 |153.426 |
| 25
|4 |32.139 |153.010 |
| 26
|95 |32.158 |152.920 |
| 27
|7 |Ford |32.232 |152.569 |
| 28
|36 |32.253 |152.470 |
| 29
|35 |Alan Kulwicki (R) |Ford |32.352 |152.003 |
| 30
|6 |32.399 |151.782 |
| 31
|52 |32.439 |151.595 |
| 32
|18 |32.451 |151.539 |
| 33
|94 |32.453 |151.530 |
| 34
|48 |32.462 |151.488 |
| 35
|71 |32.637 |150.676 |
| 36
|17 |32.717 |150.307 |
| 37
|64 |Ford |32.822 |149.826 |
| 38
|70 |32.937 |149.303 |
| 39
|74 |33.057 |148.761 |
| 40
|82 |Ford |33.990 |144.678 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to qualify (results unknown) |
| 41
|01 | -* | -* |
| 42
|67 |Ford | -* | -* |
| 43
|68 |Ford | -* | -* |
| 44
|91 | -* | -* |
| 45
|92 | -* | -* |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-rock-island-argus-transouth-qualifie/137217034/ Official first round qualifying results] |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-transouth-500/137217067/ Official starting lineup] |
Race results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Fin !St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts !Winnings |
| 1
|4 |3 |367 |335 |running |185 |$52,250 |
|---|
| 2
|10 |11 |367 |13 |running |175 |$31,600 |
| 3
|12 |22 |366 |1 |running |170 |$13,355 |
| 4
|5 |12 |366 |0 |running |160 |$16,480 |
| 5
|2 |25 |364 |5 |running |160 |$7,305 |
| 6
|13 |27 |364 |0 |running |150 |$12,575 |
| 7
|16 |43 |364 |0 |running |146 |$9,600 |
| 8
|21 |9 |Ford |362 |0 |running |142 |$13,685 |
| 9
|27 |7 |Ford |361 |0 |running |138 |$11,030 |
| 10
|22 |90 |Ford |356 |0 |running |134 |$10,525 |
| 11
|29 |35 |Alan Kulwicki (R) |Ford |344 |0 |running |130 |$3,900 |
| 12
|28 |36 |343 |0 |running |127 |$3,195 |
| 13
|19 |23 |Michael Waltrip (R) |340 |0 |engine |124 |$3,515 |
| 14
|9 |33 |330 |10 |running |126 |$11,435 |
| 15
|25 |4 |329 |0 |running |118 |$3,065 |
| 16
|40 |82 |Ford |320 |0 |running |115 |$2,520 |
| 17
|38 |70 |319 |0 |running |112 |$6,585 |
| 18
|37 |64 |Ford |313 |0 |running |0 |$6,365 |
| 19
|39 |74 |300 |0 |accident |106 |$2,190 |
| 20
|17 |75 |292 |0 |running |103 |$6,585 |
| 21
|6 |26 |285 |0 |radiator |100 |$1,995 |
| 22
|23 |28 |Ford |267 |0 |engine |97 |$2,535 |
| 23
|15 |47 |234 |0 |accident |94 |$1,825 |
| 24
|30 |6 |227 |0 |brakes |91 |$5,575 |
| 25
|31 |52 |212 |0 |accident |88 |$5,435 |
| 26
|8 |15 |Ford |207 |1 |accident |90 |$9,605 |
| 27
|35 |71 |201 |1 |water pump |87 |$4,965 |
| 28
|3 |55 |199 |1 |engine |84 |$1,580 |
| 29
|32 |18 |197 |0 |accident |76 |$1,460 |
| 30
|14 |88 |149 |0 |valve |73 |$1,420 |
| 31
|20 |66 |147 |0 |accident |70 |$1,380 |
| 32
|11 |44 |146 |0 |timing chain |67 |$8,090 |
| 33
|7 |1 |140 |0 |engine |64 |$1,300 |
| 34
|33 |94 |130 |0 |a-frame |61 |$1,265 |
| 35
|36 |17 |111 |0 |engine |58 |$4,440 |
| 36
|34 |48 |83 |0 |engine |55 |$4,250 |
| 37
|24 |98 |65 |0 |brakes |52 |$3,950 |
| 38
|18 |8 |42 |0 |accident |49 |$3,925 |
| 39
|26 |95 |1 |0 |accident |46 |$1,195 |
| 40
|1 |5 |1 |0 |camshaft |43 |$11,005 |
| colspan="11" |Failed to qualify (results unknown) |
| 41
! rowspan="5" | |01 ! colspan="5" rowspan="5" | |
| 42
|67 |Ford |
| 43
|68 |Ford |
| 44
|91 |
| 45
|92 |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-transouth-500-res/137186486/ 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;"| 1,000 |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 952 (-48) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 885 (-115) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 861 (–139) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 832 (–168) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 785 (–215) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 773 (–227) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 740 (–260) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 730 (–270) |
| align="left"| 10px 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 726 (–273) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-and-record-winston-cup/137186217/ 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 Valleydale 500|Next_race=1986 First Union 400|Monsteryear=1986|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{1986 Winston Cup}}
{{NASCAR on ESPN}}
Category:1986 in sports in South Carolina
Category:1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series