1987 Delaware 500

File:Dover_International_Speedway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]

Dover Downs International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%" !# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor

1 |Brett Bodine |Ellington Racing |Chevrolet |Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce

3 |Dale Earnhardt |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |Wrangler

4 |Rick Wilson |Morgan–McClure Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Kodak

5 |Geoff Bodine |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Levi Garrett

6 |Rick Knoop |U.S. Racing |Chevrolet |U.S. Racing

7 |Alan Kulwicki |AK Racing |Ford |Zerex

8 |Bobby Hillin Jr. |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller American

9 |Bill Elliott |Melling Racing |Ford |Coors

11 |Terry Labonte |Junior Johnson & Associates |Chevrolet |Budweiser

12 |Larry Caudill |Hamby Racing |Chevrolet |Hamby Racing

15 |Ricky Rudd |Bud Moore Engineering |Ford |Motorcraft Quality Parts

17 |Darrell Waltrip |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Tide

18 |Dale Jarrett (R) |Freedlander Motorsports |Chevrolet |Freedlander Financial

21 |Kyle Petty |Wood Brothers Racing |Ford |Citgo

22 |Bobby Allison |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller American

26 |Morgan Shepherd |King Racing |Buick |Quaker State

27 |Rusty Wallace |Blue Max Racing |Pontiac |Kodiak

28 |Davey Allison (R) |Ranier-Lundy Racing |Ford |Texaco, Havoline

29 |Cale Yarborough |Cale Yarborough Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Hardee's

30 |Michael Waltrip |Bahari Racing |Chevrolet |All Pro Auto Parts

33 |Harry Gant |Mach 1 Racing |Chevrolet |Skoal Bandit

35 |Benny Parsons |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Folgers Decaf

43 |Richard Petty |Petty Enterprises |Pontiac |STP

44 |Sterling Marlin |Hagan Racing |Oldsmobile |Piedmont Airlines

51 |David Simko |Simko Racing |Chevrolet |Metro 25 Car Care Center

52 |Jimmy Means |Jimmy Means Racing |Pontiac |Eureka

55 |Phil Parsons |Jackson Bros. Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Skoal Classic

62 |Steve Christman (R) |Winkle Motorsports |Pontiac |AC Spark Plug

64 |Rodney Combs |Langley Racing |Ford |Sunny King Ford

67 |Buddy Arrington |Arrington Racing |Ford |Pannill Sweatshirts

70 |J. D. McDuffie |McDuffie Racing |Pontiac |Rumple Furniture

71 |Dave Marcis |Marcis Auto Racing |Chevrolet |Lifebuoy

72 |Eddie Drury{{efn|Withdrew after crashing in first round qualifying.{{cite news | access-date=November 11, 2023 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/messenger-inquirer-kulwicki-wins-delawar/135044471/ | title=Kulwicki wins Delaware 500 pole | work=Messenger-Inquirer | date=September 5, 1987 | agency=Associated Press | last=Humphrey | first=Theresa | pages=4B | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112090618/https://www.newspapers.com/article/messenger-inquirer-kulwicki-wins-delawar/135044471/ | archive-date=12 November 2023}}|name=alpha}} |Drury Racing |Chevrolet |Drury Racing

75 |Neil Bonnett |RahMoc Enterprises |Pontiac |Valvoline

80 |Eddie Bierschwale |S&H Racing |Chevrolet |S&H Racing

81 |Mike Potter |Fillip Racing |Ford |Fillip Racing

82 |Rick Jeffrey |Jeffery Racing |Chevrolet |Jeffery Racing

88 |Buddy Baker |Baker–Schiff Racing |Oldsmobile |Crisco

90 |Ken Schrader |Donlavey Racing |Ford |Red Baron Frozen Pizza

97 |D. Wayne Strout |Strout Racing |Oldsmobile |Strout Racing

98 |Mark Gibson |Gibson Racing |Pontiac |Gibson Racing

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, September 19, at 10:00 AM 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 Saturday, at 3:00 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 | access-date=November 11, 2023 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/134960360/ | title=NASCAR Today | url-status=live | work=The Charlotte Observer | date=September 19, 1987 | pages=7B | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112090837/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/134960360/ | archive-date=12 November 2023}} {{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.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 24.687 and an average speed of {{Convert|145.826|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{cite news | access-date=November 11, 2023 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-surprising-kulwic/134934835/ | title=Surprising Kulwicki Rolls To Another Pole | work=The Charlotte Observer | date=September 20, 1987 | last=Higgins | first=Tom | pages=5D | url-status=live | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112091008/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-surprising-kulwic/134934835/ | archive-date=12 November 2023}} {{Open access}}

No drivers failed to qualify.

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;Drivers' Championship standings

class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Pos ! Driver ! Points
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 1 | Dale Earnhardt | style="text-align:center;"| 3,781
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | Bill Elliott | style="text-align:center;"| 3,263 (-518)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | Terry Labonte | style="text-align:center;"| 3,091 (-690)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | Rusty Wallace | style="text-align:center;"| 3,069 (–712)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | Ricky Rudd | style="text-align:center;"| 3,063 (–718)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | Darrell Waltrip | style="text-align:center;"| 3,032 (–749)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | Neil Bonnett | style="text-align:center;"| 3,007 (–774)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 8 | Richard Petty | style="text-align:center;"| 2,946 (–835)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | Kyle Petty | style="text-align:center;"| 2,866 (–915)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | Ken Schrader | style="text-align:center;"| 2,788 (–993)
class="sortbottom" !colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-and-record-winston-cup/134960236/ Official driver's standings]

• Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

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{{Reflist}}

{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1987 Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400|Next_race=1987 Goody's 500|Monsteryear=1987|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{1987 Winston Cup}}

{{NASCAR on ESPN}}

Category:1987 in sports in Delaware

Category:1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Category:NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway

Category:September 1987 sports events in the United States