1987 TranSouth 500
{{Short description|Fifth race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Date=March 29|Most_laps=239|Pole_Driver=Ken Schrader|Pole_Team=Donlavey Racing|First_Team=Richard Childress Racing|First_Driver=Dale Earnhardt|Most_Team=Richard Childress Racing|Most_Driver=Dale Earnhardt|Car=3|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Larry Nuber, Jerry Punch|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Season_No=29|Location=Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway|Race_No=5|Avg={{convert|122.54|mph|km/h}}|Official_name=31st Annual TranSouth 500|Race_Name=TranSouth 500|Year=1987|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=31.048|Distance_mi=501.322|Caption=The 1987 TranSouth 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.|Image=1987_TranSouth_500.jpeg|Attendance=60,000}}
The 1987 TranSouth 500 was the fifth stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 29, 1987, before an audience of 60,000 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.
Taking advantage of a misfortunate Bill Elliott, who ran out of gas on the final lap, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt, who had been the dominant car of the race, passed Elliott with half a lap remaining to take his 23rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=March 30, 1987 |title=Earnhardt Cashes In On Elliott Gamble At Darlington |pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-earnhardt-cashes/132370336/ 5D] |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-earnhardt-cashes/132370325/ |access-date=September 25, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Gilbert |first=Bill |date=March 30, 1987 |title=Earnhardt nips a gasless Elliott for the checkered |pages=1B, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/florence-morning-news-earnhardt-nips-a-g/132370923/ 2B] |work=Florence Morning News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/florence-morning-news-earnhardt-nips-a-g/132370900/ |access-date=September 25, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Bill Elliott and owner-driver Richard Petty 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 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7
|Ford |
| 8 |
| 9
|Ford |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 15
|Ford |
| 17
|Tide |
| 18 |
| 21
|Ford |
| 22 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28
|Davey Allison (R) |Ford |
| 29 |
| 30 |
| 32 |
| 33 |
| 35 |
| 36 |
| 37
|Ford |
| 43
|STP |
| 44 |
| 48 |
| 50 |
| 52 |
| 55 |
| 62
|Steve Christman (R) |
| 64
|Ford |
| 67
|Ford |
| 70 |
| 71 |
| 75 |
| 77
|Ford |
| 81
|Ford |
| 82
|Ford |
| 83 |
| 88 |
| 90
|Ford |
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, March 26, 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, March 27, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,{{Cite news |date=March 26, 1987 |title=NASCAR Today |pages=6C |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/132400283/ |access-date=September 25, 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.
Ken Schrader, driving for Donlavey Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 31.048 and an average speed of {{Convert|158.387|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=March 27, 1987 |title=Schrader Takes Darlington Pole |pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-schrader-takes-da/132400357/ 5D] |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-schrader-takes-da/132400341/ |access-date=September 25, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Three drivers failed to qualify.
= Full qualifying results =
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
| 1
|90 |Ford |31.048 |158.387 |
|---|
| 2
|3 |31.110 |158.071 |
| 3
|9 |Ford |31.151 |157.863 |
| 4
|35 |31.157 |157.833 |
| 5
|28 |Davey Allison (R) |Ford |31.165 |157.792 |
| 6
|27 |31.318 |157.022 |
| 7
|5 |31.324 |156.991 |
| 8
|22 |31.381 |156.706 |
| 9
|83 |31.395 |156.636 |
| 10
|15 |Ford |31.434 |156.442 |
| 11
|88 |31.461 |156.308 |
| 12
|33 |31.475 |156.238 |
| 13
|75 |31.479 |156.218 |
| 14
|11 |31.488 |156.174 |
| 15
|55 |31.572 |155.758 |
| 16
|44 |31.709 |155.085 |
| 17
|71 |31.729 |154.988 |
| 18
|26 |31.740 |154.934 |
| 19
|17 |31.762 |154.827 |
| 20
|8 |31.792 |154.680 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to lock in Round 1 |
| 21
|29 |31.644 |155.404 |
| 22
|4 |31.808 |154.603 |
| 23
|21 |Ford |31.824 |154.525 |
| 24
|43 |31.836 |154.467 |
| 25
|1 |31.872 |154.292 |
| 26
|18 |31.938 |153.973 |
| 27
|50 |32.005 |153.651 |
| 28
|67 |Ford |32.025 |153.555 |
| 29
|10 |32.057 |153.402 |
| 30
|30 |32.096 |153.215 |
| 31
|52 |32.224 |152.607 |
| 32
|6 |32.286 |152.314 |
| 33
|64 |Ford |32.289 |152.300 |
| 34
|7 |Ford |32.297 |152.262 |
| 35
|36 |32.306 |152.219 |
| 36
|12 |32.423 |151.670 |
| 37
|77 |32.465 |151.474 |
| 38
|70 |32.469 |151.455 |
| 39
|62 |Steve Christman (R) |32.641 |150.657 |
| 40
|32 |32.707 |150.353 |
| colspan="7" |Provisional |
| 41
|48 |32.785 |149.995 |
| colspan="7" |Failed to qualify |
| 42
|81 |Ford |33.200 |148.120 |
| 43
|37 |Ford |33.219 |148.036 |
| 44
|82 |Ford |33.728 |145.802 |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/winston-salem-journal-darlington-lineup/132370136/ Official first round qualifying results] |
| colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-transouth-500/132370280/ Official starting lineup] |
Race results
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Fin !St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts !Winnings |
| 1
|2 |3 |367 |239 |running |185 |$52,985 |
|---|
| 2
|3 |9 |Ford |367 |41 |running |175 |$31,485 |
| 3
|24 |43 |367 |1 |running |170 |$20,450 |
| 4
|16 |44 |367 |5 |running |165 |$17,105 |
| 5
|1 |90 |Ford |367 |19 |running |160 |$16,650 |
| 6
|13 |75 |367 |7 |running |155 |$10,065 |
| 7
|12 |33 |366 |0 |running |146 |$9,295 |
| 8
|25 |1 |366 |0 |running |142 |$4,810 |
| 9
|15 |55 |366 |0 |running |138 |$4,305 |
| 10
|19 |17 |366 |1 |running |139 |$5,180 |
| 11
|7 |5 |364 |0 |running |130 |$10,525 |
| 12
|36 |12 |363 |0 |running |127 |$7,755 |
| 13
|23 |21 |Ford |362 |0 |running |124 |$6,815 |
| 14
|34 |7 |Ford |361 |0 |running |121 |$7,375 |
| 15
|21 |29 |354 |0 |running |118 |$3,715 |
| 16
|28 |67 |Ford |349 |0 |running |115 |$5,800 |
| 17
|35 |36 |348 |0 |running |112 |$2,485 |
| 18
|32 |6 |347 |0 |running |109 |$5,420 |
| 19
|30 |30 |338 |0 |running |106 |$5,040 |
| 20
|6 |27 |322 |0 |overheating |103 |$10,075 |
| 21
|4 |35 |314 |0 |running |100 |$11,275 |
| 22
|18 |26 |312 |0 |running |97 |$4,785 |
| 23
|20 |8 |307 |0 |overheating |94 |$8,900 |
| 24
|33 |64 |Ford |291 |0 |running |91 |$4,570 |
| 25
|11 |88 |259 |40 |crash |93 |$2,585 |
| 26
|27 |50 |258 |0 |engine |85 |$1,680 |
| 27
|5 |28 |Davey Allison (R) |Ford |214 |0 |crash |82 |$2,375 |
| 28
|8 |22 |214 |1 |crash |84 |$8,580 |
| 29
|37 |77 |168 |0 |crash |76 |$1,535 |
| 30
|10 |15 |Ford |144 |12 |crash |78 |$9,885 |
| 31
|9 |83 |144 |0 |crash |70 |$1,445 |
| 32
|14 |11 |143 |0 |crash |67 |$10,200 |
| 33
|17 |71 |131 |1 |steering |69 |$4,100 |
| 34
|22 |4 |118 |0 |head gasket |61 |$1,330 |
| 35
|40 |32 |104 |0 |fuel pump |58 |$1,300 |
| 36
|31 |52 |85 |0 |engine |55 |$3,270 |
| 37
|29 |10 |38 |0 |ignition |52 |$1,740 |
| 38
|41 |48 |14 |0 |ignition |49 |$1,225 |
| 39
|39 |62 |Steve Christman (R) |8 |0 |crash |46 |$1,210 |
| 40
|26 |18 |3 |0 |quit |43 |$1,180 |
| 41
|38 |70 |1 |0 |engine |40 |$1,180 |
| colspan="11" |Failed to qualify |
| 42
! rowspan="3" | |81 |Ford ! colspan="5" rowspan="3" | |
| 43
|37 |Ford |
| 44
|82 |Ford |
| colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-transouth-500/132370351/ Official race results] |
Standings after the race
{{col-begin}}
{{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;"| 840 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 769 (-71) |
| align="left"| 10px 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="text-align:center;"| 700 (-140) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="text-align:center;"| 690 (–150) |
| align="left"| 10px 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="text-align:center;"| 678 (–162) |
| align="left"| 10px 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="text-align:center;"| 655 (–185) |
| align="left"| 10px 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 650 (–190) |
| align="left"| 10px 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 650 (–190) |
| align="left"| 10px 5
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="text-align:center;"| 643 (–197) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="text-align:center;"| 628 (–212) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/florence-morning-news-winston-cup-update/132372361/ 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=1987 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500|Next_race=1987 First Union 400|Monsteryear=1987|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{1987 Winston Cup}}
{{NASCAR on ESPN}}
Category:1987 in sports in South Carolina
Category:1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series