1988 Budweiser 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

2 |Ernie Irvan (R) |U.S. Racing |Chevrolet |Kroger

3 |Dale Earnhardt |Richard Childress Racing |Chevrolet |GM Goodwrench Service

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

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

6 |Mark Martin |Roush Racing |Ford |Stroh Light

7 |Alan Kulwicki |AK Racing |Ford |Zerex

8 |Bobby Hillin Jr. |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller High Life

9 |Bill Elliott |Melling Racing |Ford |Coors Light

10 |Ken Bouchard (R) |Whitcomb Racing |Ford |Whitcomb Racing

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

12 |Bobby Allison |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller High Life

15 |Brett Bodine |Bud Moore Engineering |Ford |Crisco

17 |Darrell Waltrip |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Tide

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

23 |Eddie Bierschwale |B&B Racing |Oldsmobile |Wayne Paging

25 |Ken Schrader |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Folgers

26 |Ricky Rudd |King Racing |Buick |Quaker State

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

28 |Davey Allison |Ranier-Lundy Racing |Ford |Havoline

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

30 |Michael Waltrip |Bahari Racing |Pontiac |Country Time

31 |Joe Ruttman |Bob Clark Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Slender You Figure Salons

33 |Morgan Shepherd |Mach 1 Racing |Chevrolet |Skoal Bandit

41 |Joe Booher |Booher Racing |Chevrolet |Everride Radiator

43 |Richard Petty |Petty Enterprises |Pontiac |STP

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

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

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

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

68 |Derrike Cope |Testa Racing |Ford |Purolator Filters

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

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

75 |Neil Bonnett |RahMoc Enterprises |Pontiac |Valvoline

78 |Jay Sommers |Sommers Racing |Chevrolet |Doe & Associates

80 |Jimmy Horton (R) |S&H Racing |Ford |S&H Racing

83 |Lake Speed |Speed Racing |Oldsmobile |Wynn's, Kmart

88 |Buddy Baker |Baker-Schiff Racing |Oldsmobile |Red Baron Frozen Pizza

90 |Benny Parsons |Donlavey Racing |Ford |Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce

96 |Dana Patten |Patten Racing |Buick |U.S. Chrome

97 |Rodney Combs |Winkle Motorsports |Buick |AC Spark Plug

98 |Brad Noffsinger (R) |Curb Racing |Buick |Sunoco

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 3, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be 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, June 4, at 11:30 AM 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=June 3, 1989 |title=NASCAR Today |pages=38 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/127613701/ |access-date=July 4, 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 provisionals were given.

Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.543 and an average speed of {{Convert|146.681|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=June 4, 1988 |title=Kulwicki Takes Dover Pole With Sizzling Run |pages=35 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-kulwicki-takes-do/127613832/ |access-date=July 4, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

Buddy Arrington was the only driver to fail 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;"| 1,621
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | Rusty Wallace | style="text-align:center;"| 1,605 (-16)
align="left"| 10px 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | Bill Elliott | style="text-align:center;"| 1,571 (-50)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | Sterling Marlin | style="text-align:center;"| 1,539 (–82)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | Terry Labonte | style="text-align:center;"| 1,527 (–94)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | Bobby Allison | style="text-align:center;"| 1,511 (–110)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | Ken Schrader | style="text-align:center;"| 1,428 (–193)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 | Geoff Bodine | style="text-align:center;"| 1,413 (–208)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | style="text-align:center;"| 1,387 (–234)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | Darrell Waltrip | style="text-align:center;"| 1,358 (–263)
class="sortbottom" !colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-nascar-winston/127568709/ 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=1988 Coca-Cola 600|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series|Monsteryear=1988|Next_race=1988 Budweiser 400}}

{{1988 Winston Cup}}

{{NASCAR on ESPN}}

Category:1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Category:NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway

Category:June 1988 sports events in the United States

Category:1988 in sports in Delaware