1988 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

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 |Mike Alexander |Stavola Brothers Racing |Buick |Miller High Life

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

17 |Darrell Waltrip |Hendrick Motorsports |Chevrolet |Tide

19 |Chad Little |Little Racing |Ford |Coors Extra Gold

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 |Jim Sauter |Bob Clark Motorsports |Oldsmobile |Slender You Figure Salons

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

40 |Ben Hess |Hess Racing |Oldsmobile |Hess Racing

43 |Richard Petty |Petty Enterprises |Pontiac |STP

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

48 |James Hylton |Hylton Motorsports |Buick |Hylton Motorsports

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

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

67 |Brad Teague |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

74 |Randy LaJoie |Wawak Racing |Chevrolet |Wawak Racing

75 |Neil Bonnett |RahMoc Enterprises |Pontiac |Valvoline

76 |Graham Taylor |Betty Taylor Racing |Ford |Betty Taylor Racing

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

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

85 |Bobby Gerhart |Bobby Gerhart Racing |Chevrolet |James Chevrolet

86 |Rick Jeffrey |Jeffrey Racing |Chevrolet |Slenderizers

88 |Morgan Shepherd |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, September 16, 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, September 17, 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=September 16, 1988 |title=NASCAR Today |pages=5B |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-nascar-today/128645068/ |access-date=July 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 provisionals were given.

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 24.312 and an average speed of {{Convert|148.075|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tom |date=September 17, 1988 |title=Martin Wins Pole At Dover |pages=8C |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-martin-wins-pole/128645221/ |access-date=July 22, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}

Six drivers would 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 | Bill Elliott | style="text-align:center;"| 3,548
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | style="text-align:center;"| 3,421 (-127)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 3 | Rusty Wallace | style="text-align:center;"| 3,409 (-139)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 4 | Terry Labonte | style="text-align:center;"| 3,075 (–473)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 5 | Geoff Bodine | style="text-align:center;"| 3,048 (–500)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 6 | Ken Schrader | style="text-align:center;"| 2,999 (–549)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 7 | Darrell Waltrip | style="text-align:center;"| 2,923 (–625)
align="left"| 10px 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 8 | Sterling Marlin | style="text-align:center;"| 2,918 (–630)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 9 | Phil Parsons | style="text-align:center;"| 2,878 (–670)
align="left"| 10px | style="text-align:center;"| 10 | Davey Allison | style="text-align:center;"| 2,854 (–694)
class="sortbottom" !colspan="9"|[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-nascar-winston/128629269/ Official driver's standings]

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

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1988 Miller High Life 400 (Richmond)|Next_race=1988 Goody's 500|Monsteryear=1988|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{1988 Winston Cup}}

{{NASCAR on ESPN}}

Category:1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Category:NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway

Category:September 1988 sports events in the United States

Category:1988 in sports in Delaware