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1986 Motorcraft 500

Race details
Race 4 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Motorcraft 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
Date	March 16, 1986
Official name	27th Annual Motorcraft 500
Location	Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance	328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Scheduled Distance	328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Average speed	132.126 miles per hour (212.636 km/h)
Attendance	71,800
Pole position
Driver	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Time	32.096
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	168
Winner
No. 47	Morgan Shepherd	Race Hill Farm Team
Television in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Jim Lampley, Sam Posey
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 1986 Motorcraft 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 16, 1986, before an audience of 71,800 in Hampton, Georgia, at Atlanta International Raceway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway.

Faced with a final restart with four laps left in the race, Race Hill Farm Team's Morgan Shepherd managed to hold off the dominant driver of the day, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt in what is considered at the time to be a major upset. The victory was Shepherd's second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Earnhardt and Hagan Enterprises' Terry Labonte finished second and third, respectively.

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

• (R) - denotes rookie driver.

Qualifying

Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was scheduled to be held on Friday, March 14, at 1:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined later in the day at 2:00 PM EST. However, due to rain, the first round was cancelled. As a result, qualifying was both delayed for over two hours and condensed into one round for all starting grid spots in the race. 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.

Dale Earnhardt, driving for Richard Childress Racing, won the pole, setting a time of 32.096 and an average speed of 170.713 miles per hour (274.736 km/h).

Six drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Darrell Waltrip 655 2 Terry Labonte 643 (-12) 3 Dale Earnhardt 628 (-27) 4 Geoff Bodine 574 (–81) 1 5 Rusty Wallace 550 (–105) 3 6 Bill Elliott 535 (–120) 2 7 Kyle Petty 509 (–146) 1 8 Lake Speed 482 (–173) 1 9 Bobby Hillin Jr. 476 (–179) 6 10 Tim Richmond 471 (–184) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes

1. Withdrew after Ribbs' car failed to arrive in time for a mandatory technical inspection despite a two-hour extension. According to DiGard Motorsports, the team was stuck trying to repair the car that was supposed to race, which was wrecked by Ribbs during a test on February 27, 1986. The team was also struggling after the departure of master engine builder Robert Yates, who left the team on February 14.
2. Driver changed to Eddie Bierschwale for the start of the race after Bierschwale and Kodak paid Johnson to drive Johnson's car when Bierschwale failed to qualify. Johnson later switched seats with Bierschwale during the race. As Bierschwale started the race, he is classified as the driver in the official results.

References

1. Higgins, Tom (March 17, 1986). "Shepherd Edges Earnhardt". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Hinton, Ed (March 17, 1986). "With tears in his eyes, Shepherd wins Motorcraft". The Atlanta Journal. pp. 1D, 2D. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Higgins, Tom (March 15, 1986). "Late Car Parking Ribbs At Atlanta". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 5C. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Pearson, Harold (March 15, 1986). "Ribbs misses trials topped by Earnhardt". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. C1, C5. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "MRN Classic Races - 1986 Motorcraft 500". Motor Racing Network (Podcast). NASCAR. March 16, 1986. Event occurs at 5:53. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
6. "Motorcraft 500 Facts box". The Atlanta Journal. March 14, 1986. pp. 2D. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Bean, Dave (March 15, 1986). "Earnhardt's Record Run Earns AIR Pole". Ledger-Enquirer. pp. B1. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Higgins, Tom (March 15, 1986). "Earnhardt Nails Pole At Atlanta". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5C. Retrieved December 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

• 1986 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• March 1986 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway