Eighth race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
| Race details | |||
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| Race 8 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott and Darrell Waltrip robbing a bank. | |||
| Date | April 27, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual Sovran Bank 500 | ||
| Location | Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 76.882 miles per hour (123.730 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 38,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.728 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Laps | 163 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | SETN (tape-delayed until June 21) | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1986 Sovran Bank 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 27, 1986, before an audience of 38,500 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete.
In a race of attrition, Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd took advantage of numerous mechanical failures given to other drivers during the race, lapping the field and leading the final 149 laps. The victory was Rudd's fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, King Racing's Joe Ruttman and Hagan Enterprises' Terry Labonte finished second and third, respectively.
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 24, at 1:30 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 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, April 25, at 1:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 were decided on time, 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.
Tim Richmond, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 20.893 and an average speed of 90.716 miles per hour (145.993 km/h) in the first round.
Two drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- Bogaczyk, Jack (April 24, 1986). "Live TV a dead issue at speedway – for now". The Roanoke Times. pp. D1, D2. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Owens, Mike (April 28, 1986). "Rudd 'Survives' To Win At Martinsville". Statesville Record & Landmark. pp. 6B. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 28, 1986). "Rudd Wins Martinsville Scorcher". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 4D. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- King, Randy (April 28, 1986). "Cool Rudd breezes to victory". The Roanoke Times. pp. B1, B5. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Martinsville Speedway Hosts Winston Cup Series Sunday". Statesville Record & Landmark. April 24, 1986. pp. 13B. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 25, 1986). "Richmond Takes Pole At Martinsville". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5B. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- King, Randy (April 26, 1986). "Allison has top speed on 2nd day". The Roanoke Times. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved December 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
| Previous race: 1986 First Union 400 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1986 season |
Next race: 1986 Winston 500 |