1986 Daytona 500


The 1986 Daytona 500, the 28th running of the event, was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. it was the first race of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Defending race winner Bill Elliott won the pole for the second year in a row, and outside pole sitter Geoffrey Bodine won the race and led 101 laps, including the final 34.

Race Recap

On lap 116, a major accident in turn 4 involved several cars, including some contenders for the win. 1980 winner Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, defending race winner Bill Elliott, Tommy Ellis, Harry Gant, Kyle Petty, Joe Ruttman, Lake Speed, & four-time 500 winner Cale Yarborough were involved in the crash, but Elliott, Ellis, Petty, and Speed were able to continue the race.
Geoff Bodine won this race on fuel mileage after engaging in a long feud with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt was forced to pit for gas with three laps to go, then blew the engine leaving the pits. This allowed Bodine to cruise to victory by a margin of over 11 seconds. It was the first of many hard luck finishes for Dale Earnhardt that would last until the 1998 race.
Prior to the race, the drivers paid tribute to the astronauts who were killed in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, which was several miles away from the track 19 days ago. They would do so again for the 2003 Daytona 500, which took place two weeks after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

Results

Box Score

FinishGridCar
no.		DriverCar MakeLapsStatusLaps
Led		Points
125Geoffrey BodineChevrolet Monte Carlo2003:22:32101185 '
2544Terry LabonteOldsmobile Delta 88200-11.26 seconds5175 '
3611Darrell WaltripChevrolet Monte Carlo200Flagged3170 '
4258Bobby Hillin Jr.Chevrolet Monte Carlo200Flagged1165 '
53155Benny Parsons 'Oldsmobile Delta 88199Flagged155
61498Ron BouchardPontiac Grand Prix 2+2199Flagged150
7164Rick WilsonOldsmobile Delta 88199Flagged146
8927Rusty WallacePontiac Grand Prix 2+2199Flagged142
981Sterling MarlinChevrolet Monte Carlo198Engine6143 '
103675Lake SpeedPontiac Grand Prix 2+2198Flagged134
112215Ricky RuddFord Thunderbird198Flagged130
123327Jody RidleyFord Thunderbird198Flagged127
1319Bill Elliott 'Ford Thunderbird198Flagged2129 '
1443Dale EarnhardtChevrolet Monte Carlo197Engine34126 '
153417Doug HeveronChevrolet Monte Carlo197Flagged118
1677Kyle PettyFord Thunderbird195Flagged115
172842Dick TrickleChevrolet Monte Carlo194Flagged112
18196Trevor BoysChevrolet Monte Carlo191Flagged109
192118Tommy EllisChevrolet Monte Carlo189Flagged3111 '
203725Tim RichmondChevrolet Monte Carlo188Flagged7108 '
213877Ken RaganChevrolet Monte Carlo184Flagged100
223947Morgan ShepherdChevrolet Monte Carlo181Flagged97
233567Buddy ArringtonFord Thunderbird177Engine94
241866Phil ParsonsOldsmobile Delta 88174Flagged91
252789Jim Sauter 'Pontiac Grand Prix 2+2138Clutch88
261788Buddy Baker 'Oldsmobile Delta 88119Crash85
271328Cale Yarborough 'Ford Thunderbird116Crash587 '
284026Joe RuttmanBuick LeSabre115Crash79
292014A.J. Foyt 'Oldsmobile Delta 88113Engine181 '
301533Harry GantChevrolet Monte Carlo103Crash73
313054Eddie BierschwaleChevrolet Monte Carlo100Engine70
321212Neil BonnettChevrolet Monte Carlo100Crash3272 '
334190Ken SchraderFord Thunderbird91Engine64
342964Pancho Carter 'Ford Thunderbird79Crash61
352610Greg SacksPontiac Grand Prix 2+276Clutch58
361043Richard Petty 'Pontiac Grand Prix 2+263Crash55
372402Mark MartinFord Thunderbird51Engine52
381171Dave MarcisPontiac Grand Prix 2+247Engine49
394252Jimmy MeansPontiac Grand Prix 2+238Engine46
402321Larry Pearson 'Chevrolet Monte Carlo29Engine43
41322Kirk Bryant 'Pontiac Grand Prix 2+224Crash40
42322Bobby Allison 'Buick LeSabre21Engine37

' Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap
' Indicates 10 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap & leading the most laps
' denotes former Daytona 500 winner
denotes series rookie

Cautions

8 for 46 laps
From
Lap		To
Lap		Number
of laps		Reason
26305Car #2 accident, turn 2
647512Car #43 accident, turn 2
83886Car #'s 7 & 64 accident, turn 2
94974Car #90 engine
1021054Car #54 engine
1101123Car #47 stalled at pit exit
1171259Car #'s 7, 9, 12, 18, 26, 28, 33, 75, 88 accident, turn 4
1301323debris

Lap Leader Breakdown

Lead changes: 27
DriverFrom
Lap		To
Lap		Number
of Laps
Bill Elliott122
Geoffrey Bodine31014
Dale Earnhardt112414
Geoffrey Bodine25262
A.J. Foyt27271
Dale Earnhardt28314
Geoffrey Bodine324110
Dale Earnhardt42421
Neil Bonnett437432
Geoffrey Bodine75817
Tommy Ellis82821
Cale Yarborough83831
Geoffrey Bodine84929
Cale Yarborough93942
Sterling Marlin951006
Bobby Hillin Jr.1011011
Tim Richmond1021087
Cale Yarborough1091102
Tommy Ellis1111122
Dale Earnhardt1131175
Darrell Waltrip1181181
Geoffrey Bodine11913517
Dale Earnhardt1361449
Geoffrey Bodine14515814
Dale Earnhardt1591591
Terry Labonte1601645
Darrell Waltrip1651662
Geoffrey Bodine16720034

Failed to qualify

Denotes series rookie.

Standings after the race