1987 Miller High Life 500 Explained

Type:NASWINSTON
First Team:Hendrick Motorsports
Season No:29
Race No:12
Announcers:Eli Gold, Jerry Punch
Most Laps:82
Network:SETN
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Avg:122.166mph
Pole Driver:Terry Labonte
First Driver:Tim Richmond
Most Driver:Tim Richmond
Most Team:Hendrick Motorsports
Pole Team:Junior Johnson & Associates
Car:25
Location:Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway
Scheduled Km:804.672
Distance Km:804.672
Scheduled Mi:500
Scheduled Laps:200
Distance Laps:200
Course Km:4.0
Course Mi:2.5
Official Name:6th Annual Miller High Life 500
Race Name:Miller High Life 500
Pole Time:57.877
Year:1987
Distance Mi:500
Date:June 14
Attendance:90,000

The 1987 Miller High Life 500 was the 12th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the sixth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 14, 1987, before an audience of 90,000 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

In his first race back after taking 11 races off due to illness, Hendrick Motorsports' Tim Richmond managed to pull away from the field on the final restart with five laps left to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott and Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty finished second and third, respectively.

Background

The race was held at Pocono International Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono International Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Brett BodineEllington RacingBuickBull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletWrangler
04Charlie RudolphRudolph RacingChevroletSunoco
5Geoff BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevroletLevi Garrett
7Alan KulwickiAK RacingFordZerex
8Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuickMiller American
08Trevor BoysAndrew Scott RacingChevroletAndrew Scott Racing
9Bill ElliottMelling RacingFordCoors
11Terry LabonteJunior Johnson & AssociatesChevroletBudweiser
12Jim BownHamby RacingChevroletHamby Racing
15Ricky RuddBud Moore EngineeringFordMotorcraft Quality Parts
17Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevroletTide
18Dale Jarrett (R)Freedlander MotorsportsChevroletFreedlander Financial
19Derrike Cope (R)Stoke RacingChevroletAlugard
21Kyle PettyWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Bobby AllisonStavola Brothers RacingBuickMiller American
25Tim RichmondHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFolgers
26Morgan ShepherdKing RacingBuickQuaker State
27Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiacKodiak
28Davey Allison (R)Ranier-Lundy RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
29Cale YarboroughCale Yarborough MotorsportsOldsmobileHardee's
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingChevroletBahari Racing
31Ron ShephardRon Shephard RacingChevroletL. B. S. Graphics, National Parts Peddler
33Harry GantMach 1 RacingChevroletSkoal Bandit
35Benny ParsonsHendrick MotorsportsChevroletFolgers
43Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
44Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobilePiedmont Airlines
48James HyltonHylton MotorsportsChevroletHylton Motorsports
50Greg SacksDingman Brothers RacingPontiacValvoline
52Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiacJimmy Means Racing
55Phil ParsonsJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobileCopenhagen
62Steve Christman (R)Winkle MotorsportsPontiacAC Spark Plug
64Rodney CombsLangley RacingFordSunny King Ford
65Tommie CrozierLeonard RacingPontiacUniversal Steel
67Buddy ArringtonArrington RacingFordPannill Sweatshirts
70J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiacRumple Furniture
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletLifebuoy
74Bobby WawakWawak RacingChevroletWawak Racing
75Neil BonnettRahMoc EnterprisesPontiacValvoline
80Jimmy HortonS&H RacingFordS&H Racing
81Mike PotterFillip RacingFordFillip Racing
85Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevroletJames Chevrolet
88Buddy BakerBaker–Schiff RacingOldsmobileCrisco
90Ken SchraderDonlavey RacingFordRed Baron Frozen Pizza

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, June 13, at 10:00 AM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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 Saturday, at 3:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,[3] 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.

Terry Labonte, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 57.877 and an average speed of 155.502mph in the first round.[4]

Four drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
111Terry LabonteJunior Johnson & AssociatesChevrolet57.877155.502
235Benny ParsonsHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet57.901155.438
325Tim RichmondHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet57.937155.341
49Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord58.115154.865
55Geoff BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet58.245154.520
633Harry GantMach 1 RacingChevrolet58.304154.363
73Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet58.317154.329
829Cale YarboroughCale Yarborough MotorsportsOldsmobile58.503153.838
917Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet58.529153.770
107Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord58.535153.754
1121Kyle PettyWood Brothers RacingFord58.610153.557
1226Morgan ShepherdKing RacingBuick58.648153.458
1375Neil BonnettRahMoc EnterprisesPontiac58.653153.445
1450Greg SacksDingman Brothers RacingPontiac58.675153.387
1588Buddy BakerBaker–Schiff RacingOldsmobile58.711153.293
1622Bobby AllisonStavola Brothers RacingBuick58.759153.168
1727Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiac58.832152.978
1843Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac58.906152.786
1944Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobile58.955152.659
2055Phil ParsonsJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobile58.976152.604
Failed to lock in Round 1
2190Ken SchraderDonlavey RacingFord58.415154.070
2230Michael WaltripBahari RacingChevrolet59.016152.501
2315Ricky RuddBud Moore EngineeringFord59.068152.367
2418Dale Jarrett (R)Freedlander MotorsportsChevrolet59.099152.287
251Brett BodineEllington RacingChevrolet59.307151.753
2628Davey Allison (R)Ranier-Lundy RacingFord59.328151.699
2771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet59.493151.278
288Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuick59.609150.984
2908Trevor BoysAndrew Scott RacingChevrolet59.774150.567
3064Rodney CombsLangley RacingFord59.984150.040
3112Jim BownHamby RacingChevrolet60.258149.358
3219Derrike Cope (R)Stoke RacingChevrolet60.297149.261
3367Buddy ArringtonArrington RacingFord60.322149.199
3480Jimmy HortonS&H RacingFord60.424148.947
3562Steve Christman (R)Winkle MotorsportsPontiac60.543148.655
3604Charlie RudolphRudolph RacingChevrolet60.574148.579
3752Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac60.590148.539
3874Bobby WawakWawak RacingChevrolet60.595148.527
3985Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevrolet60.623148.459
4070J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac60.624148.456
Failed to qualify
4181Mike PotterFillip RacingFord62.009145.140
4231Ron ShephardRon Shephard RacingChevrolet62.396144.240
4348James HyltonHylton MotorsportsChevrolet62.771143.378
4465Tommie CrozierLeonard RacingPontiac65.922136.525
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1325Tim RichmondHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet20082running185$40,325
249Bill ElliottMelling RacingFord20032running175$30,600
31121Kyle PettyWood Brothers RacingFord2001running170$24,575
4829Cale YarboroughCale Yarborough MotorsportsOldsmobile2000running160$11,505
573Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet20055running160$22,400
61622Bobby AllisonStavola Brothers RacingBuick2000running150$14,600
72315Ricky RuddBud Moore EngineeringFord2005running151$14,825
81375Neil BonnettRahMoc EnterprisesPontiac2003running147$9,930
955Geoff BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2001running138$11,905
101588Buddy BakerBaker–Schiff RacingOldsmobile2001running139$6,460
112055Phil ParsonsJackson Bros. MotorsportsOldsmobile2000running130$5,215
122628Davey Allison (R)Ranier-Lundy RacingFord1990running127$3,995
13917Darrell WaltripHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1990running124$6,270
14288Bobby Hillin Jr.Stavola Brothers RacingBuick1990running121$10,515
151944Sterling MarlinHagan RacingOldsmobile1980running118$7,465
162230Michael WaltripBahari RacingChevrolet1981running120$7,240
172190Ken SchraderDonlavey RacingFord1980running112$9,150
182908Trevor BoysAndrew Scott RacingChevrolet1980running109$2,965
193752Jimmy MeansJimmy Means RacingPontiac1970running106$6,665
203064Rodney CombsLangley RacingFord1970running103$6,375
213480Jimmy HortonS&H RacingFord1960running100$2,595
223604Charlie RudolphRudolph RacingChevrolet1960running97$2,490
233112Jim BownHamby RacingChevrolet1940running0$5,800
243874Bobby WawakWawak RacingChevrolet1930running91$2,330
253367Buddy ArringtonArrington RacingFord1920running88$5,480
263562Steve Christman (R)Winkle MotorsportsPontiac1870running85$2,220
272771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet1860running82$5,210
284070J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingPontiac1740running79$2,110
291843Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac1710crash76$5,580
30107Alan KulwickiAK RacingFord1500oil-leak73$5,765
311226Morgan ShepherdKing RacingBuick1470engine70$4,680
32633Harry GantMach 1 RacingChevrolet1440engine67$3,890
33235Benny ParsonsHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1190engine64$11,010
34251Brett BodineEllington RacingChevrolet1100oil-pan61$1,755
352418Dale Jarrett (R)Freedlander MotorsportsChevrolet1030ignition58$3,700
361450Greg SacksDingman Brothers RacingPontiac940engine55$1,645
37111Terry LabonteJunior Johnson & AssociatesChevrolet8519oil-pump57$13,915
383219Derrike Cope (R)Stoke RacingChevrolet630axle49$1,585
393985Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevrolet430ignition46$1,555
401727Rusty WallaceBlue Max RacingPontiac140engine43$9,525
Failed to qualify
4181Mike PotterFillip RacingFord
4231Ron ShephardRon Shephard RacingChevrolet
4348James HyltonHylton MotorsportsChevrolet
4465Tommie CrozierLeonard RacingPontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Dale Earnhardt1,983
2Bill Elliott1,789 (-194)
13Neil Bonnett1,703 (-280)
24Kyle Petty1,635 (–348)
25Terry Labonte1,625 (–358)
16Darrell Waltrip1,582 (–401)
37Ricky Rudd1,529 (–454)
18Ken Schrader1,518 (–465)
19Richard Petty1,511 (–472)
510Rusty Wallace1,510 (–473)
Official driver's standings

Notes

  1. News: Higgins . Tom . June 15, 1987 . Richmond Returns To NASCAR As Winner . 1B, 3B . . October 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Miegoc . Joe . June 15, 1987 . Richmond is triumphant in comeback . 1C, 6C . . October 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: June 13, 1987 . NASCAR Today . 4C . . October 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Higgins . Tom . June 14, 1987 . Labonte Starts 1st In Pocono . 1D, 10D . . October 25, 2023 . Newspapers.com.