| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| First Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| Season No: | 29 |
| Race No: | 13 |
| Announcers: | Pat Patterson, Bob Latford |
| Most Laps: | 90 |
| Network: | FNN (tape-delayed) |
| Radio: | Motor Racing Network |
| Avg: | 126.147mph |
| Pole Driver: | Alan Kulwicki |
| First Driver: | Geoff Bodine |
| Most Driver: | Geoff Bodine |
| Most Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| Pole Team: | AK Racing |
| Car: | 5 |
| 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: | 7th Annual Miller High Life 500 |
| Race Name: | Miller High Life 500 |
| Pole Time: | 56.673 |
| Year: | 1988 |
| Distance Mi: | 500 |
| Date: | June 19 |
| Attendance: | 96,000 |
The 1988 Miller High Life 500 was the 13th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the seventh iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 19, 1988, before an audience of 96,000 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. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Geoff Bodine would manage to run the final 42 laps of the race on one tank of fuel to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1] [2] [3] [4] To fill out the top three, Bahari Racing driver Michael Waltrip and Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.
On the first lap of the race, a crash involving Stavola Brothers Racing driver Bobby Allison and Linro Motorsports driver Jocko Maggiacomo would occur in the second turn of the speedway. Allison, who had cut a tire before the start of the race, would spin in the second turn while trying to nurse his car to pit road. Maggiacomo, who had started behind Allison, was unable to avoid the spinning Allison and t-boned Allison's car on the driver's side. As a result, Allison would suffer a broken left leg and a cerebral concussion.[5] [6] Allison would eventually recover from his physical injuries, but was left with amnesia after the incident.[7] Maggiacomo, who suffered a fractured left ankle, would retire after the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season after suffering from PTSD from hitting Allison.[8]
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.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 17, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 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, June 18, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-40 would be decided on time,[9] 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.
Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, would win the pole, setting a time of 56.673 and an average speed of 158.806mph in the first round.[10] [11]
Three drivers would fail to qualify.
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rusty Wallace | 1,960 | |||||||
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,850 (-110) | |||||||
| 1 | 3 | Bill Elliott | 1,820 (-140) | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | Terry Labonte | 1,769 (–191) | ||||||
| 5 | Sterling Marlin | 1,756 (–204) | |||||||
| 1 | 6 | Ken Schrader | 1,674 (–286) | ||||||
| 2 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | 1,659 (–301) | ||||||
| 2 | 8 | Bobby Allison | 1,654 (–306) | ||||||
| 1 | 9 | Phil Parsons | 1,616 (–344) | ||||||
| 2 | 10 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | 1,596 (–364) | ||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||