1988 Pepsi Firecracker 400 Explained
The 1988 Pepsi Firecracker 400 was the 15th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 2, 1988, before an audience of 83,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 160 laps to complete. In one of the closest finishes in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott was able to beat out Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Rick Wilson by a distance of 3feet to take his 26th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1] [2] [3] [4] To fill out the top three, Jackson Bros. Motorsports driver Phil Parsons would finish third.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, June 30, at 10:00 AM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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 Friday, July 1, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[5] 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.
Darrell Waltrip, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 46.435 and an average speed of 193.819mph in the first round.[6] [7]
Ten drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|
| 1 | 38 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 160 | 23 | running | 180 | $63,500 |
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| 2 | 26 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 160 | 19 | running | 175 | $45,825 |
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| 3 | 6 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 160 | 17 | running | 170 | $22,250 |
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| 4 | 20 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 53 | running | 170 | $22,825 |
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| 5 | 1 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 13 | running | 160 | $25,430 |
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| 6 | 9 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 160 | 8 | running | 155 | $14,185 |
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| 7 | 8 | 33 | Morgan Shepherd | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 146 | $12,835 |
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| 8 | 4 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 10 | running | 147 | $16,435 |
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| 9 | 37 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 159 | 0 | running | 138 | $8,660 |
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| 10 | 32 | 50 | Greg Sacks | Dingman Brothers Racing | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | running | 134 | $7,535 |
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| 11 | 13 | 31 | Joe Ruttman | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 159 | 0 | running | 130 | $7,325 |
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| 12 | 19 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | running | 127 | $13,940 |
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| 13 | 11 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 159 | 0 | running | 124 | $8,720 |
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| 14 | 17 | 1 | Dale Jarrett | Ellington Racing | Buick | 159 | 0 | running | 121 | $4,705 |
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| 15 | 15 | 12 | Mike Alexander | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 159 | 0 | running | 0 | $12,090 |
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| 16 | 10 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 159 | 0 | running | 115 | $7,885 |
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| 17 | 22 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 159 | 0 | running | 117 | $5,380 |
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| 18 | 5 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | running | 109 | $10,930 |
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| 19 | 14 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 159 | 0 | running | 106 | $10,680 |
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| 20 | 27 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | running | 103 | $7,230 |
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| 21 | 30 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 158 | 0 | running | 100 | $6,380 |
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| 22 | 12 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 158 | 2 | running | 102 | $6,230 |
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| 23 | 39 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | running | 94 | $6,005 |
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| 24 | 2 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 158 | 0 | running | 91 | $10,555 |
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| 25 | 31 | 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 0 | running | 88 | $3,805 |
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| 26 | 33 | 37 | Patty Moise | Randy Hope Motorsports | Buick | 156 | 0 | running | 85 | $2,905 |
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| 27 | 16 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 155 | 0 | running | 82 | $5,480 |
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| 28 | 23 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Chevrolet | 153 | 0 | running | 79 | $4,630 |
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| 29 | 40 | 86 | Rick Jeffrey | Jeffrey Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | 0 | running | 76 | $2,805 |
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| 30 | 36 | 77 | Ken Ragan | Ragan Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | running | 73 | $2,980 |
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| 31 | 24 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 150 | 0 | running | 70 | $2,380 |
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| 32 | 34 | 07 | Larry Moyer | Stark Racing | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | running | 67 | $2,355 |
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| 33 | 42 | 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | 141 | 0 | running | 64 | $2,330 |
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| 34 | 7 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 130 | 15 | crash | 66 | $5,755 |
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| 35 | 28 | 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 123 | 0 | running | 58 | $5,655 |
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| 36 | 29 | 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Ford | 82 | 0 | running | 55 | $2,355 |
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| 37 | 18 | 14 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Racing | Oldsmobile | 72 | 0 | engine | 52 | $2,230 |
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| 38 | 3 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 43 | 0 | engine | 49 | $11,865 |
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| 39 | 35 | 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | 2 | 0 | crash | 46 | $4,840 |
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| 40 | 21 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 1 | 0 | engine | 43 | $4,790 |
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| 41 | 25 | 29 | Cale Yarborough | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 1 | 0 | crash | 40 | $2,765 |
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| 42 | 41 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 1 | 0 | crash | 37 | $10,765 |
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| Failed to qualify |
|---|
| 43 | | 80 | Jimmy Horton (R) | S&H Racing | Ford | |
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| 44 | 59 | Mark Gibson | Gibson Racing | Pontiac |
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| 45 | 32 | Philip Duffie | Duffie Racing | Buick |
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| 46 | 76 | Hut Stricklin | Jaehne Motorsports | Pontiac |
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| 47 | 73 | Phil Barkdoll | Barkdoll Racing | Ford |
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| 48 | 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick |
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| 49 | 54 | Ronnie Sanders | Gray Racing | Chevrolet |
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| 50 | 38 | Ricky Woodward | Wangerin Racing | Ford |
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| 51 | 39 | Blackie Wangerin | Wangerin Racing | Ford |
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| 52 | 0 | Delma Cowart | H. L. Waters Racing | Chevrolet |
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| Official race results | |
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Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|
| 1 | Rusty Wallace | 2,272 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 2,185 (-87) |
| 3 | Bill Elliott | 2,175 (-97) |
| 4 | Terry Labonte | 2,045 (–227) |
| 5 | Ken Schrader | 1,976 (–296) |
| 2 | 6 | Phil Parsons | 1,932 (–340) |
| 1 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | 1,929 (–343) |
| 1 | 8 | Darrell Waltrip | 1,894 (–378) |
| 2 | 9 | Sterling Marlin | 1,874 (–398) |
| 10 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | 1,847 (–425) |
| Official driver's standings | |
|---|
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes and References
- News: Higgins . Tom . July 3, 1988 . Elliott Nips Wilson At Firecracker 400 Finish (Part 1) . 25 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . July 3, 1988 . Elliott Nips Wilson At Firecracker 400 Finish (Part 2) . 33 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Coble . Done . July 3, 1988 . Bang-up victory for Elliott (Part 1) . 29 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Coble . Done . July 3, 1988 . Bang-up victory for Elliott (Part 2) . 30 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: June 30, 1988 . NASCAR Today . 34 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . July 1, 1988 . Waltrip Takes His First Pole At Daytona (Part 1) . 61 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . July 1, 1988 . Waltrip Takes His First Pole At Daytona (Part 2) . 68 . . July 11, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
