I watched this on Classic Stock Car Racing’s YouTube Channel.
Talk about the race on my Facebook page: John Milner’s Track Talk
I’m not sure when the last time I visited the 1987 NASCAR season but I figured it’s always a good time to head back there and see how Dale, Bill, Tim and the rest are doing. This time we are coming close to my neck of the woods at Michigan International Speedway.
Right off the bat there’s some good news as Ken Squier is back behind the mic for this raced. Bill Elliott is looking to win his fourth straight race at Michigan and Tim Richmond is looking to get his third win in a row this season. With Davey Allison (starting next to his father, Bobby) having won two races, there’s also a talk about a youth movement versus the established veterans. Despite qualifying second, Derrike Cope will not be racing due to a mechanical issue that could not be fixed. They talk about how unfortunate that is. Don’t feel too bad about Cope’s luck until you watch the last lap of the 1990 Daytona 500.
Rusty Wallace leads the field to green for his first career pole. Wallace leads the first few laps, but Bill Elliott makes it up to second, leaving Ken Schrader and Dale Earnhardt to fight it out for third.
The first car with any significant issues is Cale Yarborough, whose car begins to smoke after several laps. The crew believes it’s a tire rub moreso than an engine or oil issue, and while they said Yarborough would stay out. However, he soon pits and the crew goes to work on the engine, not the tires.
While they are focused on Yarborough, Elliott passes Wallace and while it looked like Elliott was going to pull away, Wallace is still keeping it close. While Wallace is in second, it looks like Schrader and Earnhardt are drafting to try and close up on the leaders. Bobby Allison was fifth but pitted due to tire problems. While he was in the pits, he had an engine failure and appears to be done for the day.
Terry Labonte is the latest car to need to pit, with an expected drive train issue that will end his day. Yarborough is still running but he’s making multiple pit stops and was even black-flagged by NASCAR.
“The King” Richard Petty has an in-car camera and he is giving us a great view of the mid-pack action with Buddy Baker and Benny Parsons battling for position. While a lot of cars are having mechanical issues, H. B. Bailey is the first to have an on-track incident as he slams the wall in Turn 2 on lap 33.
Bailey hits the wall hard and brings out the caution but is okay enough to be interviewed by a young Mike Joy. Squier and Ned Jarrett talk about how everyone likes Bailey, characterizing him as a quiet man who just loves to race.
Bobby Allison is still racing at Michigan, by the way, not done for the day. Ken Schrader brings the field back to green but it will be Earnhardt quickly gaining the lead on the restart. While they continue to monitor Yarborough’s troubles, Earnhardt leads over Rick Wilson, who is eventually passed by Elliott.
Earnhardt is out to a substantial lead over Elliott and in the Winston Cup standings and while he won six of the first eight races, he hasn’t been able to win in the second half of the season thus far. In an in-race “promo” (previously recorded), Earnhardt says they’ll get it turned around.
While it always seemed that Richard Petty’s career started to decline after his won his 200th race in 1984, he’s actually running well here today, in 7th after 55 laps. His in-car camera is watching Tim Richmond advance through the field, up to 8th. While that is happening, Michael Waltrip’s car is smoking and he’s heading to the pits.
Chris Economaki talks about the response that certain drivers got during introductions. Well, rather about how Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott all got booed. Okay, Earnhardt in 1987 I get. Waltrip was a heel until the dust-up with Rusty Wallace in 1989….but Bill Elliott? What is this? An ECW crowd???? Who boos Bill Elliott????
Earnhardt is racing at a little over 168 mph which surprises the commentators. They argue that usually the drivers, at this late in a run, are driving significantly slower than their 170-mph qualifying speed. As they go to break, we see Kyle and Richard Petty battling for position, and when we come back Bill Elliott is in for his pit stop while Dale Earnhardt has already completed his.
Meanwhile, the pit cycle has put Tim Richmond out in front, at least until he makes his pit stop a lap or so later. Ken Schrader assumes the temporarily lead until he pits as well. Geoff Bodine is the next to get a temporary lead. By the time pit stops cycle through, we’re at Lap 86 and Earnhardt is back in the lead.
Richard Petty is in 8th spot and talks about having to miss races due to injured ribs. He says that, as he’s gotten older, the injuries are affecting him more.
At the front, Earnhardt is battling Geoff Bodine not for the lead but for Bodine to remain on the lead lap. Squier and Jarrett discuss public opinion about Earnhardt, his battles with Bodine and also the comparison between Dale and Ralph Earnhardt. “He put a bumper to you a few times, Ned,” Squier says.
Trouble for two of the all-time greats: Richard Petty and Bill Elliott. Petty got tapped and almost put in the wall by Rick Wilson. Elliott is in second but has lost a cylinder and is starting to fall back.
By the time they get to Lap 113 of 200, Elliott is back to 9th with Earnhardt leading Rusty Wallace, Tim Richmond, Kyle Petty and Davey Allison as the top 5.
Pit stops begin with Rusty Wallace and later Earnhardt. Earnhardt retains the lead with Richmond and Davey Allison starting to catch up, and eventually there is a battle for the lead between Earnhardt and Richmond.
As Elliott gives up the race and heads to the garage, Davey Allison takes the #28 Ford to the pits. After battling Earnhardt for the lead, Richmond heads to the pits for fuel and right side tires. With Earnhardt leading and Elliott out, they review the point standings and Earnhardt has about 200 points over the driver of the #9.
At Lap 133, Earnhardt leads Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Morgan Shepherd and Ken Schrader. With pit stops done, Allison is no longer in the Top 10 but Richmond has come back to sixth. Wallace’s car is smoking and starting to fall back.
As Earnhardt battles Phil Parsons to keep Parsons on the lead lap, Mike Joy talks to Richard Childress who says the #3 is a little loose but Earnhardt will continue to run as hard as he can. Earnhardt is noticeably not running as well as he was and is drafting with the lap car of Shepherd to try and distance himself from Rusty Wallace who has cut about a second off Earnhardt’s lead.
Debris brings out a caution and it brings everyone to the pits. Earnhardt will lead Wallace, Richmond, Kyle Petty and Davey Allison to the restart with 50 laps to go. Richard Childress is questioned about fuel, and he says it will be close. Richard Petty and Rick Wilson topped off with fuel and will be able to make it. Is this the strategy to get Petty or Wilson the win? (Well, we know the answer to one! And indeed, Petty has to pit after a collision with the wall.)
Morgan Shepherd scraps the wall and nearly causes a huge wreck but they sort it out and continue. (Shepherd has to pit and it is revealed he has a brake issue.) But it’s not Petty or Shepherd who brings out the caution, but Alan Kulwicki. Earnhardt gets fuel and the leaders now can make it to the finish.
On the restart, Rick Wilson’s engine blows and so the caution comes out again. Wilson is lucky he didn’t wreck the field or get hit by another car.
Earnhardt once again leads the field to green and takes off from the field, with Rusty Wallace and Kyle Petty racing for second. Darrell Waltrip offers the most challenge to Earnhardt but that’s for DW to get his #17 Chevrolet back on the lead lap. It actually helps Earnhardt to drop with Waltrip and pull further away from the battling Wallace and Petty.
The battle between Wallace and Petty becomes a draft and those two start to close in on the leader, Earnhardt. Back a little further, Bobby Hillin, Jr. (#8) and Davey Allison (#28) are running fourth and fifth in a draft of their own.
Wallace gets black-flagged due to the grease billowing out of the car. Wallace does a stop and go in the pits and that’s okay’d by NASCAR because they didn’t want him running in traffic, apparently. (Personally, I would have had Wallace come in and fix the problem but I guess that’s why I am not a NASCAR official.) Wallace departure from the second place position allows Tim Richmond to move into the Top 5.
With about 15 laps to go, the caution comes out due to some debris on the track. Earnhardt retains the lead with just about 11 laps to go. Kyle Petty is second and Davey Allison is third but by the time they come to 10 laps to go, Allison has passed Petty and starts to catch up to Earnhardt.
As the laps wind down, the lead continues to shrink. Earnhardt is able to extend the lead in Turns 1 and 2 but down the backstretch, Allison is able to gain. With four to go, Kyle Petty has gained on Allison and threatens to take the runner-up spot, but only temporarily.
As they come to the white flag, it appeared that Earnhardt had a comfortable lead but down the backstretch, Allison comes on strong and goes high to try and get around Earnhardt. However, as they come out of Turn 4, Earnhardt has just enough of a gap to come to the start-finish line and get his first Michigan win and 25th overall.
The #28 team celebrates a great run and are happy to get the runner-up finish. However, it is Dale Earnhardt picking up his 7th win of the season with a victory at the Miller 400 at Michigan. He led 151 of 200 laps and had to overcome a fuel issue on the last lap to hang on for the win.
johnmilner.ca 