A few years ago, I was looking for something to do during the off-season and decided to watch – and chronicle the 1987 NASCAR Cup season. The only problem is that to sit and watch a 2.5 – 3 hour race and have to pause it every few minutes to write or type something down made for a long afternoon.
I’ve decided, however, to pick up where I left off with the 1987 season but this time, I’m just going to hit the highlights. A summary, if you will, rather than the entire play-by-play. Ironically, I am starting with the 1987 Winston 500 from Talladega, which ironically has a few highlights to speak of.
I’m watching this on NASCAR Classics’ YouTube channel, in case you’re interested in following along.
Normally whenever I see a date from 1949 onward, I always like to look it up on Driver Averages to see what the result of the closest race was. This time, however, I am quick to point out that this race took place the morning after a Saturday Night’s Main Event took place. WWF Champion Hulk Hogan was not in action but I believe that was the episode where he and Andre discussed their Wrestlemania III match.
As for the race, Bill Elliott sat on the pole with his record-setting qualifying speed of 212.809. Bobby Allison (who we lost last weekend) shares the front row and his son Davey is in the second row.
There’s a bit of irony in the opening lap as Bobby Allison drops back and commentator Bob Jenkins talks about Davey “chasing” Bill Elliott, so we get a Chase Elliott reference in NASCAR eight years before he was born.
The racing at Talladega was a lot different in 1987 than it is in 2024. There’s no pack racing, at least to start. Elliott and Davey Allison started to get away from the rest of the field but within a lap or two there are about a half dozen cars running single file.
Chet Fillip, who ran for over 28 years including in CART and USAC, had a mechanical issue to bring out the first caution.
Another difference between the years, we have single file restarts. (I personally like the double-file restarts as it gives drivers a chance to battle for the lead, at least for a few seconds before the leader drives off into the clean air.) Phil Parsons seems to have gotten a hell of a good start and battles Elliott for the lead for a few minutes but then settles back to sixth.
Geoff Bodine is out with an engine issue.
With Elliott, Davey Allison and Terry Labonte your top 3, they announce the pace at 208 mph and the attendance is 135,000. Labonte was third but in a matter of a few laps, he is taking the lead from Elliott.
And even as they talk about the battle for position between Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker, it happens. Allison’s engine blows. He runs over the debris and at the speed the cars were going, he pirouetted across the catch fence. This triggered a multi-car accident and tore out part of the fencing.
A couple of things:
- While Phil Parsons did make contact with Allison while spinning, there were at least a half-dozen cars that went right past the #22 on either side of him at full speed. How Allison didn’t get t-boned on multiple occasions is beyond me.
- I had heard people talk about this before but this was my first time really paying attention to it. Harold Kinder, the flagman, does not flinch. Kinder, who died in 1991, just takes the yellow flag up and continues to do his job.
- The crowd gave Allison a great ovation as he climbed out of the car.
The red flag that followed the wreck lasted for 2 hours and 26 minutes. Labonte’s crew was claiming they had been in the lead at Talladega longer than any other car in history…which is true if you think about it.
Holy crap! Looks like most of the cars are heading down pit road…and the pit crews’ sign guys are standing out in the middle of pit road with the signs to direct the cars into the pits. And this is 1987 when drivers were able to come down pit road as fast as they thought they could and still make it into their pit stall. (Also, dressed in short sleeves and no helmets!)
Benny Parsons has the lead when it goes back green but Terry Labonte gets back to the front by the time they hit the backstretch, with Elliott and Davey Allison in second and third. Elliott soon regains the lead.
Alan Kulwicki, who had damage due to the Allison wreck, heads to the garage area just before a caution comes out due to debris. Neil Bonnett takes the opportunity to come in and get some work done.
Jenkins references Ken Schrader and Buddy Baker having some “quiet time” together earlier in the week. Wait? WHAT???? Actually, it sounds as if they were discussing working together in the draft at ‘Dega.
Speaking of Baker, by lap 46, he’s running third as Elliott and Davey Allison are the leaders. It looks less like a superspeedway race and more like a mile-and-a-half with a couple of guys (three in this case) in the lead driving away from the field.
After a while of that, some fuel issues crop up. Dale Earnhardt leaves the pit area with his catch can still attached. The can ends up on the track so the caution comes out. Meanwhile, it appears that Bill Elliott ran out of fuel so he loses the lead and might have gone down a lap had the caution not come out. Ernie Elliott, Bill’s brother, crew chief and a 7/25er (born July 25th) says it’s a bigger issue than just fuel.
Obviously, that “quiet time” (Wha???) between Schrader and Baker worked because Schrader is leading, Baker is third and Allison is second as they get the restart. That doesn’t last too long as Allison gets the lead back.
A few laps later and they start talking about someone engine’s blowing. The first claim is that it’s Davey Allison. In which case, that means the ending is a lot different than I’m expecting. Turns out it’s Buddy Baker.
They finally talk about Dale Earnhardt who has come in for a 24 second pit stop. 24 seconds!!! In 2024, you have a 24 second pit stop and you’re firing your pit crew. They also talk about how he was going for a fifth straight win.
They interview a very dejected Buddy Baker in the garage area and note that he’s 46. Holy crap! He’s probably the oldest (or one of the oldest) drivers in the field and he’s NINE years younger than me. God, I feel old!
Davey Allison is just driving away from the field and they interview his crew chief, Joey Knuckles. Every time I see a reference to Knuckles, I wonder if he’s any relation to Tazz’s friend, Joey Numbers. (Probably not.)
Harry Gant spins and collects Ricky Rudd brings out the sixth caution and brings everyone down to pit road. The restart lasts less than a lap before Dale Jarrett in #18 has mechanical issues.
With another restart, it’s still Allison and Labonte in the lead but Elliott and Earnhardt battle for third. Elliott comes up the winner and eventually gets to second.
At Lap 115, there are 10 (TEN!) cars on the lead lap. What is this? An ARCA race? Make that nine as Greg Sacks is heading to the garage.
Debris caution brings everyone to the pits. Another major change between 1987 and 2024, several cars went past Allison as they came to pit row. Earnhardt comes out of the pits first with Rusty Wallace second and Allison is back to sixth.
Wallace gets the lead within a lap or so. Earnhardt gets help from Allison and Wallace gets help from Elliott, until Elliott takes the lead and then Allison is back to the front. Once Davey gets to the front, he drives away.
For the most part it’s been Davey, Elliott and Labonte at the front, but Earnhardt, Wallace, Bobby Hillin, Jr., and Kyle Petty are now in the picture, so to speak. (Really, it seems like they’re all racing for second to Allison who is up to a six second lead at 208 mph.)
Future Daytona 500 and Talladega winner Michael Waltrip’s engine has let go but he is able to get back to pit road without drawing a caution.
There is a question of whether Elliott could catch Allison but those questions are answered when Elliott starts to slow on the racetrack. Talk in his pit stall is that he has dropped a cylinder.
With the win pretty much assured for Allison, they start talking about the points. Earnhardt is leading with Elliott in second. Neil Bonnett is in third and Richard Petty (who you think of being in the twilight of his career) is fourth.
Allison comes down for possibly his final pit stop of the day, takes just right-side tires in 17 seconds! In 2024, it’s sub-five seconds to take right side tires.
Speaking of Petty, he is out of the car and has been overcome with carbon monoxide fumes. He is getting oxygen and medical attention, with Greg Sacks taking over in the #43. But wait, if Petty’s car was leaking carbon monoxide into the cockpit, wouldn’t that mean Sacks would be breathing that in as well.
Ken Ragan, father of future Talladega winner David Ragan, wrecks in turn 2 and that brings everyone down pit road. Earnhardt and Allison come out 1-2 for the restart. While there are 21 laps in the scheduled race, NASCAR has announced there will be 10 more laps run and the checkered flag will fly.
This is due to approaching darkness and I have to ask (and if anyone knows the answer, please toss me a message on my Facebook page) why are there no lights, even 55 years later, at Talladega?
Allison gets past Earnhardt quite soon and it is business as usual as he drives away leading Labonte, Earnhardt, Hillin, Jr. having to battle for second. By the time they come to four laps to go, the second through fifth or sixth-place lap cars are largely single file. One would think (at least from a 2024 perspective) they should be able to draft up and past Allison but the battles for position that creep in are probably costing the runners-up.
As expected, Davey Allison hangs on and gets his first Winston Cup victory at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt shows his congratulations as he drives past on the cool down lap. On Pit Road, Davey’s crew greets him and he takes them to victory lane in a move that I believe got his team fined. Oh well!
A day that could have been tragic for the Allison family turns into a joyous occasion.
johnmilner.ca 