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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition race in the1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
_track_map--Thunderdome_Speedway.svg) Sponsored byGoodyear Tire and Rubber Company | |||
| Date | February 28, 1988 (1988-02-28) | ||
| Location | Calder Park Thunderdome | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.119 miles (1.801 km) | ||
| Distance | 280 laps, 313.35 mi (504.28 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures ranging between 11 °C (52 °F) and 23 °C (73 °F)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 101.670 miles per hour (163.622 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 46,000 (approx) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | RahMoc Enterprises | ||
| Time | 28.829 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN (simulcast ofSeven Network coverage) | ||
| Announcers | Mike Raymond, Garry Wilkinson andNeil Crompton | ||
TheGoodyear NASCAR 500 was a non-championship exhibition NASCAR Winston Cup series race run at the then newA$54 millionCalder Park Thunderdome inMelbourne on 28 February 1988. The race was the first everNASCAR event held outside North America. UnlikeWinston Cup races in the United States, the 500 was actually 500 kilometres which is only 310 miles (roughly the same length as aBusch Series race).
Headlining the race were a number of Winston Cup andWinston West Series drivers such asAlabama Gang membersBobby Allison, who had won the1988 Daytona 500 just two weeks prior (his third and last win in the event), andNeil Bonnett, who had won the previous weekendsPontiac Excitement 400 at theRichmond International Raceway. Other NASCAR regulars includingMichael Waltrip (the younger brother of triple Winston Cup championDarrell Waltrip and a futureDaytona 500 winner) andDave Marcis took on Australians new to Super Speedway such asTouring car driversAllan Grice,KiwiJim Richards, andDick Johnson, although Grice had previously raced in Winston Cup events such as the longest race in the series, theCoca-Cola 600 at the famousCharlotte Motor Speedway, the track on which Calder Park ownerBob Jane had modeled the Thunderdome. Grice had qualified 32nd at the1987 Coca-Cola 600, becoming the second Australian to qualify for a NASCARWinston Cup race (the first had beenFrank Gardner in the1968American 500 at theNorth Carolina Motor Speedway). In Charlotte, Grice would be classified in 35th place at the end of the 600 after his car suffered differential failure.
The most famous last name in NASCAR racing history was also represented.Kyle Petty, the son of NASCAR's "King"Richard Petty and the grandson ofLee Petty, the winner of the very first Daytona 500 in1959, also made the trip down under for Australia's first ever NASCAR race. In a test session prior the meeting, Richard Petty set an unofficial lap record for the Thunderdome of 28.2 seconds for an average speed of 142.85mp/h.
The race was broadcast live across Australia by theSeven Network, and was broadcast internationally throughESPN in the US and also throughout Europe, with commentary provided by Seven's regular motor sport commentary team of Mike Raymond, Garry Wilkinson andNeil Crompton. Long-time motor racing and NASCAR journalistChris Economaki, who had previously been part of Seven'sBathurst 1000 coverage in the late 1970s and early 1980s, also returned to Australia to be Seven's pit reporter and NASCAR expert during the race with local motoring journalist and race driverPeter McKay also doing pit reports. Seven used a number ofRacecam units during the race with cameras mounted in several cars including those of Neil Bonnett and regular racecam drivers Allan Grice and Dick Johnson.
The race was 280 laps of the 1.801 km (1.119 mi)quad-oval Thunderdome (though it was generally referred to as aTri-oval through its life). Neil Bonnett driving his 1987 modelPontiac Grand Prix for his Winston Cup teamRahMoc Enterprises, won the $10,000Goodyear-Parkroyal Pole Shootout with a time of 28.829 ahead of Allison who'sBuick LeSabre ended up just 0.018 behind Bonnett, and the fastest of the Aussies, Allan Grice driving anOldsmobile Delta 88 with a time of 28.871 seconds. Behind Grice, the highest placed Australian wasTasmanian speedway driverRobin Best who qualified 4th in hisChevrolet Monte Carlo.
The only non-GM product in the top 10 was theFord Thunderbird of formerMotorcycle speedway rider turned stock car racerSumner McKnight who qualified in 10th place.
During Friday's qualifying session, Bonnett was the fastest qualifier with a time of 28.71 seconds.
* Note: Speed shown inmp/h
| Grid | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 75 |  Neil Bonnett | Pontiac Grand Prix | 28.829 | 139.734 | |
| 2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Buick LeSabre | 28.847 | 139.647 | |
| 3 | 3 |  Allan Grice | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 28.871 | 139.531 | |
| 4 | 88 | Robin Best | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 29.088 | 138.490 | |
| 5 | 78 | Ron Esau | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 29.149 | 138.200 | |
| 6 | 81 | David Sosebee | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 29.157 | 138.162 | |
| 7 | 25 | Bill Venturini | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 29.281 | 137.577 | |
| 8 | 98 | Hershel McGriff | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 29.370 | 137.160 | |
| 9 | 28 | Gary Collins | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 29.564 | 136.260 | |
| 10 | 83 | Sumner McKnight | Ford Thunderbird | 29.584 | 136.168 | |
Source: | ||||||
Bonnett and Allison dominated the race, swapping the lead many times in the heat of the summer afternoon where cabin temperatures were reported to reach over 57 °C (135 °F).
Bonnett led from the start, with Grice passing Allison coming out of turn 2 to move into second on lap 2. The Aussie then set out after Bonnet with Allison in hot pursuit and was looking likely to challenge thePontiac, but came off second best in a touch with Allison'sBuick coming out of Turn 4 which brought the race's first caution after just 13 laps after Grice'sOldsmobile was sent spinning across the infield. While Grice had over 20 years of motor racing experience, his NASCAR experience was limited compared to Allison's who at that stage was a 27-year veteran of the sport with some 707 race starts and 86 Winston Cup wins so it was no surprise to see the American come through without a drama. For Grice, it sent him to the rear of the field for the restart and over the next 50 or so laps, his charge back through the field saw the brakes go away on his Oldsmobile.
Michael Waltrip had the inglorious honour of being the first to call into the pits at the end of the first lap for new tyres after a tap from behind had sent him into a half spin from which he quickly recovered. The tap also saw damage to the rear of Waltrip'sMonte Carlo. It wasn't his first actual call to the pits as he was in and out during the formation laps before the start signalling a long day ahead.
The race was marred by a multi-car crash at around lap 80 in turns 3 and 4 involving 8 cars, including theFord Thunderbird of Dick Johnson and Grice who, after struggling with no brakes in his charge through the field, ran into the wreck at speed, heavily damaging both his and Johnson's cars in the process as it was the No. 17 Thunderbird that he hit. Grice suffered a broken collarbone as a result of the high speed accident, while both his and Johnson's cars were write-offs.
The fastest man at the Thunderdome, Neil Bonnett, won the race by less than a second from a fast closing Bobby Allison who benefited from a late race yellow flag pit stop which allowed him to change all four tyres without losing a lap. The Alabama Gang members dominated the race with Dave Marcis finishing 3rd giving the USA a 1–2–3 result and the trio finishing 2 laps clear of 4th placedGlen Steurer driving a Monte Carlo. In fact, the top 10 finishers were Americans, proving that experience in this form or racing was paramount. The first Australian to finish was the Monte Carlo of Robin Best who finished 13 laps down in 11th place.
Only 15 of the 32 car field finished the race.
Bonnett's win earned him A$59,000 (US$42,000).
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Car | Laps | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | Pontiac Grand Prix | 280 | running |
| 2 | 2 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Buick LeSabre | 280 | running |
| 3 | 15 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 280 | running |
| 4 | 11 | 18 | Glen Steurer | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 278 | running |
| 5 | 10 | 83 | Sumner McKnight | Ford Thunderbird | 278 | running |
| 6 | 8 | 98 | Hershel McGriff | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 275 | running |
| 7 | 19 | 15 | Terry Petris | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 275 | running |
| 8 | 12 | 19 | Chad Little | Ford Thunderbird | 273 | running |
| 9 | 18 | 82 | Jim Danielson | Buick LeSabre | 272 | running |
| 10 | 22 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 269 | running |
| 11 | 4 | 88 | Robin Best | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 267 | running |
| 12 | 13 | 32 | Ruben Garcia | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 267 | running |
| 13 | 23 | 11 |  Jerry Churchill | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 258 | running |
| 14 | 21 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 248 | running |
| 15 | 14 | 89 | Bob Howard | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 233 | running |
| DNF | 6 | 81 | David Sosebee | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 205 | transmission |
| DNF | 26 | 1 |  Jim Richards | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 182 | engine |
| DNF | 12 | 78 | Ron Esau | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 160 | engine |
| DNF | 9 | 28 | Gary Collins | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 80 | crash |
| DNF | 28 | 17 | Dick Johnson | Ford Thunderbird | 80 | crash |
| DNF | 3 | 03 | Allan Grice | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 80 | crash |
| DNF | 27 | 96 | Brad Noffsinger | Pontiac Grand Prix | 80 | crash |
| DNF | 17 | 14 | Harry Goularte | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 79 | crash |
| DNF | 32 | 6 | John Lawes | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 77 | crash |
| DNF | 20 | 26 | Terry Byers | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 76 | crash |
| DNF | 7 | 25 | Bill Venturini | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 69 | crash |
| DNF | 29 | 8 | Rick McCray | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 63 | crash |
| DNF | 25 | 2 | Garry Rush | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 54 | overheating |
| DNF | 24 | 33 | John Krebs | Oldsmobile Delta 88 | 48 | engine |
| DNF | 16 | 73 | Bill Schmitt | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 31 | engine |
| DNF | 30 | 48 | Tony Spanos | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 17 | transmission |
| DNF | 31 | 22 | St. James Davis | Buick LaSabre | 2 | handling |
| Source:1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 results from racing-reference.info | ||||||