| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 29 in the1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 Winston 500 program cover, featuringBill Elliott. | |||
| Date | May 4, 1986 (1986-05-04) | ||
| Official name | 17th Annual Winston 500 | ||
| Location | Lincoln, Alabama,Alabama International Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.66 miles (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 157.698 miles per hour (253.790 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 130,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 45.121 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 116 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Larry Nuber | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1986 Winston 500 was the ninthstock car race of the1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 17th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Sunday, May 4, 1986, before an audience of 130,000 inLincoln, Alabama atAlabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shapedsuperspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete.
In the final laps of the race,Stavola Brothers Racing'sBobby Allison made a late-race charge to the lead, passing with six laps left in the race. Allison then defended a last-lap move byRichard Childress Racing'sDale Earnhardt in the final turns of the race, securing his 82nd careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Earnhardt and owner-driverBuddy Baker finished second and third, respectively.[1][2]
The race is notable for an incident in which a fan stole the pace car for the event, resulting in a short lived police chase occurring on the track. The fan was later arrested for the incident.[3]
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known asAlabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is amotorsports complex located north ofTalladega, Alabama. It is located on the formerAnniston Air Force Base in the small city ofLincoln. The track is atri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by theInternational Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by theFrance family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts theNASCAR series such as theNASCAR Cup Series,Xfinity Series and theCamping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longestNASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like theDaytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, May 1, at 1:00 PMEST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round were 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, May 2, at 1:00 PMEST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,[4] 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 were given.
Bill Elliott, driving forMelling Racing, won the pole, setting a time of 45.121 and an average speed of 212.229 miles per hour (341.549 km/h) in the first round.[5]
Seven drivers failed to qualify.
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| Previous race: 1986 Sovran Bank 500 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1986 season | Next race: 1986 Budweiser 500 |
