Editor’s Note: NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023. SPEED SPORT was founded in 1934 and was already on its way to becoming America’s Motorsports Authority when NASCAR was formed. As a result, we will bring you Part 39 of a 75-part series on the history of NASCAR as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News and SPEED SPORT Magazine.
NASCAR Winston Cup teams were always hunting for the elusive combination of a skilled driver; a fast, good-handling car; and a cohesive, talented crew which they hope will lead not only to victories, but to the championship.
The Richard Childress-owned Wrangler team, led by driver Dale Earnhardt, found this combination in 1986.
“I can’t see where I could find a more competitive car or a better bunch of guys or team that I’d rather be associated with,” said Earnhardt in the April 23 issue of National Speed Sport News after he won at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway. “We’re working harder than ever. Always before in the spring of the year, I’ve had time to hunt turkey gobblers and do a lot of fishing.
“This year, I haven’t wet a line or picked up my shotgun. When we’re not racing, we’re testing.”
Earnhardt began the year with the 1980 championship to his credit, but had finished no better than fourth in the standings since. Yet, this season hearkened to 1980 from the start as he won the Busch Clash among last season’s pole winners.
1980 was the only other season in which he had won the pre-Daytona 500 event.
Earnhardt’s crew chief, Kirk Shelmerdine, had the Chevrolet Monte Carlo running just as well for the 500 and the driver entered lap 197 glued to race-leader Geoff Bodine’s bumper, perfectly positioned for a last-lap slingshot. That is, until the No. 3 car ran out of gas and was forced to pit for a splash of fuel.
Then, a miscalculation turned into disaster for the impatient Earnhardt.
“I had the right car and was ready to race Bodine, but we just ran out of gas. When we put in fuel and refired the engine, I revved it up pretty good, and that’s when it blew,” Earnhardt explained in the Feb. 19 issue of NSSN. “But I think I had Bodine covered while I was on the track. I was just riding in second place, waiting to make my move on the last lap.
“We’ll never know what would have happened, but I feel pretty sure I would have gotten around him and won the race.”
Earnhardt Put On Probation
Earnhardt’s aggressive driving style foiled his chance for victory the following week at Richmond Raceway.
He was battling Darrell Waltrip for the lead with two laps remaining when the cars touched and spun into the steel railing, giving Kyle Petty the lead and his first Winston Cup victory. Earnhardt recovered to finish third while an angry Waltrip was fifth.
“I know on short tracks you push, shove and do what you got to do,” Waltrip fumed in the Feb. 26 NSSN. “Bumping is one thing, but a flat turn into someone is another. Look at the man’s (Earnhardt) track record in a situation like this. I don’t think it surprised anybody in the grandstands.”
“I didn’t do anything he wouldn’t do,” responded Earnhardt. “I was trying to dive under him in the third turn, and I didn’t make it.”
NASCAR officials sided with Waltrip and placed Earnhardt on probation for the balance of the season after fining him $5,000 for reckless driving.
Earnhardt posted top-10 finishes at North Carolina Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway to secure third in the standings behind Waltrip and Terry Labonte.
His first victory of the season came April 13 at Darlington Raceway.
Earnhardt led 335 of 367 laps in his victory over Waltrip. One week later, he won at North Wilkesboro Speedway to move to within 23 points of the point leader.
The margin fell to five after both drivers experienced engine trouble at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway began the month of May and 48-year-old Bobby Allison became the oldest driver to win a Winston Cup race. He qualified second and took the lead with six laps remaining for the victory.
Meanwhile, Earnhardt finished second, but was now first in the standings.
After Bill Elliott edged the new point leader in The Winston non-points race at Atlanta, Earnhardt finished third in the Budweiser 500 at Dover Downs lnt’l Speedway as Bodine won for the second time in 1986.
Earnhardt’s first victory in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Coca-Cola 600 was the third of the season for the second-generation driver.
“I would come here and watch dad (Ralph Earnhardt) win sportsman races,” he recalled. “I thought if I ever got into racing, my biggest dream would be to win the World 600 (as the race was known until this season).”
The season continued at the 2.62-mile Riverside (Calif.) Raceway road course and Earnhardt finished fifth in a race, which Waltrip won. Earnhardt finished second behind Tim Richmond at Pocono Raceway. After 14 races, Earnhardt was 246 up on the defending champ as Waltrip finished fifth and took sixth during Elliott’s victory at Michigan lnt’l Speedway.
Waltrip Goes To Hendrick
Waltrip’s poor showing escalated tensions between he and Johnson to the point Waltrip decided to leave the team after 1986. Together, Johnson and Waltrip had won 41 races and three Winston Cup championships in six years.
Waltrip decided to join the Rick Hendrick team.
“This has got to hurt, but we’re still not going to give up on the title,” said Johnson in the July 2 issue of NSSN. “At times, either the car hasn’t been driving to its capability or the driver hasn’t. I’m not saying Darrell is stroking, but when you get close to 40 there are a lot of things more important than racing. And you don’t want to jeopardize everything.”
In response, Waltrip posted two fourth-place finishes at Daytona and Pocono Raceway. Coincidently, both races were won by Hendrick driver Tim Richmond, who sneaked into the point race with his second and third victories of the season.
Allison’s teammate, 22-year-old Bobby Hillin Jr., won the Talladega 500 the following week to become the youngest driver to win a Winston Cup race.
He used the same engine Allison had used to become the oldest driver to ever triumph in a Winston Cup race.
The hottest driver on the circuit, Richmond, triumphed for the fourth time in six races as NASCAR held its first race since 1965 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l. Richmond started from the pole and beat Waltrip and Earnhardt to the stripe.
Richmond was now in position to overtake Waltrip for second in the standings, but Richmond’s second-place finish to Waltrip’s third at Michigan (of course, Elliott won) allowed Waltrip to stay behind Earnhardt.
Richmond followed Waltrip’s victory at Bristol Motor Speedway by winning the Southern 500 at Darlington. Richmond was two seconds behind Elliott with six laps remaining when Elliott scraped the second-turn wall.
The gaffe gave Richmond the opportunity to take the lead.
The victory gave the Chevy Monte Carlo pilot five victories and four runner-up spots in the last 10 races, but the championship race was at the forefront of his mind.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘Don’t be so intense on getting this one,’” he said after the Southern 500. “’You already have four wins and you’re in second place now … Had I not had those four wins, I would have been trying to get Elliott.”
Another victory at Richmond, vaulted Richmond to second in the standings with seven races remaining.
Earnhardt Stalks Second Title
Earnhardt, meanwhile, continued stalking his second title with steady, if not always spectacular, finishes. Yet, he was in the midst of a 14-race winless streak before Earnhardt won again at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The Childress team finished sixth at North Carolina Motor Speedway before Earnhardt clinched his second title with a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He took second behind Richmond in the Winston Western 500 in Riverside, Calif., to cap off the season.
“It’s all behind us now, and I’m taking 4 days off to go hunting,” Earnhardt said after clinching the title over Waltrip and third-place Richmond.
Other NASCAR honorees from 1986 include Alan Kulwicki as rookie of the year, Larry Pearson as the Busch Grand National champion and Jimmy Spencer as the Winston Modified Tour titlist. Herschel McGriff edged rookie Chad Little for Winston West honors while Dave Mader III won the All-American Challenge Series.
Hut Stricklin was the Charlotte/Daytona Dash champion.