1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500

Qualifying

The race was 280 laps of the 1.801 km (1.119 mi) quad-oval Thunderdome (though it was generally referred to as a Tri-oval through its life). Neil Bonnett driving his 1987 model Pontiac Grand Prix for his Winston Cup team RahMoc Enterprises, won the $10,000 Goodyear-Parkroyal Pole Shootout with a time of 28.829 ahead of Allison who's Buick LeSabre ended up just 0.018 behind Bonnett, and the fastest of the Aussies, Allan Grice driving an Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a time of 28.871 seconds. Behind Grice, the highest placed Australian was Tasmanian speedway driver Robin Best who qualified 4th in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

The only non-GM product in the top 10 was the Ford Thunderbird of former Motorcycle speedway rider turned stock car racer Sumner McKnight who qualified in 10th place.

During Friday's qualifying session, Bonnett was the fastest qualifier with a time of 28.71 seconds.

Top Ten Qualifiers

** Note: Speed shown in mp/h*

Race summary

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.

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 the Pontiac, but came off second best in a touch with Allison's Buick coming out of Turn 4 which brought the race's first caution after just 13 laps after Grice's Oldsmobile 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's Monte 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 the Ford 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 placed Glen 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).

Race results

Notes

• Pole speed – 139.734 mp/h
• Race average speed – 101.67 mp/h
• Cautions – 11 for 52 laps
• Lead changes – 25
• Winning margin – 0.86 seconds
• Race time – 3:23:45
• Attendance – 46,000 (approx)
• Grand marshal – Bob Jane
• Official pace car – Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV
• Pace car driver – John Harvey

References

References

1. [http://classic.wunderground.com/history/airport/YMML/1988/2/24/DailyHistory.html?req_city=Melbourne&req_state=VC&req_statename=Victoria Weather information for the ''1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500''] at Weather Underground