1988 Pannill Sweatshirts 500
Race details
Race 8 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1988 Pannill Sweatshirts 500 program cover.
The 1988 Pannill Sweatshirts 500 program cover.
Date April 24, 1988
Official name 39th Annual Pannill Sweatshirts 500
Location Martinsville, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km)
Average speed 74.74 miles per hour (120.28 km/h)
Attendance 42,000
Pole position
Driver
King Racing
Time 20.734
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 182
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Gary Nelson
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1988 Pannill Sweatshirts 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 24, 1988, before an audience of 42,000 in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate the latter stages of the race, leading the final 182 laps to take his 33rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Hagan Racing driver Sterling Marlin and Stavola Brothers Racing driver Bobby Hillin Jr. would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of Martinsville Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.

Entry list

# Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 Gary Brooks Brooks Racing Chevrolet Brooks Racing
2 Ernie Irvan (R) U.S. Racing Chevrolet Kroger
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Stroh's Light
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
10 Ken Bouchard (R) Whitcomb Racing Chevrolet Whitcomb Racing
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Crisco
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile Slender You Figure Salons
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Chevrolet Eureka
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum
67 Jimmy Hensley Arrington Racing Chevrolet Pannill Sweatshirts
68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Ford Purolator
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Wynn's, Kmart
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Red Baron Frozen Pizza
90 Benny Parsons Donlavey Racing Ford Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
97 Rodney Combs Winkle Motorsports Buick AC Spark Plug
98 Brad Noffsinger (R) Curb Racing Buick Sunoco

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, April 21, at 2:00 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be 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, April 22, at 1:30 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-30 would be decided on time,[5] 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.

Ricky Rudd, driving for King Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.734 and an average speed of 91.328 miles per hour (146.978 km/h) in the first round.[6]

Four drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 20.734 91.328
2 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 20.787 91.095
3 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 20.799 91.043
4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 20.814 90.977
5 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.841 90.859
6 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.849 90.825
7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20.854 90.803
8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 20.899 90.607
9 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 20.910 90.560
10 67 Jimmy Hensley Arrington Racing Ford 20.963 90.331
11 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 20.969 90.305
12 90 Benny Parsons Donlavey Racing Ford 20.971 90.296
13 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 20.972 90.292
14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20.981 90.253
15 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 20.983 90.244
16 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 20.993 90.201
17 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 21.011 90.124
18 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 21.017 90.098
19 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 21.019 90.090
20 12 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 21.027 90.056
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 20.782 91.117
22 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 20.823 90.938
23 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 20.835 90.886
24 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 20.906 90.577
25 31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile 21.039 90.004
26 28 Davey Allison Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 21.073 89.859
27 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 21.077 89.842
28 98 Brad Noffsinger (R) Curb Racing Buick 21.090 89.787
29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 21.092 89.778
30 10 Ken Bouchard (R) Whitcomb Racing Buick 21.123 89.646
Provisionals
31 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 21.189 89.367
32 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Ford 21.135 89.595
Failed to qualify
33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 21.180 89.405
34 2 Ernie Irvan (R) U.S. Racing Chevrolet 21.184 89.388
35 97 Rodney Combs Winkle Motorsports Buick 21.368 88.618
36 00 Gary Brooks Brooks Racing Chevrolet 21.646 87.480
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 182 running 185 $53,550
2 21 44 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 500 101 running 175 $29,975
3 29 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 499 11 running 170 $20,775
4 17 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 498 1 running 165 $14,550
5 6 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 498 0 running 155 $14,250
6 26 28 Davey Allison Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 498 0 running 150 $12,600
7 24 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 498 1 running 151 $8,400
8 20 12 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 496 0 running 142 $9,000
9 31 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 495 0 running 138 $6,200
10 7 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 494 0 running 134 $10,650
11 15 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 493 0 running 130 $10,470
12 18 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 491 0 running 127 $5,520
13 13 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Oldsmobile 491 0 running 124 $2,470
14 12 90 Benny Parsons Donlavey Racing Ford 491 0 running 121 $5,370
15 5 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 488 0 running 118 $6,400
16 2 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 488 0 running 115 $12,350
17 11 21 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 460 0 running 112 $6,780
18 1 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 446 37 engine 114 $8,555
19 25 31 Brad Teague Bob Clark Motorsports Oldsmobile 407 0 running 106 $1,725
20 8 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 392 0 engine 103 $5,850
21 28 98 Brad Noffsinger (R) Curb Racing Buick 368 0 engine 100 $2,850
22 23 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 314 0 engine 97 $4,055
23 4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 309 0 engine 94 $2,820
24 10 67 Jimmy Hensley Arrington Racing Ford 290 0 ignition 0 $4,245
25 16 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 243 0 engine 88 $2,375
26 3 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 208 167 engine 90 $7,175
27 19 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 205 0 engine 82 $8,725
28 22 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 193 0 engine 79 $1,400
29 32 68 Derrike Cope Testa Racing Ford 122 0 overheating 76 $3,550
30 9 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 44 0 engine 73 $7,560
31 30 10 Ken Bouchard (R) Whitcomb Racing Buick 42 0 engine 70 $1,610
32 27 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 31 0 engine 67 $3,510
Failed to qualify
33 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac
34 2 Ernie Irvan (R) U.S. Racing Chevrolet
35 97 Rodney Combs Winkle Motorsports Buick
36 00 Gary Brooks Brooks Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 25, 1988). "Right Tires Give Earnhardt Martinsville Win (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 49. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 25, 1988). "Right Tires Give Earnhardt Martinsville Win (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 53. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ King, Randy (April 25, 1988). "Earnhardt wins, no sweat (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 11. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ King, Randy (April 25, 1988). "Earnhardt wins, no sweat (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 14. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 21, 1988. p. 35. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 22, 1988). "Rudd's Fast Lap At Martinsville Warms Homecoming". The Charlotte Observer. p. 36. Retrieved July 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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