| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 13 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 Miller High Life 500 program cover, featuring Buddy Baker. | |||
| Date | June 8, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 5th Annual Miller High Life 500 | ||
| Location | Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Average speed | 113.279 miles per hour (182.305 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 58.584 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Tim Richmond | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 97 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 25 | Tim Richmond | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | SETN | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jerry Punch | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1986 Miller High Life 500 was the 13th stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the fifth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 8, 1986, before an audience of 50,000 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono International Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.[1]
In the final laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports' Tim Richmond gambled on fuel strategy, opting to run the final 36 laps under one tank of fuel. With four laps left, a crash involving several drivers, incliudng Buddy Arrington, Geoff Bodine, and Morgan Shepherd occurred. Due to a lengthy cleanup, the race finished under caution, securing Richmond's sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt and Ranier-Lundy Racing's Cale Yarborough finished second and third, respectively.[2][3]
- ^ Jordan, Jack (June 9, 1986). "Rain Fails to Dampen Tim Richmond's Parade". Times Leader. p. 15. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 9, 1986). "Richmond Tops Wreck-Marred 500 At Pocono". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved January 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sernoffsky, Dan (June 9, 1986). "Richmond Takes Yellow, Checkered Flags". Lebanon Daily News. p. 11. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
