1987 The Winston

1987 The Winston
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Date May 17, 1987 (1987-05-17)
Location Concord, North Carolina
Course Charlotte Motor Speedway
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 135 laps, 202.5 mi (324 km)
Weather Temperatures around 82 °F (28 °C), with humidity at 59% and winds gusting to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) southwest
Average speed 153.023 mph (246.267 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bill Elliott Melling Racing
Laps 121
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Keith Jackson and Donnie Allison

The 1987 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 17, 1987. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 135-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the pole and led the most laps (121), but it was Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing who won the race in a move that would be known in NASCAR history as the Pass in the Grass.[2][3]

This was Tim Richmond's second and final appearance in The Winston. Despite being eligible for the 1988 Winston, he opted not to participate due to a then-ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR after he was suspended for testing positive for banned substances early that year. He died of complications from AIDS on August 13, 1989.[4][5]

  1. ^ "1987 The Winston". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  2. ^ Martinelli, Michelle R. (May 18, 2017). "Dale Earnhardt Jr. on why his dad's infamous 'pass in the grass' All-Star Race was so incredible". USA Today. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  3. ^ Jensen, Tom (May 19, 2023). "10 Historic NASCAR All-Star Races". NASCAR Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ^ "Tim Richmond, 34, Auto Racer". The New York Times. August 16, 1989. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  5. ^ Hinton, Ed (August 17, 2009). "More than Tim Richmond died in 1989". ESPN. Retrieved January 28, 2019.