1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500

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1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500

Race details
Exhibition race in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Sponsored by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Date	February 28, 1988 (1988-February-28)
Location	Calder Park Thunderdome
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.119 mi (1.801 km)
Distance	280 laps, 313.35 mi (504.28 km)
Weather	Temperatures ranging between 11 °C (52 °F) and 23 °C (73 °F)[1]
Average speed	101.670 miles per hour (163.622 km/h)
Attendance	46,000 (approx)
Pole position
Driver	Neil Bonnett	RahMoc Enterprises
Time	28.829
Winner
No. 75	Neil Bonnett	RahMoc Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN (simulcast of Seven Network coverage)
Announcers	Mike Raymond, Garry Wilkinson and Neil Crompton

The Goodyear NASCAR 500 was a non-championship exhibition NASCAR Winston Cup series race run at the then new A$54 million Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne on 28 February 1988. The race was the first ever NASCAR event held outside North America. Unlike Winston Cup races in the United States, the 500 was actually 500 kilometres which is only 310 miles (roughly the same length as a Busch Series race).

Headlining the race were a number of Winston Cup and Winston West Series drivers such as Alabama Gang members Bobby Allison, who had won the 1988 Daytona 500 just two weeks prior (his third and last win in the event), and Neil Bonnett, who had won the previous weekends Pontiac Excitement 400 at the Richmond International Raceway. Other NASCAR regulars including Michael Waltrip (the younger brother of triple Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip and a future Daytona 500 winner) and Dave Marcis took on Australians new to Super Speedway such as Touring car drivers Allan Grice, Kiwi Jim Richards, and Dick Johnson, although Grice had previously raced in Winston Cup events such as the longest race in the series, the Coca-Cola 600 at the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway, the track on which Calder Park owner Bob Jane had modeled the Thunderdome. Grice had qualified 32nd at the 1987 Coca-Cola 600, becoming the first Australian to qualify for a NASCAR Winston Cup race. He would be classified in 35th place at the end of the 600 after his car suffered differential failure.

The most famous last name in NASCAR racing history was also represented. Kyle Petty, the son of NASCAR's "King" Richard Petty and the grandson of Lee Petty, the winner of the very first Daytona 500 in 1959, also made the trip down under for Australia's first ever NASCAR race. In a test session prior the meeting, Richard Petty set an unofficial lap record for the Thunderdome of 28.2 seconds for an average speed of 142.85 mp/h.

The race was broadcast live across Australia by the Seven Network, and was broadcast internationally through ESPN in the US and also throughout Europe, with commentary provided by their regular motor sport commentary team of Mike Raymond, Garry Wilkinson and Neil Crompton. Long-time motor racing and NASCAR journalist Chris Economaki, who had previously been part of Seven's Bathurst 1000 coverage in the late 1970s and early 1980s, also returned to Australia to be Seven's pit reporter and NASCAR expert during the race with local motoring journalist and race driver Peter McKay also doing pit reports. Seven used a number of Racecam units during the race with cameras mounted in several cars including those of Neil Bonnett and regular racecam drivers Allan Grice and Dick Johnson.