The 1986 Firecracker 400 was the 15th stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, July 4, 1986, before an audience of 65,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 160 laps to complete.

1986 Pepsi Firecracker 400
Race details
Race 15 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1986 Firecracker 400 program cover.
The 1986 Firecracker 400 program cover.
Date July 4, 1986
Official name 28th Annual Firecracker 400
Location Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Scheduled Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed 131.916 miles per hour (212.298 km/h)
Attendance 65,000
Pole position
Driver Ranier-Lundy Racing
Time 44.222
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 69
Winner
No. 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Al Trautwig, Sam Posey
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

With eight laps left in the race, Dale Earnhardt blew an engine in front of the leader, Buddy Baker. Although Baker was able to avoid the wreck, in the race back to the line, Hendrick Motorsports' Tim Richmond was able to take the lead at the time of caution. On the final restart with three laps left, Richmond was able to hold off the field, securing his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Ellington Racing's Sterling Marlin and Stavola Brothers Racing's Bobby Hillin Jr. finished second and third, respectively.[1][2]

Background

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

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Doug Heveron H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet Heyward Grooms Construction
1 Sterling Marlin Ellington Racing Chevrolet Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
2 Rodney Combs Harrington Racing Chevrolet Soldier Seal, Gunk
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Wrangler
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Jim Sauter U.S. Racing Chevrolet Finky's
7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 7-Eleven
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet Miller American
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors
10 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet TRW Automotive
11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet Budweiser
14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile Copenhagen
15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft Quality Parts
17 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet Kmart
18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet Freedlander Financial
20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Chevrolet Newsom Racing
22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller American
23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Hawaiian Punch
25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Alugard
28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford Hardee's
29 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet Adcox Racing
33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford Quincy's Steakhouse
39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford Wangerin Racing
41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet Ronnie Thomas Racing
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile Piedmont Airlines
47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Chevrolet Race Hill Farm Team
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet Hylton Motorsports
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Jimmy Means Racing
54 Eddie Bierschwale Gray Racing Chevrolet Kodak
55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Copenhagen
64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford Sunny King Ford
66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal
67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford Pannill Sweatshirts
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac Helen Rae Special
73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Ford Helen Rae Special
75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Nationwise Automotive
77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Chevrolet McCord Gasket
81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford Circle Bar Truck Corral
88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile Evinrude Outboard Motors
90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford Red Baron Frozen Pizza
98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac Valvoline
99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet Ball Motorsports

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, July 2, at 10:00 AM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round were 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 Thursday, July 3, at 10:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 were decided on time,[3] 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 provisionals were given.

Cale Yarborough, driving for Ranier-Lundy Racing, won the pole, setting a time of 44.222 and an average speed of 203.519 miles per hour (327.532 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Seven drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 44.222 203.519
2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 44.240 203.436
3 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 44.426 202.584
4 55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 44.450 202.475
5 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 44.526 202.129
6 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 44.619 201.708
7 47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Buick 44.740 201.162
8 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 44.748 201.126
9 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 44.867 200.593
10 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 44.873 200.566
11 66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 45.037 199.836
12 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 45.047 199.791
13 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 45.112 199.503
14 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 45.137 199.393
15 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 45.158 199.300
16 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 45.238 198.948
17 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 45.255 198.873
18 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 45.310 198.632
19 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 45.357 198.426
20 2 Rodney Combs Harrington Racing Chevrolet 45.376 198.343
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 1 Sterling Marlin Ellington Racing Chevrolet 44.190 203.666
22 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 44.755 201.095
23 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 45.008 199.964
24 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 45.027 199.880
25 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 45.030 199.867
26 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 45.152 199.327
27 17 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet 45.299 198.680
28 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Chevrolet 45.315 198.610
29 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 45.377 198.338
30 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac 45.412 198.186
31 54 Eddie Bierschwale Gray Racing Chevrolet 45.432 198.098
32 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 45.459 197.981
33 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 45.463 197.963
34 0 Doug Heveron H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet 45.489 197.850
35 67 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Ford 45.554 197.568
36 10 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 45.565 197.520
37 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 45.607 197.338
38 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 45.664 197.092
39 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 45.684 197.006
40 29 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet 45.687 196.993
Provisionals
41 6 Jim Sauter U.S. Racing Chevrolet -* -*
42 64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Ford -* -*
44 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
45 20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Chevrolet -* -*
46 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
47 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford -* -*
49 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 9 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 18 running 180 $58,655
2 21 1 Sterling Marlin Ellington Racing Chevrolet 160 6 running 175 $37,700
3 8 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 160 0 running 165 $24,545
4 23 11 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 160 2 running 165 $24,750
5 13 7 Kyle Petty Wood Brothers Racing Ford 160 4 running 160 $19,725
6 33 15 Ricky Rudd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 160 0 running 150 $17,200
7 29 26 Joe Ruttman King Racing Buick 160 0 running 146 $12,300
8 12 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 160 0 running 142 $14,150
9 11 66 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 160 0 running 138 $7,600
10 32 35 Alan Kulwicki (R) AK Racing Ford 160 0 running 134 $7,600
11 17 12 Neil Bonnett Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 160 1 running 135 $13,515
12 38 90 Ken Schrader Donlavey Racing Ford 160 0 running 127 $9,845
13 22 75 Jody Ridley RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 160 0 running 124 $8,615
14 3 88 Buddy Baker Baker–Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 160 31 running 126 $6,645
15 6 22 Bobby Allison Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 159 3 running 123 $11,580
16 2 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 159 1 running 120 $13,675
17 1 28 Cale Yarborough Ranier-Lundy Racing Ford 159 5 running 117 $6,975
18 39 23 Michael Waltrip (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 159 0 running 109 $3,520
19 14 44 Terry Labonte Hagan Enterprises Oldsmobile 159 0 running 106 $10,320
20 30 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Pontiac 159 0 running 103 $8,455
21 25 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 158 0 running 100 $3,045
22 19 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 156 0 running 97 $6,595
23 41 6 Jim Sauter U.S. Racing Chevrolet 155 0 running 0 $6,210
24 37 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 155 1 running 96 $5,950
25 35 67 Buddy Arrington[a] Arrington Racing Ford 154 0 running 88 $5,790
26 40 29 Grant Adcox Adcox Racing Chevrolet 154 0 running 85 $2,195
27 5 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 151 69 accident 92 $14,895
28 27 17 Pancho Carter Hamby Racing Chevrolet 150 0 running 79 $5,100
29 18 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 147 16 engine 81 $9,995
30 42 64 Connie Saylor Langley Racing Ford 145 0 accident 0 $4,860
31 26 33 Harry Gant Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 143 0 engine 70 $10,645
32 20 2 Rodney Combs Harrington Racing Chevrolet 130 0 brakes 67 $2,020
33 34 0 Doug Heveron H. L. Waters Racing Chevrolet 106 1 clutch 69 $2,045
34 28 77 Ken Ragan Ragan Racing Chevrolet 92 0 transmission 61 $1,970
35 31 54 Eddie Bierschwale Gray Racing Chevrolet 83 0 engine 58 $1,945
36 4 55 Benny Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 78 2 engine 60 $2,120
37 7 47 Morgan Shepherd Race Hill Farm Team Buick 50 0 handling 52 $1,895
38 10 18 Tommy Ellis Freedlander Motorsports Chevrolet 33 0 engine 49 $2,625
39 36 10 Greg Sacks DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 33 0 accident 46 $1,845
40 24 81 Chet Fillip (R) Fillip Racing Ford 14 0 accident 43 $1,870
41 16 98 Ron Bouchard Curb Racing Pontiac 13 0 accident 40 $1,820
42 15 14 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Oldsmobile 2 0 engine 37 $1,820
Failed to qualify
43 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Ford
44 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Chevrolet
45 20 Rick Newsom Newsom Racing Chevrolet
46 99 Brad Teague Ball Motorsports Chevrolet
47 41 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Racing Chevrolet
48 39 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford
49 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

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Notes

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  1. ^ Five laps into the race, Arrington was replaced by J. D. McDuffie. As Arrington started the race, he is credited with the finishing position.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 5, 1986). "Richmond Wraps Up Firecracker". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 12A, 15A. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Coble, Don (July 5, 1986). "Richmond wins Firecracker". Florida Today. pp. 1C, 2C. Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ Ford, Tom (July 2, 1986). "Hot temperatures slow down speeds for Firecracker". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 1C, 6C. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (July 3, 1986). "Yarborough Takes Pole At Daytona". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5C, 9C. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ King, Randy (July 5, 1986). "Richmond takes Firecracker 400". The Roanoke Times. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  


Previous race:
1986 Miller American 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1986 season
Next race:
1986 Summer 500