The 1988 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the second stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 21, 1988, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, a 0.542 miles (0.872 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. Coming back from a two lap deficit, RahMoc Enterprises driver Neil Bonnett would manage to pass for the lead on the final restart with 48 laps left in the race, coming back with the help of a long green flag stint to gain his first lap back, and a period of back-to-back cautions to regain his second lap. Bonnett would manage to lead the final 48 laps to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4]
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1988 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | February 21, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 34th Annual Pontiac Excitement 400 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.542 mi (0.872 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 216.8 mi (348.905 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 216.8 mi (348.905 km) | ||
| Average speed | 66.401 miles per hour (106.862 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Winkle Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.616 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 151 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Johnny Hayes | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The victory was disputed by second place finisher, Ricky Rudd, and his team, King Racing. In an appeal filed by King Racing, the team stated that the three of Rudd, Richard Petty, and Darrell Waltrip all believed that Neil Bonnett had an accidental lap added to his total, with all three insisting that Bonnett had run no more than 399 laps of the race.[5] In an investigation done by NASCAR and their chief scorer, Morris Metcalfe, they maintained the validity of Bonnett's victory on February 23. Metcalfe firmly stated that he believed Bonnett had earned his laps back, stating in the Winston-Salem Journal that "We had everything under control the whole way, and we never had any doubt about who was leading, or who'd gotten lapped, or how Neil Bonnett got his laps back."[6][7]
The race was the final race using the former 0.542 miles (0.872 km) layout that Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway had been using at the time. The old track, one that was seen as an aging track and a track with few amenities,[8] was being torn down in favor of a new, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) long D-shaped oval named Richmond International Raceway that would be built near the now-former location of Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway. The track was meant to be a more modern and expanded version of Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, with more amenities and seats being added.[9]
The race was the first victory that featured a car using the Hoosier Racing Tire brand, who had entered NASCAR in 1988 as a direct competitor towards the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, who prior to the 1988 season, had a monopoly on tires used in NASCAR since the 1971 season.[10] The victory was not viewed as a major victory for Hoosier Racing Tire, with Bonnett not showing a commitment towards using the brand for the entirety of the 1988 season. Bonnett would state that "We came here and tried the Hoosiers, and we found them to be the best tire for this track... we're going to run the best tire available at each track. Who knows? We might not run another race this year on Hoosier tires."[11][12]
Background
editRichmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was scheduled to be held on Friday, February 19, at 3:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-30 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, February 20.[14] However, due to rain, the first round was cancelled. As a result, qualifying was condensed into one round for all starting grid spots in the race, which was run on Saturday. 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.[15]
Morgan Shepherd, driving for Winkle Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.616 and an average speed of 94.645 miles per hour (152.316 km/h) in the first round.[16]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
edit
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Notes
edit- ^ a b After Ken Schrader failed to qualify using his Hendrick Motorsports entry, team owner Rick Hendrick would manage to buy out owner-driver Buddy Arrington's car for the race, using Arrington's car for driver points.[13]
References
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett Comeback A Triumph Despite Protest (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 49. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett Comeback A Triumph Despite Protest (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 52. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett prevails in 400; confusion shrouds finish (Part 1)". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 25. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett prevails in 400; confusion shrouds finish (Part 2)". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 28. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett took the flag, but who is counting?". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 22. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mulhurn, Mike (February 23, 1988). "Metcalfe, NASCAR Stand Behind Bonnett's Richmond Win (Part 1)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 25. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mulhurn, Mike (February 23, 1988). "Metcalfe, NASCAR Stand Behind Bonnett's Richmond Win (Part 2)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 29. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (February 21, 1988). "Fairgrounds finale occasion for relief and remembrance". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 41. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (May 15, 1988). "Fruits of struggle". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 40. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Macenka, Joe (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett wins Richmond race". The Daily Item. p. 21. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Randy (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett declared winner of wild race at Richmond (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 9. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Randy (February 22, 1988). "Bonnett declared winner of wild race at Richmond (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 12. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pearson, Harold (February 21, 1988). "Twist of events puts Pond in field". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 41. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. February 19, 1988. p. 28. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 20, 1988). "Rain May Put Allisons On Front Row". The Charlotte Observer. p. 23. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (February 21, 1988). "Shepherd Captures Pole, Schrader At Back Of Field". The Charlotte Observer. p. 30. Retrieved June 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
