# 1987 Miller High Life 400

The 1987 Miller High Life 400 was the third stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 33rd iteration of the event. Originally scheduled to be the second race of the season, the race was postponed from its scheduled date of February 22, 1987 to March 8 due to winter storms that affected the Richmond area and scheduling conflicts. The race was held before an audience of 30,000 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.
After recovering from a practice crash early in the race's weekend and an early spin during the ninth lap of the race itself, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt was able to mount a comeback, dominating a majority of the race to take his 22nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports' Geoff Bodine and Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace finished second and third, respectively.

## Background

Richmond 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

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 02 | Bill Hollar | Hollar Racing Enterprises | Pontiac | Hollar Racing Enterprises |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Wrangler |
| 04 | Clark James | James Racing | Pontiac | James Racing |
| 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Levi Garrett |
| 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | U.S. Racing |
| 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | Zerex |
| 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Miller American |
| 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | Coors |
| 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | Budweiser |
| 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Chevrolet | Hamby Racing |
| 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft Quality Parts |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 18 | Tommy Ellis | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | Freedlander Financial |
| 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Miller American |
| 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | Quaker State |
| 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | Kodiak |
| 28 | Davey Allison (R) | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | Ranier-Lundy Racing |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | Domino's |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit |
| 34 | Ron Shephard | AAG Racing | Oldsmobile | AAG Racing |
| 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Folgers |
| 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | Piedmont Airlines |
| 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | Hylton Motorsports |
| 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | Turtle Wax |
| 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Copenhagen |
| 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | AC Spark Plug |
| 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | Sunny King Ford |
| 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | Pannill Sweatshirts |
| 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | AC Spark Plug |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Lifebuoy |
| 72 | Eddie Drury | Drury Racing | Chevrolet | Drury Racing |
| 74 | Bobby Wawak | Wawak Racing | Chevrolet | Wawak Racing |
| 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | Valvoline |
| 81 | Buddy Arrington | Fillip Racing | Ford | Pannill Sweatshirts |
| 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Red Baron Frozen Pizza |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 6, at 3:00 PM 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 Saturday, March 7, at 10:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-30 were decided on time, 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 in the previous season; up to two were given.
Alan Kulwicki, driving for his own AK Racing team, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 20.506 and an average speed of 95.153 miles per hour (153.134 km/h) in the first round.
Five drivers failed to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 20.506 | 95.153 |
| 2 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 20.596 | 94.737 |
| 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 20.614 | 94.654 |
| 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.670 | 94.398 |
| 5 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 20.678 | 94.361 |
| 6 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.692 | 94.297 |
| 7 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.693 | 94.293 |
| 8 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 20.699 | 94.265 |
| 9 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 20.710 | 94.215 |
| 10 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 20.710 | 94.215 |
| 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 20.713 | 94.202 |
| 12 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 20.760 | 93.988 |
| 13 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 20.829 | 93.677 |
| 14 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | 20.870 | 93.493 |
| 15 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 20.927 | 93.238 |
| 16 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 20.954 | 93.118 |
| 17 | 18 | Tommy Ellis | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.960 | 93.092 |
| 18 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 20.976 | 93.021 |
| 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 21.118 | 92.395 |
| 20 | 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 21.171 | 92.164 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 21 | 28 | Davey Allison (R) | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 21.093 | 92.505 |
| 22 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 21.172 | 92.159 |
| 23 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 21.229 | 91.912 |
| 24 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 21.270 | 91.735 |
| 25 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | 21.274 | 91.718 |
| 26 | 81 | Buddy Arrington | Fillip Racing | Ford | 21.305 | 91.584 |
| 27 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 21.367 | 91.318 |
| 28 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 21.566 | 90.476 |
| 29 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 21.590 | 90.375 |
| 30 | 74 | Bobby Wawak | Wawak Racing | Chevrolet | 21.762 | 89.661 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 31 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 21.852 | 89.292 |
| 32 | 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 21.921 | 89.011 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 33 | 04 | Clark James | James Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 34 | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 35 | 72 | Eddie Drury | Drury Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 36 | 34 | Ron Shephard | AAG Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 37 | 02 | Bill Hollar | Hollar Racing Enterprises | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 235 | running | 185 | $49,150 |
| 2 | 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | running | 170 | $24,010 |
| 3 | 12 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 0 | running | 165 | $18,225 |
| 4 | 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 400 | 9 | running | 165 | $14,285 |
| 5 | 9 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 400 | 1 | running | 160 | $13,590 |
| 6 | 1 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 400 | 65 | running | 155 | $15,370 |
| 7 | 18 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 146 | $6,870 |
| 8 | 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | running | 142 | $6,360 |
| 9 | 13 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 399 | 16 | running | 143 | $8,470 |
| 10 | 7 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 134 | $11,700 |
| 11 | 27 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 396 | 0 | running | 130 | $7,845 |
| 12 | 14 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | 396 | 0 | running | 127 | $5,945 |
| 13 | 16 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 395 | 0 | crash | 124 | $5,035 |
| 14 | 23 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 394 | 0 | running | 121 | $4,845 |
| 15 | 22 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 391 | 0 | running | 118 | $2,145 |
| 16 | 31 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 389 | 0 | running | 115 | $1,700 |
| 17 | 26 | 81 | Buddy Arrington | Fillip Racing | Ford | 387 | 0 | running | 112 | $1,625 |
| 18 | 25 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | 381 | 0 | running | 109 | $4,410 |
| 19 | 29 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 379 | 0 | running | 106 | $4,260 |
| 20 | 6 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 351 | 23 | rear end | 108 | $1,885 |
| 21 | 5 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 351 | 1 | running | 105 | $4,060 |
| 22 | 24 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 321 | 0 | crash | 97 | $3,805 |
| 23 | 15 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 317 | 0 | running | 94 | $3,480 |
| 24 | 28 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | crash | 91 | $3,435 |
| 25 | 2 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 50 | transmission | 93 | $3,615 |
| 26 | 21 | 28 | Davey Allison (R) | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 206 | 0 | crash | 0 | $1,685 |
| 27 | 17 | 18 | Tommy Ellis | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 161 | 0 | crash | 82 | $3,310 |
| 28 | 8 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 143 | 0 | crash | 79 | $8,215 |
| 29 | 20 | 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 116 | 0 | rear end | 76 | $1,080 |
| 30 | 32 | 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 105 | 0 | oil leak | 73 | $2,545 |
| 31 | 10 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 79 | 0 | crash | 70 | $2,545 |
| 32 | 30 | 74 | Bobby Wawak | Wawak Racing | Chevrolet | 62 | 0 | overheating | 67 | $1,045 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 33 | | 04 | Clark James | James Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 34 | | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 35 | | 72 | Eddie Drury | Drury Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 36 | | 34 | Ron Shephard | AAG Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 37 | | 02 | Bill Hollar | Hollar Racing Enterprises | Pontiac | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 530 |
| | 2 | Bill Elliott | 510 (-20) |
| 6 | 3 | Bobby Allison | 417 (-113) |
| 2 | 4 | Ken Schrader | 414 (–116) |
| 6 | 5 | Terry Labonte | 411 (–119) |
| 1 | 6 | Darrell Waltrip | 401 (–129) |
| 3 | 7 | Neil Bonnett | 399 (–131) |
| 5 | 8 | Ricky Rudd | 392 (–138) |
| 2 | 9 | Richard Petty | 382 (–148) |
| | 10 | Phil Parsons | 378 (–152) |
| Official driver's standings ||||