# 1987 Valleydale Meats 500

The 1987 Valleydale Meats 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 12, 1987, before an audience of 34,000 in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol International Raceway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack.
By race's end, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt had managed to dominate the final 100 laps of the race, coming back from a lap down early to take his 25th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his fifth victory of the season, and his third straight victory. To fill out the top three, owner-driver Richard Petty and Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd finished second and third, respectively.

## Background

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Wrangler |
| 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 | Hesco Exhaust Systems |
| 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Motorcraft Quality Parts |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | 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 |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | Bahari Racing |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit |
| 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Folgers |
| 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | Busch Polishes |
| 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 |
| 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | Sunny King Ford |
| 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | Pannill Sweatshirts |
| 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | Rumple Furniture |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Lifebuoy |
| 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | Valvoline |
| 81 | Mike Potter | 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, April 8, at 4:45 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 15 drivers in the round would be 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, April 9, at 12:00 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 16-30 would be 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; up to two were given.
Harry Gant, driving for Mach 1 Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 16.588 and an average speed of 115.674 miles per hour (186.159 km/h) in the first round.
Tony Spanos was the only driver to fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 16.588 | 115.674 |
| 2 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 16.635 | 115.347 |
| 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 16.665 | 115.140 |
| 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16.677 | 115.057 |
| 5 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 16.710 | 114.829 |
| 6 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 16.723 | 114.740 |
| 7 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 16.727 | 114.713 |
| 8 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 16.736 | 114.651 |
| 9 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16.755 | 114.521 |
| 10 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 16.794 | 114.255 |
| 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 16.800 | 114.214 |
| 12 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16.826 | 114.038 |
| 13 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 16.839 | 113.950 |
| 14 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 16.858 | 113.821 |
| 15 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 16.881 | 113.666 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 16 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 16.946 | 113.230 |
| 17 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 16.948 | 113.217 |
| 18 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 16.998 | 112.884 |
| 19 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 17.211 | 111.487 |
| 20 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 17.255 | 111.203 |
| 21 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 17.262 | 111.157 |
| 22 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | 17.292 | 110.965 |
| 23 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 17.292 | 110.965 |
| 24 | 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 17.295 | 110.945 |
| 25 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Chevrolet | 17.420 | 110.149 |
| 26 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 17.448 | 109.972 |
| 27 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 17.522 | 109.508 |
| 28 | 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 17.611 | 108.955 |
| 29 | 81 | Mike Potter | Fillip Racing | Ford | 17.619 | 108.905 |
| 30 | 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | 17.807 | 107.755 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 31 | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | 18.480 | 103.831 |
| 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 | 500 | 134 | running | 180 | $43,850 |
| 2 | 18 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 500 | 1 | running | 175 | $21,030 |
| 3 | 15 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 500 | 0 | running | 165 | $17,175 |
| 4 | 11 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 500 | 149 | running | 170 | $12,570 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 500 | 3 | running | 160 | $11,605 |
| 6 | 1 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 1 | running | 155 | $9,060 |
| 7 | 16 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 500 | 51 | running | 151 | $6,350 |
| 8 | 8 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 499 | 42 | running | 147 | $5,580 |
| 9 | 13 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | running | 138 | $9,800 |
| 10 | 24 | 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | running | 0 | $7,845 |
| 11 | 10 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 492 | 0 | running | 130 | $4,860 |
| 12 | 12 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 490 | 0 | running | 127 | $1,850 |
| 13 | 23 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 487 | 0 | running | 124 | $5,500 |
| 14 | 25 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Chevrolet | 487 | 0 | running | 121 | $4,290 |
| 15 | 28 | 6 | D. K. Ulrich | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 483 | 0 | running | 118 | $4,380 |
| 16 | 2 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 479 | 42 | running | 120 | $8,710 |
| 17 | 7 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 451 | 0 | running | 112 | $3,660 |
| 18 | 29 | 81 | Mike Potter | Fillip Racing | Ford | 450 | 0 | running | 109 | $1,430 |
| 19 | 4 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 436 | 5 | crash | 111 | $7,190 |
| 20 | 19 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 419 | 0 | running | 103 | $1,950 |
| 21 | 26 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 406 | 0 | engine | 100 | $1,260 |
| 22 | 27 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,400 |
| 23 | 6 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 289 | 0 | crash | 94 | $6,880 |
| 24 | 14 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 252 | 54 | crash | 96 | $4,060 |
| 25 | 22 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | 209 | 0 | crash | 88 | $3,360 |
| 26 | 20 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 195 | 0 | engine | 85 | $6,770 |
| 27 | 17 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 18 | crash | 87 | $2,540 |
| 28 | 9 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 0 | crash | 79 | $8,910 |
| 29 | 21 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 127 | 0 | crash | 76 | $2,480 |
| 30 | 30 | 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Chevrolet | 77 | 0 | engine | 73 | $950 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 31 | | 48 | Tony Spanos | Hylton Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,205 |
| | 2 | Bill Elliott | 1,078 (-127) |
| 1 | 3 | Richard Petty | 1,008 (-197) |
| 1 | 4 | Neil Bonnett | 1,000 (–205) |
| | 5 | Ricky Rudd | 970 (–235) |
| 1 | 6 | Terry Labonte | 923 (–282) |
| 1 | 7 | Darrell Waltrip | 917 (–288) |
| 3 | 8 | Kyle Petty | 902 (–303) |
| 1 | 9 | Rusty Wallace | 886 (–319) |
| 1 | 10 | Ken Schrader | 882 (–323) |
| Official driver's standings ||||