The 1986 Miller American 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 15, 1986, before an audience of 80,000 in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 Miller American 400 program cover, featuring Richard Petty. Petty made his thousandth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series start during the race. | |||
| Date | June 15, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 18th Annual Miller American 400 | ||
| Location | Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Average speed | 138.851 miles per hour (223.459 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 80,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 41.853 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | |
| Laps | 66 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
In the late laps of the race, Melling Racing's Bill Elliott, who had been a non-contender throughout most of the race, made a late race surge to contest with the leader, Mach 1 Racing's Harry Gant. The two fought for the lead for around 50 laps until lap 195, when Elliott passed Gant and managed to hold off Gant the rest of the way to secure the victory. The victory was Elliott's 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports' Geoff Bodine finished third.
During the race's qualifying session, Rick Baldwin, replacing the injured Buddy Arrington, was involved in a crash at the track's first turn during his qualifying lap. Baldwin's car spun, hitting the outside wall on the driver's side. As a result of the crash, Baldwin suffered head injuries that induced him into an 11-year coma that he did not recover from, dying on June 12, 1997. The incident was the first fatal accident in over a year in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series since Terry Schoonover at the 1984 Atlanta Journal 500.
Background
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The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Saturday, June 14, at 11:30 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 Saturday, at 2:00 PM 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 were given.
Tim Richmond, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 41.853 and an average speed of 172.031 miles per hour (276.857 km/h) in the first round.[4]
Five drivers failed to qualify.
Crashes of Rick Baldwin and Mark Stahl
editAfter Ricky Rudd made his qualifying lap, Rick Baldwin was scheduled to make his qualifying lap. Baldwin was tapped by owner-driver Buddy Arrington to qualify the car after Arrington suffered a concussion at the previous race, the 1986 Miller High Life 500. Arrington, if Baldwin had made the race, to start the race, then hand over driving duties to Baldwin so that Arrington could obtain driver's championship points for the race.[5][6] Heading into the first turn of his qualifying lap, according to Detroit Free Press writer Charlie Vincent, "the car took control of the man and his fate. The car spun, slamming back-end into the wall, then the front end whipped around, smashing the driver's side of the car into the concrete... in an instant, he lost consciousness."[6] After Baldwin wrecked, driver Mark Stahl also crashed in the first turn of his qualifying lap, suffering an ankle injury. Both drivers failed to qualify for the race.[7] In the aftermath of Baldwin's incident, Baldwin was transported to the W. A. Foote Memorial Hospital in Jackson, Michigan where he was diagnosed with multiple head and neck injuries.[8] Baldwin remained in a coma for 11 years, never fully recovering from his injuries and dying on June 12, 1997.[9]
Responses from the NASCAR community to the accident displayed sympathy for Baldwin. Arrington, the driver who Baldwin replaced, stated, "I feel really bad about what happened. What else can I say?... He's a good kid."[10] Corpus Christi Caller-Times writer Emil Tagliabue remarked Baldwin as chasing the dream to join the "clan of good ol' boys", stating, "There are those whom fate somehow seems to mock usually with no apparent good reason. Rick Baldwin is one of those."[11]
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
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References
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 16, 1986). "Elliott Breaks His Season-Long Losing Streak". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 3B. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vincent, Charlie (June 16, 1986). "Late surge by Elliott wins race". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1H, 8H. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vincent, Charlie (June 14, 1986). "Speedway speedier for NASCAR drivers". Detroit Free Press. pp. 2D. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 15, 1986). "Richmond Streaks To Michigan Pole; Baldwin Critically Injured". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5B. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Oliver, Richard (June 15, 1986). "Local racer's 'best chance' ends in disaster, injuries". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. pp. 1A, 10A. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Vincent, Charlie (June 15, 1986). "An instant on the MIS track takes charge of the driver's life". Detroit Free Press. pp. 12C. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Richmond wins pole for Miller 400 race". Kingsport Times-News. United Press International. June 15, 1986. pp. 4C. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (June 28, 1987). "Wallace, Cope form Unlikely Front Row". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 7D. Retrieved October 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "CC racer Baldwin dies at 42". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. June 14, 1997. pp. C6. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Randy (June 17, 1986). "It's not the two wrecked cars that are tearing Arrington up". The Roanoke Times. pp. B5. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Tagliabue, Emil (June 16, 1986). "Fate deals a tragic hand". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. pp. 9A. Retrieved January 13, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
