Top 25 Lowe's Motor Speedway moments: Dale Earnhardt's 1987 Winston win
Dale Earnhardt won The Winston in 1987. // Courtesy, Lowe's Motor Speedway Archives
It is a race that has passed into legend. It saw two of NASCAR’s greatest drivers stage a rousing finish in which the phrase “the pass in the grass” became a part of stock-car lore.
Following its conclusion, NASCAR took punitive action against three angry drivers who had displayed less-than-exemplary behavior during and after the race.
For one of those drivers, his reputation as a competitor who asked no quarter and gave none was forever established.
This month, SceneDaily is looking at 25 of the top moments at Lowe’s Motor Speedway as the track celebrates the 25th running of the all-star race and the 50th Coca-Cola 600. To mark the anniversaries, LMS offered fans the chance to vote on top moments at the track, with highlight videos available. Among the top 25 moments SceneDaily selected is Dale Earnhardt’s victory in The Winston of 1987.
The format for The Winston, the precursor of today’s Sprint All-Star race, was changed for 1987. The race would consist of segments of 75, 50 and 10 laps.
It was the first time a 10-lap “shootout” became part of the race. The intent was to, hopefully, provide a wild, exciting finish.
To say that it did may be an understatement.
Twenty cars were entered in the event, scheduled for May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, now known as Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Bill Elliott, driving for Harry Melling, won the pole and mopped up in the first two segments. He led all the way, except during a mandatory pit stop during the first segment. He earned a hefty $100,000.
The starting order for the final 10 laps was determined by positions at the end of 50-lap second segment.
That put Elliott on the point, with Geoff Bodine alongside him. Tim Richmond and Dale Earnhardt lined up behind them.
Things began to happen quickly. When the green flag fell, Bodine quickly squirted ahead. Earnhardt followed him on the high side of the track as they raced into Turn 1. Bodine moved alongside Elliott and pinched him onto the apron.
Elliott’s Ford wobbled and then tagged Bodine’s rear bumper as it came back up the track. Bodine spun, and as he did so, Elliott was forced to the high side of the track. Earnhardt shot to the low side of the track to take the lead.
Bodine was furious.
“I’ve got to hit somebody!” he yelled to his crew over the radio. “Who was it?”
Earnhardt led Elliott when the race restarted.
They waged a heated battle. Twice, Elliott nudged Earnhardt. Then, with seven laps to go, it happened. Elliott’s Ford and Earnhardt’s Chevrolet, which was slightly ahead, bumped coming out of Turn 4.
Earnhardt angled across the track and then into the grassy infield at the trioval. No one thought he could maintain control over his Chevrolet as it kicked up dirt and grass.
But remarkably, he did. Not only did he get his Chevrolet back onto the racing surface, he held on to the lead.
The fans, and the media, were awestruck over what they had seen.
It would be called the pass in the grass.
“I didn’t pass in the grass,” Earnhardt would later say many times. “I got KNOCKED into the grass.”
Clearly upset over what he thought was a hostile move on Elliott’s part, Earnhardt moved down low along the backstretch and allowed his rival to pull alongside. In Turn 3, Earnhardt deliberately guided his car upward and nearly ran Elliott into the wall.
Now it was Elliott’s turn to be angry. He relentlessly pursued Earnhardt. But with two laps to go, a tire blew on Elliott’s car, and he fell a lap off the pace. Earnhardt went on to win by .74 second over Terry Labonte.
But things weren’t over.
On the cool-down lap, Elliott lurked on the backstretch, waiting for Earnhardt. When Earnhardt’s car came around Elliott drove his into it. The contact might have been more severe if Earnhardt hadn’t braked hard.
Bodine, still upset that he had been spun out at the start of the final segment, also took an on-track poke at Earnhardt.
“I found out later that he was the wrong man,” Bodine said.
Elliott claimed that Earnhardt had pulled over to let him pass and then ran him into the wall.
“I’d say that was done deliberately,” Elliott said. “If a man has to run over you to beat you, it’s time for this stuff to stop.”
Earnhardt, who earned $200,000 for his victory, admitted he was upset that he had been shoved into the grass. But he denied he had tried to put Elliott into the wall.
“I took him high in the third turn, but I never touched him,” he said.
NASCAR, however, saw it differently. It fined Earnhardt for his on-track behavior. Elliott and Bodine were reprimanded for their postrace aggression.
The pass in the grass – even though it wasn’t – was the buzz for weeks to follow, as was Earnhardt. Even fans who didn’t like him because of his aggressiveness grudgingly admitted that he could drive a stock car like few ever could.
And the 10-lap shootout provided much more than intended.
It provided a race for the ages.
