Race 3 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1988 GM Goodwrench 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date
March 6, 1988
Official name
23rd Annual Goodwrench 500
Location
Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Motor Speedway
Course
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.637 km)
Distance
492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Scheduled Distance
492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Average speed
120.159 miles per hour (193.377 km/h)
Attendance
53,600
Pole position
Driver
Bill Elliott
Melling Racing
Time
24.972
Most laps led
Driver
Neil Bonnett
RahMoc Enterprises
Laps
166
Winner
No. 75
Neil Bonnett
RahMoc Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network
ESPN
Announcers
Bob Jenkins, Gary Nelson, Ned Jarrett
Radio in the United States
Radio
Motor Racing Network
Motor car race
The 1988 Goodwrench 500 was the third stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 6, 1988, before an audience of 53,600 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Motor Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 492 laps to complete. In the closing laps of the race, RahMoc Enterprises driver Neil Bonnett would manage to make a late-race charge to the lead, passing for the lead with 20 laps left in the race to take his 18th and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Lake Speed and Hagan Racing driver Sterling Marlin would finish second and third, respectively.
The victory was the second NASCAR Winston Cup victory for tire company Hoosier Racing Tire, who had entered the series as a direct competitor to the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company starting at the 1988 Daytona 500. With this victory, Hoosier Racing Tire had managed to earn three straight victories, including an exhibition race victory at the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 at Calder Park Raceway; all with Neil Bonnett. The feat was considered a major victory for Hoosier Racing Tire for two main reasons; the first was that before the 1988 season, Goodyear had a monopoly on NASCAR's tire supply since the 1971 season. The second was that for the entirety of the race itself, the contenders for the race victory all exclusively used Hoosier tires.[5][6] In interviews, CEO of Hoosier Racing Tire, Bob Newton would both praise Hoosier and taunt Goodyear, stating that "This wasn't just a win, this was a runaway."[3]
^Higgins, Tom (March 7, 1988). "Bonnett Earns Dramatic Win At Rockingham (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Higgins, Tom (March 7, 1988). "Bonnett Earns Dramatic Win At Rockingham (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ abMulhurn, Mike (March 7, 1988). "Bonnett Continues Comeback, Takes Goodwrench for 3rd Straight Win (Part 1)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 17. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^Mulhurn, Mike (March 7, 1988). "Bonnett Continues Comeback, Takes Goodwrench for 3rd Straight Win (Part 2)". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 20. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^King, Randy (March 7, 1988). "Neil Bonnett riding high on Hoosiers (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 13. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^King, Randy (March 7, 1988). "Neil Bonnett riding high on Hoosiers (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 15. Retrieved June 24, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
and 26 Related for: 1988 Goodwrench 500 information
The 1988Goodwrench500 was the third stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held...
Certified Service, formerly GM Goodwrench, is an auto repair service for General Motors. In 2011, GM replaced the Goodwrench brand in the US with Cadillac...
The 1988 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held...
Bonnett a ride for the 1993 DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway which was numbered 31 and sponsored by GM Goodwrench. But his comeback race was marred...
The 1988 Budweiser 500 was the 11th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held...
The 1988 Southern 500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held...
over the 280 laps was 101.67 mp/h. 52 laps were run under caution. The Goodwrench500 was held March 6 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won...
The 1988 Valleydale Meats 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was...
final season for the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Lumina. Earnhardt started off the 1995 season by finishing second in the Daytona 500 to Sterling Marlin. He...
relegated to 35th because of an engine failure just before halfway in the Goodwrench500. He would miss the field again at Atlanta, but led briefly under caution...
Childress Racing in the No. 3, with sponsorship from Wrangler Jeans and GM Goodwrench. Earnhardt won his first six races in 1979 and 1980 driving for Rod Osterlund...
The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs....
The 1988 Delaware 500 was the 23rd stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held...
18 races, Bouchard ran 17 and had top-ten finishes at the Daytona 500 and Winston 500, but struggled with engine problems during the second half of the...
The 1988 Checker 500 was the 28th and penultimate stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the eighth and final race of the 1988 NASCAR...
The 1988 Busch 500 was the 20th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday...
south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding...
as the 1988 series champion added another record to his résumé. Despite running poorly at Daytona, Elliott went on to win the GM Goodwrench500 at Rockingham...
2019 Daytona 500. Overshadowed by the frightening scene was that this race would be the first victory for Bobby Allison's son Davey. 1988: Phil Parsons'...
The 1988 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 29th iteration of the event....
Swindell, 63-Jocko Maggiacomo (did not start qualifying race). The Goodwrench500 was held March 1 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won...
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...
Global Information
