Enduring Performance: Charlotte
Earnhardt leads only two laps in first Coca-Cola 600 victory
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
May 23, 2006
02:48 PM EDT (18:48 GMT)
The list of the first 25 winners in the 600-mile races at the former Charlotte Motor Speedway reads like a Who's Who of NASCAR, starting with David Pearson's victory in 1961: Fred Lorenzen, Jim Paschal, Marvin Panch, Buddy Baker, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Donnie Allison, Bobby Allison, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons.
1986 Coca-Cola 600
Official Results
Pos. Driver Start Make
1. D. Earnhardt 3 Chevy
2. T. Richmond 2 Chevy
3. C. Yarborough 12 Ford
4. H. Gant 8 Chevy
5. D. Waltrip 15 Chevy
6. B. Elliott 5 Ford
7. S. Marlin 4 Chevy
8. R. Rudd 13 Ford
9. M. Shepherd 10 Buick
10. R. Wallace 9 Pontiac
So it was no surprise when Dale Earnhardt added his name to that list in the 1986 Coca-Cola 600 -- although it took a combination of too little of something in one case and too much in another.
Too little fuel did in Bill Elliott, who was forced to pit for gas with 16 laps to go, handing the race lead to Earnhardt.
"I knew Bill was going to have to pit, so I was just sort of biding my time and saving my stuff," Earnhardt said. "I was setting there content with running behind him. I wasn't pressuring the car because I wasn't sure I could outrun him."
Elliott's stop took just 4.15 seconds, but the best he could do was a distant sixth.
"We didn't have any choice at all," Elliott said. "We couldn't do anything but stop.
"We jetted the engine a little richer than we usually would for here, sacrificing a little mileage and a little horsepower for a little more conservative engine which we hoped would run all the way."
The driver with the best chance of chasing down Earnhardt in the closing laps was Tim Richmond, but the handling went away on his car because of too much rain. Richmond, a master of a slippery track, couldn't get his Chevrolet dailed in when a rain delay in the late stages of the race washed away the oil that had built up.
"It was getting real, real greasy just before the rain and that rain took the slipperiness out of the track," Richmond said. "We had not adjusted for that condition and never had a chance to adjust."
In fact, Richmond, who finished 1.59 seconds behind Earnhardt, had just enough fuel to hold off Cale Yarborough for second.
For Earnhardt, the 600-mile victory was a chance to fulfill a boyhood dream at his hometown track.
"When I was a boy I used to come here with my dad," he said. "We used to come over on Sunday on a flatbed truck on the backstretch and watch the race. I always wished my daddy could race here. Well, an Earnhardt finally won the 600."
Dale's father, Ralph, ran in four 600-mile races at Charlotte, with a best finish of 11th in 1961. Until that point, Earnhardt had finished second, third, fourth and fifth in NASCAR's longest race.
The race lead was evenly split among Richmond, Yarborough and Elliott, each leading nearly a quarter of the 400-lap race. Earnhardt led only twice for 26 laps, but was in front for the most important one, earning $98.150.
Petty, who wrecked his Pontiac during practice and spent the night before the race in the hospital with a concussion, rented a car from D.K. Ulrich and finished 38th. With his $5,465 payday, Petty became the second driver in NASCAR history to surpass the $6 million mark, behind Waltrip.
...I'll be sitting by my camper with at the race track....watchin it on tv...lol yea you saw that right....im gonna camp at the race track and watch it on TV.....i know i know...sounds stupid....but i wont buy a ticket for the race..but camping at the race track is a blast.