Two of NASCAR’s proverbial bad boys engaged in on-track combat with just a handful of laps remaining in the 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond. It was only the second race of the 1986 campaign, and the track located in Richmond, Virginia was only a half of a mile in length.It has since been revamped into a 0.75-mile oval.The three-time champion Darrell Waltrip had caught the 1980 champion Dale Earnhardt with just a few laps remaining in the 400-lap event.The two drivers traded paint for several laps before Earnhardt dealt the final blow on lap 397.It was a classic battle in which both drivers lost, and added tension to an already tense rivalry.
Waltrip used his mouth to generate controversy, while Earnhardt used the chrome horn.In both cases, the two drivers were loathed by thousands of fans, and neither driver received much sympathy from the viewers.However, to this day, this race is considered as one of the classic finishes, and it gave the NASCAR world plenty to talk about early in the 1986 season.
“Going down the backstretch, I though I was all the way past him.Then in the third turn, it felt like my car had run over a land mine,” Waltrip fumed.
Earnhardt offered little sympathy to his arch-rival.“At the end, I didn’t do anything he (Waltrip) wouldn’t do,” he said.
Meanwhile, the 25 year old Kyle Petty scored his first of eight victories in NASCAR’s highest level of competition.Petty was in the fifth position when Waltrip and Earnhardt collided; however, the accident collected Geoff Bodine and Joe Ruttman.Petty survived the carnage and became a third generation winner in NASCAR.
Every February, I break out the old not-so-accurate crystal ball, attempting my annual preseason projections. Once again, I was off the mark in 2009. …
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Race of the week, 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond
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