NASCAR Cup Series drivers couldn’t have picked a better day to shine as the first live-televised race from Bristol had a little bit of everything.
The race featured 14 cautions for a total of 90 laps. It was almost easier to make a list of who wasn’t involved in the cautions than it was to tally up who had issues. It didn’t take long for many of the usual contenders, including defending Cup Series champion Terry Labonte. Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip and a handful of other cars received damage in the accident.
Labonte was later involved in another incident just before the halfway point of the event.
Dale Earnhardt, who started 12th, made his way through the field to the point, proving he was the car to beat. The lack of power steering on his No. 3 car did not affect the race's outcome as the final laps chipped away.
A late-race battle between Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd captivated the crowd, and the pair traded the lead back and forth a handful of times over the final 80 laps.
When the checkered flag waved, it was Earnhardt in Victory Lane. He led a race-high 214 laps. Rudd finished second, while Labonte recovered from his rough day to finish third.The 1986 Spring race at Bristol turned out to be a memorable day for a future Hall of Fame driver.
A 29-year-old Rusty Wallace, with just two full-time NASCAR Cup Series seasons to his name, captured the first victory of his career. He had to hold off several of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers to do so.
Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Geoff Bodine and Neil Bonnett all led at least 23 laps, but it was Wallace who led the final 101 en route to Victory Lane.
Waltrip, Labonte, Earnhardt and Wallace left Bristol first through fourth in the season standings, respectively.
[caption id="attachment_423945" align="aligncenter" width="1300"]Nothing seemed more fitting than to see a battle for the victory shape up between two of the most iconic car numbers in NASCAR Cup Series history.
The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car of Elliott Sadler and the No. 43 Petty Enterprises car of John Andretti each looked to break a handful of winless streaks at Bristol.
The No. 21 car had not visited Victory Lane in a points-paying event since Morgan Shepherd won at Atlanta in 1993. Sadler, who was in his third season in the Cup Series, had yet to record a top-five finish in his career.
John Andretti was looking to take the No. 43 car back to victory lane for the Petty team for the first time since 1999 when he won at Martinsville. The car number had just three total victories since 1984.
Sadler, who started 38th, held off Andretti to capture his first career victory.