1988 AC Delco 500
The 1988 AC Delco 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 14th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 23, 1988, before an audience of 52,400 in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
|
The 1988 AC Delco 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | October 23, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 14th Annual AC Delco 500 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 111.557 miles per hour (179.534 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 52,400 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 24.678 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | |
| Laps | 217 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Gary Nelson | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Coming back from a two-lap deficit, Blue Max Racing's Rusty Wallace managed to gain the laps back late in the first half of the race. Afterwards, he proceeded to dominate most of the second half of the race, leading 182 of the last 189 laps to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his fifth victory of the season, and his third consecutive victory. To fill out the top three, King Racing's Ricky Rudd and Junior Johnson & Associates' Terry Labonte finished second and third, respectively.
In the driver's championship for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Wallace was able to gain 10 points on championship leader Bill Elliott, dropping Wallace's deficit down to 79 points.