By Zane Miller
First round
(8) #5 Geoffrey Bodine v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(7) #27 Rusty Wallace v. (2) #11 Darrell Waltrip
(6) #15 Ricky Rudd v. (3) #25 Tim Richmond
(5) #9 Bill Elliott v. (4) #22 Bobby Allison
Darlington Raceway would once again christen the first round of the playoffs, but this time a playoff newcomer would steal the show as Tim Richmond skirted around Bill Elliott with six laps remaining to grab the opening race win. Elliott then dropped to third by the time the checkered flag fell, with Bobby Allison claiming the runner-up spot to steal the opening round advantage. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Bodine scored an upset over Dale Earnhardt, holding off the Intimidator by one spot with an eighth to his ninth. The battle between Darrell Waltrip and Rusty Wallace was far less intense, as Wallace sustained damage in an early crash and limped to a 23rd-place finish, while Waltrip came home a respectable fifth.
The series progressed to Richmond Raceway, where Tim Richmond earned the race victory at his namesake track after leading the final 50 laps, thus knocking out Ricky Rudd. Allison once again barely staved off Elliott by a single position, taking the eighth spot to punch his ticket to the semifinal round. Earnhardt kept his title hopes alive with a runner-up finish while Bodine wound up eight laps down in 13th, while Waltrip was unable to capitalize on a poor showing from Wallace as he had suffered transmission failure in the early going, finishing dead last in the field.
The playoff contenders traveled north to Dover, where Bodine’s chance at a major first-round upset were thwarted by a blown engine just past the halfway mark, enabling Earnhardt to pass through to the semifinal despite a disappointing 21st-place finish at the Monster Mile. Meanwhile, Waltrip’s drive for a fifth championship ended in a tight battle with Wallace, as Wallace held onto the 13th spot while Waltrip was unable to get by in 14th.
Semifinal
(7) #27 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #3 Dale Earnhardt
(4) #22 Bobby Allison v. (3) #25 Tim Richmond
The series would go short track racing at Martinsville to start the semifinal round, with Wallace dead set on proving his first-round upset was no fluke, leading 171 laps on the way to a convincing race win. Richmond settled for 10th after overcoming two separate spins, but it was more than enough to get the opening series win over Allison, who languished in 21st. At North Wilkesboro for the second race, Earnhardt took a ninth-place result, but it wouldn’t be enough as Wallace captured another top-five in fourth to secure his first-ever championship final appearance. As it turned out, the semifinal round would end a week early thanks to Allison falling out in the closing laps due to a broken axle. Richmond skated by to an 11th-place finish, meaning that a new Cup Series champion was guaranteed for 1986.
Final
(7) #27 Rusty Wallace v. (3) #25 Tim Richmond
With the series still in North Carolina at Rockingham, both Richmond and Wallace struggled throughout the afternoon, as the pair finished multiple laps down. However, Wallace came out on top in 19th, while Richmond finished 11 laps behind his counterpart in 20th. Determined not to let a disappointing run like that happen again, Richmond returned to form at Atlanta, leading 29 laps on the way to finishing fourth. Wallace again went multiple laps down, eventually bringing his ill-handling Pontiac to the 13th spot.
The championship finale took place on the west coast at Riverside, where Richmond had claimed his first career win in 1982. The pride of Ashland, Ohio, brought the same speed and determination back four years later, taking the lead on the winding road course with a dozen laps to go and never looking back, winning both the race and his first Cup Series title. Despite looking like the first championship of many to come, this would sadly be the last full-time season of Richmond’s career, as he suffered with serious illness, later determined to be AIDS, before the start of the 1987 season. Richmond would pass away from complications related to the disease in 1989.
Tim Richmond’s stats for 1986 included a series-leading seven victories, 13 top-fives and 17 top-tens, as he claimed third in points behind real-life champion Dale Earnhardt.
1986 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/1986-nascar-cup-series-season-recap
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