The 1988 Talladega DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 31, 1988, before an audience of 80,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would manage to make a pass for the lead coming out of the track's second turn, holding onto the lead for the rest of the lap to take the victory. The victory was Schrader's first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Geoff Bodine and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 17 of 29 in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1988 Talladega DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott. | |||
| Date | July 31, 1988 | ||
| Official name | 20th Annual Talladega DieHard 500 | ||
| Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Alabama International Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 154.505 miles per hour (248.652 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 80,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 48.789 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 123 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Chris Economaki | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, July 28, at 2:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Friday, July 29, at 2:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.
Darrell Waltrip, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 48.789 and an average speed of 196.274 miles per hour (315.872 km/h) in the first round.[6][7]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.