HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1986 Michigan 500, the sixth running of the event, was held at the 
Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (formerly named as the Michigan Speedway from 1997 to 2000) is a D-shaped oval superspeedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. It has hosted various major auto racing series throughout its existence, including NASCAR, Cham ...
 in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Saturday, August 2, 1986. The race was won by
Johnny Rutherford John Sherman Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 314 start ...
, his 27th and final
Indy Car IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 5 ...
victory. It was Rutherford's sixth win in IndyCar racing's Triple Crown of 500 mile races, and his first at the Michigan 500. The event was race number 9 of 17 in the 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.


Background

After years of being defined by a rough, bumpy, asphalt surface, Michigan International Speedway was repaved in the spring of 1986. The smooth new surface produced higher grips and higher speeds. In testing on July 23, Rick Mears ran a lap speed of 222.5 mph. It was unofficially the first time an Indy car ran a lap speed over 220 mph. As was the case the past three years,
Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled and headquartered ...
offered a one million dollar bonus to any driver who could win IndyCar's Triple Crown of 500 Mile Races: The
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
, Michigan 500, and Pocono 500.
Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal ( ; born January 10, 1953) is an American racing driver and motorsports executive. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. As co-owner of R ...
won the
1986 Indianapolis 500 The 70th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 31, 1986. After being Rainout (sports), rained out on May 25–26, the race was rescheduled for the following weekend. Bobby Rahal was the ...
and entered Michigan still eligible to win the million dollars.


Practice and Time Trials

Practice opened on Wednesday, July 30. Bobby Rahal set the fastest practice speed at 220.723 mph. Rick Mears was second at 220.467 mph.
Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Wit ...
, Ed Pimm, and Randy Lanier comprised the top-five fastest cars. The opening round of Time Trials was held on Thursday, July 31. Rick Mears broke the world closed-course speed record with a lap of 223.401 mph. The previous record had been 221.160, set by
Mark Donohue Mark Neary Donohue Jr. (March 18, 1937 – August 19, 1975), nicknamed "Captain Nice," was an American race car driver and engineer known for his ability to set up his own race car as well as driving it to victory. Donohue is probably best kno ...
at
Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...
in August 1975. Mears was nearly four miles per hour faster than
Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Ri ...
in second place at 219.552 mph. Bobby Rahal completed the front row with a speed of 218.759 mph. Roughly one hour after his pole-winning time, Rick Mears crashed his car in turn two. After losing control, the car impacted the wall and damaged the nose and left-front suspension. If Mears's team was unable to repair the car, he would have lost his pole position and had to start from the rear of the field. Upon inspection, the crew found Mears's crash was the result of a failure of the right-rear CV Joint. Mears's
Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...
crew worked 15 hours to repair to car by Friday morning. During practice on Friday, Bobby Rahal set the fastest speed at 217.753 mph. Mears's repaired car was second fastest at 217.615 mph. Roberto Moreno crashed in turn two and suffered damage to the right side of the car. His team was able to repair the vehicle before the race. Geoff Brabham's team withdrew his Cosworth powered car and substituted it with a Judd powered car. The change meant he would start the race in last position.


Race

At the start of the race, Rick Mears took the lead. On only the third lap, Steve Chassey crashed in turn two to bring out the first caution of the race. Rain began to fall on lap 14. The race was stopped for 90 minutes while the shower passed and the track dried. When the race restarted, Michael Andretti held the lead for 15 laps. Roberto Guerrero charged to the lead, passing Andretti to the inside in turn one on lap 37. After 11 laps in the lead, Guerrero hit oil in turn three and spun backwards into the wall. Guerrero was knocked unconscious in the wreck but soon walked to the ambulance and was transported to a local hospital where he was released later that afternoon. Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva also crashed out of the race in single car incidents. On lap 100, Randy Lanier crashed in turn three, impacting the wall hard with the right side of the car. Lanier suffered a fractured right leg and underwent surgery later that night. Two trackside observers for CART were struck by debris and hospitalized. Robert Vanice suffered a laceration to the back of his head and Brian Brown was struck in the back. Both were treated and released at a local hospital. It ultimately was the last auto race for Lanier who was indicted and later convicted on drug smuggling charges in October 1986. Throughout the midway point of the race, Bobby Rahal and Rick Mears led significant portions of the event. Both drivers would retire with engine failures. While leading on lap 195, Michael Andretti blew an engine and brought out the ninth caution of the day. That gave the lead to Johnny Rutherford. With eight laps remaining, the third-place car driven by Geoff Brabham lost power in turn two and was hit from behind by Al Unser Jr. Brabham hit the outside wall and Unser spun to the infield. Unser lost his front and rear wings, had a damaged nose, and wired the oil cooler to the gearbox, but returned to the track and finished the race in 8th. Because of the high attrition, Brabham still finished fourth. The race restarted with four laps to go. By running laps over 217 mph (over 5 mph faster than his qualifying speed), Rutherford extended his lead over Josele Garza who was seeking his first win. Garza was unable to catch Rutherford who won the Michigan 500 by 1.82 seconds. Rutherford became the first driver to win 500 mile Indy car races at all four tracks that held them:
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Pocono, and Michigan. Only seven of the 28 starters finished the race. The 10 cautions slowed the average speed to 137.139 mph.


Box score


Failed to qualify

* Dale Coyne (#19)


Race statistics


Broadcasting

For the first time, NBC chose to televise the race on a tape-delayed format eight days after the event on Sunday, August 10. CART's decision to postpone the 1985 Michigan 500 cost NBC a reported $400,000 and the network was reluctant to broadcast a live 500-mile event again.
Paul Page Paul Page (born November 25, 1945) is an American motorsports broadcaster who is best known for serving as the play-by-play commentator for the Indianapolis 500 for a total of 50 years across radio and television. Page was the radio ''Voice of th ...
was the lead announcer and was joined by
Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al Unser, Al, A ...
as color commentator. Gary Gerould and
Bruce Jenner Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner, October 28, 1949), formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning Decathlon, decathlete. Jenner played college football for the Grace ...
served as pit reporters.1986 Michigan 500 Telecast: NBC-TV, August 10, 1986


References

{{Reflist, 2 Michigan 500 Michigan 500 Motorsport in Michigan Motorsport competitions in the United States Michigan Indy 400