1988 Coca-Cola 600

The 1988 Coca-Cola 600, the 29th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 29, 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 10th race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Darrell Waltrip of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.

Background
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and The Winston, as well as the Oakwood Homes 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI). This race took place in the midst of a major tire war between Goodyear and Hoosier, and as a result, featured multiple major crashes, after which, luckily, no one was seriously injured. Prior to the race, Goodyear withdrew their tires after practice when it was discovered that their compound was too soft for the track; as a result, all drivers except Dave Marcis switched to Hoosiers over safety concerns. Goodyear offered Daytona-spec tires for those who wanted them.

Top 10 results

 * Ricky Rudd was relieved during the race by Mike Alexander (Rudd had suffered injuries from a crash at The Winston).
 * Rick Wilson led 107 laps before crashing due to tire failure.

Race statistics

 * Time of race: 4:49:15
 * Average Speed: 124.46 mph
 * Pole Speed: 173.594 mph
 * Cautions: 13 for 89 laps
 * Margin of Victory: 0.24 sec
 * Lead changes: 43