1986 Michigan 500

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The 1986 Michigan 500 was the sixth running of the event, held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Saturday, August 2, 1986. It was the ninth race of 17 in the CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The 2.0-mile track had been repaved in spring 1986, making it much faster.

Rick Mears won the pole with a speed of 223.401 mph, but his car crashed in practice due to a right-rear CV joint failure. His Penske crew spent about 15 hours repairing the car, so he still started from the front.

Race day weather was partly cloudy with temperatures around 82 F. The start saw Mears in the lead, but on lap 3 Steve Chassey crashed, bringing out the first caution. Rain halted the race for 90 minutes on lap 14, and when it resumed, Michael Andretti led for a stretch before Roberto Guerrero took the lead on lap 37. Guerrero then hit an oil spill in turn 3, spun into the wall, and was knocked unconscious; he recovered later that day. Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva also crashed out.

Mid-race incidents included Randy Lanier crashing on lap 100 and suffering a fractured right leg. Two CART trackside officials were injured by debris but treated and released. Bobby Rahal and Rick Mears both retired with engine failures as the day wore on.

On lap 195 Michael Andretti blew an engine, bringing out the ninth caution. With eight laps to go, Geoff Brabham had a power loss and was hit by Al Unser Jr.; Brabham finished fourth, while Unser spun and finished eighth.

The race restarted with four laps left, and Johnny Rutherford surged to the front, running laps over 217 mph and pulling away to win by 1.82 seconds over Josele Garza. It was Rutherford’s 27th IndyCar win and his first Michigan 500 victory, completing wins at all four major 500-mile tracks (Indianapolis, Ontario, Pocono, and Michigan) in his IndyCar career.

Only seven of the 28 starters finished the race. The event averaged 137.139 mph with 10 cautions. NBC aired the race on tape delay eight days later. The broadcast team included Paul Page with Bobby Unser, plus Gary Gerould and Bruce Jenner reporting from the pits.