1986 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1986)

Geoff Bodine and his Chevrolet Monte Carlo, who would go on to win the 1986 Daytona 500.

Status: Existence Unconfirmed

The 1986 Twin 125s are two races at the Daytona National Speedway that served as qualifying events for the 1986 Daytona 500. Both occurred on 13th February, where the first race was won by Bill Elliott in a Ford, while Dale Earnhardt driving a Chevrolet was victorious in the second. Earnhardt's win was the first Twin 125s victory for Richard Childress Racing, serving as a prelude to Earnhardt and the team going on to win every qualifying race during the 1990s.

Background

The Twin 125s are unique races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. They consist of two qualifying heats that determine the majority of the 40 competitors for the Daytona 500. It would also allow for the racers to analyze how their vehicles performed during the heats and modify them accordingly for the main event. Among those competing was Elliott, who was not only seeking to defend his Daytona 500 title but also aiming to replicate his 1985 Twin 125s win. Prior to the races, two drivers had already qualified for the Daytona 500, with Elliot winning the pole position and Geoff Bodine in a Chevrolet qualifying second after setting the best time trial performances.

The Races

In the first Twin 125s race, Elliott was victorious once again and claimed $22,000 in prize money, ahead of Bobby Allison in a Buick and Terry Labonte in an Oldsmobile in second and third respectively. Allison was leading Elliott heading into the final lap when they came across to lap Allison's son Davey. Davey attempted to move his Chevrolet away from the leaders but experienced poor handling caused by accident damage to the front spoiler, resulting in him unintentionally blocking his father, giving Elliott the chance the pass for the victory. Elliott was unsure whether he would have won without Davey's accidental block, but Bobby defended his son, believing Elliott was just sitting back and would have passed regardless of Davey's presence.

For race 2, Earnhardt dominated proceedings, leading 33 of the 50 laps to claim victory and the $22,000, ahead of Bodine and Darrell Waltrip in a Chevrolet. Earnhardt had a strong start to the race, moving from seventh to first in less than two laps. On the final lap, Bodine tried a slingshot overtaking move but was thwarted this attempt by driving away from his opponent. Earnhardt believed changing all four tyres rather than just two in the pits gave him the upper hand. Meanwhile, Bodine and Harry Gant complained that Earnhardt's car was leaking oil, which blew onto their windscreens and obscured both drivers' visions. Bodine nevertheless accepted defeat, stating that he should not have backed off on the final attempt and that he should have stayed closer to Earnhardt before making the move.

With the starters and race order decided, the 1986 Daytona 500 commenced on 17th February. It saw Bodine redeem his Twin 125s loss with a victory at the main event, ahead of Labonte and Waltrip. Elliott could only manage 13th, two laps down from the leaders, while Earnhardt's engine expired three laps before the end. Nevertheless, Earnhardt's 1986 Twin 125s win served as a prelude towards him and Richard Childress Racing winning ten consecutive Twin 125s from 1990 to 1999.

Availability

According to NASCAR on TV and Racing-Reference, both Twin 125s were allegedly televised on tape delay by CBS. Ultimately, whereas footage of many Twin 125s from the 1980s has since publicly resurfaced, the 1986 heats are completely inaccessible as of the present day. However, there is no information on when the 1986 heats were aired, and with NASCAR on TV also placing the races under its "Unconfirmed broadcasts" section, full confirmation that a CBS broadcast occurred has not yet been achieved.

Gallery

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  Dale Earnhardt celebrating his win in the second race.

See Also

• 1960 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1960)
• 1960 Daytona Races (lost CBS and NBC televised footage of NASCAR prelude events to Daytona 500; 1960)
• 1961 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1961)
• 1962 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1962 Firecracker 250 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1962)
• 1963 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1963)
• 1963 Richmond 250 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session and race; 1963)
• 1964 Atlanta 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 National 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1964)
• 1964 Richmond 250 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series qualifying session; 1964)
• 1965 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1965 Rebel 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1965)
• 1966 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1966 Southern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1966)
• 1967 Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1967 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1967)
• 1970 Alabama 500 (found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 Wilkes 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1970 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand National Series race; 1970)
• 1971 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Myers Brothers 250 (lost footage and official documents of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Rebel 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1971)
• 1971 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1971)
• 1972 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Bowman-Gray 100 (lost footage of NASCAR Grand American Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Daytona 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Firecracker 400 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 National 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1972 Rebel 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1972)
• 1973 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1973 Medal of Honor Firecracker 400 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1973)
• 1974 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1974)
• 1974 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1974)
• 1975 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Dixie 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1975 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; 1975)
• 1975 World 600 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1975)
• 1976 Atlanta 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Champion Spark Plug 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Dixie 500 (lost CBS footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Firecracker 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Rebel 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Riverside 400 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Talladega 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 Winston 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1976 World 600 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1976)
• 1978 NAPA National 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1978)
• 1979 Daytona ARCA 200 (lost footage of ARCA Racing Series race; 1979)
• 1979 Dixie 500 (lost ABC footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)
• 1979 Southeastern 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1979)
• 1981 Coca-Cola 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1981 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1981)
• 1982 CRC Chemicals 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Eastern 150 (lost footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1982)
• 1982 Twin 125s race 1 (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1982 Winston Western 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1982)
• 1983 Goody's Sportsman 300 (partially found footage of NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Mason-Dixon 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1983)
• 1983 Southern 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1983)
• 1984 Delaware 500 (partially found footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Goody's Sportsman 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1984)
• 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (lost footage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1984)‎
• 1985 Twin 125s (lost footage of NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying races; existence unconfirmed; 1985)
• 1989 Busch Clash (lost footage of pre-season NASCAR Winston Cup Series race; 1989)
• 1992 Atlanta 300 (lost footage of NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race; 1992)
• 1996 DeVilbiss SuperFinish 200 (partially found televised footage of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race; 1996)
• Jeff Gordon's 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 crash (lost on-board footage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race crash; 2008)
• NASCAR (partially found uncut footage of stock car races; 1960-present)