1987 TranSouth 500

Network: ESPN

Date and time: March 29, 1987, 1:00 PM

Format: Live

Length: 4 and a half hours (scheduled for 4 hours)

The race was broadcast live and flag-to-flag on ESPN. All 1987 races on ESPN were billed under the ESPN Speedworld banner.

Bob Jenkins was scheduled to due commentary but he sat out due to the death of his father. Being the start of the new season on ESPN, it introduced a number of new features. One debuting feature was the Pit Stop Summary, a graphic which summarized the top drivers in the race and how their position changed on cycles of pit stops. Another was the Yellow Flag Recap, a graphic which gave info about cautions- when they happened, the cause, and how long they were.

The race ran longer than anticipated, due to 10 caution flags, and thus over-ran it's timeslot, signing off around 5:30 PM instead of the planned 5:00 PM. This pre-empted coverage of the LPGA Standard Register Turquoise Classic, so post-race coverage was very limited, with only winner Dale Earnhardt interviewed.

Personnel:

Announcers: Larry Nuber, Jerry Punch

Pit reporters: Dick Berggren, Gary Lee