The 1986 TranSouth 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the iteration of the event.

In a race of attrition, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to fend off Junior Johnson & Associates' Darrell Waltrip on the final restart with two laps left, completing a dominant performance where he led 335 of the total 367 laps.

[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Waltrip and Stavola Brothers Racing's Bobby Allison finished second and third, respectively.

This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 30.890 and an average speed of 159.197 miles per hour (256.203 km/h) in the first round.