The 1988 Budweiser 400 was the 12th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the third race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the 20th and final iteration of the event.

Following an initial scoring error, Blue Max Racing driver Rusty Wallace would manage to pull away on the final restart with five laps left in the race to take his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.

Riverside was noted for its hot, dusty environment and for being somewhat of a complicated and dangerous track for drivers.

For this specific race, positions 26-40 would be decided on time,[5] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; which was two for entries in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and two extra provisionals for the NASCAR Winston West Series.

Ricky Rudd, driving for King Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:19.606 and an average speed of 118.484 miles per hour (190.682 km/h) in the first round.