The 1988 Southern 500 was the 21st stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event.

[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Rusty Wallace and Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt would finish 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.

For this specific race, positions 21-40 would be decided on time[3] and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified on time but were high enough in owner's points; up to two provisionals were given.

Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 30.577 and an average speed of 160.827 miles per hour (258.826 km/h) in the first round.