1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings
Bill Elliott overcame challenges by Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt to win the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. After leading the standings from June until late August, Wallace stumbled in September and was 124 points behind with five races remaining.
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 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Bill Elliott |
Wallace won four of the final five races, but Elliott performed well enough in those events to wrap up his first title. He finished 24 points ahead of Wallace. Earnhardt led the standings from March through early June, but fell off the pace in the second half of the season and placed third, 232 points behind Elliott.
For Elliott, it was sweet redemption for his bitter defeat in the 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup title chase.
Aside from the top three, no other driver seriously contended for the title or won more than two races.
For the full standings for the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup season, see the chart below.
1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Standings
| Rank
|
Driver | Points | Wins | Earnings |
| 1
|
Bill Elliott | 4,488 | 6 | $1,554,639 |
| 2
|
Rusty Wallace |
4,464 | 6
|
1,411,567 |
| 3
|
Dale Earnhardt |
4,256 | 3 | 1,214,089 |
| 4
|
Terry Labonte |
4,007 | 1 | 950,781 |
| 5
|
Ken Schrader |
3,858 | 1 |
631,544 |
| 6
|
Geoff Bodine |
3,799 | 1 |
570,643 |
| 7
|
Darrell Waltrip |
3,764 | 2 |
731,659 |
| 8
|
Davey Allison |
3,631 | 2 |
844,532 |
| 9
|
Phil Parsons |
3,630 | 1
|
532,043 |
| 10
|
Sterling Marlin |
3,621 | 0
|
521,464 |
| 11
|
Ricky Rudd |
3,547 | 1 |
410,954 |
| 12
|
Bobby Hillin, Jr. |
3,446 | 0
|
330,217 |
| 13
|
Kyle Petty | 3,296 | 0
|
377,092 |
| 14
|
Alan Kulwicki |
3,176 | 1 |
448,547 |
| 15
|
Mark Martin |
3,142 | 0
|
223,630 |
| 16
|
Neil Bonnett |
3,040 | 2 |
440,139 |
| tie |
Lake Speed |
2,984 | 1 |
260,500 |
| 18
|
Michael Waltrip |
2,949 | 0
|
240,400 |
| 19
|
Dave Marcis |
2,854 | 0
|
212,485 |
| 20
|
Brett Bodine |
2,828 | 0
|
433,658 |
| 21
|
Rick Wilson |
2,762 | 0 |
209,925 |
| 22
|
Richard Petty |
2,644 | 0
|
190,155 |
| 23
|
Dale Jarrett |
2,622 | 0
|
118,640 |
| 24
|
Benny Parsons |
2,559 | 0
|
210,755 |
| 25
|
Ken Bouchard |
2,378 | 0
|
109,410 |
| 26
|
Ernie Irvan |
2,319 | 0 | 96,370 |
| 27
|
Harry Gant |
2,266 | 0
|
173,325 |
| 28
|
Morgan Shepherd |
2,193 | 0 | 197,425 |
| 29
|
Buddy Baker | 2,056 | 0
|
184,200 |
| 30
|
Jimmy Means |
2,045 | 0
|
139,290 |
| 31
|
Derrike Cope |
1,985 | 0
|
132,835 |
| 32
|
Mike Alexander |
1,931 | 0 | 200,709 |
| 33
|
Bobby Allison |
1,654 | 1 |
409,295 |
| 34
|
Eddie Bierschwale |
1,481 | 0
|
59,355 |
| 35
|
Rodney Combs |
1,468 | 0
|
54,150 |
| 36
|
Brad Noffsinger |
1,316 | 0 |
54,645 |
| 37
|
Greg Sacks |
1,237 | 0
|
105,579 |
| 38
|
Cale Yarborough |
940 | 0
|
66,065 |
| 39
|
Joe Ruttman |
803 | 0
|
46,455 |
| 40
|
Brad Teague | 802 | 0
|
53,105 |
| 41
|
Jimmy Horton | 647 | 0
|
23,575 |
| 42
|
A.J. Foyt | 523 | 0
|
29,660 |
| 43
|
H.B. Bailey | 478 | 0
|
15,775 |
| 44
|
Jim Sauter | 463 | 0
|
35,040 |
| 45
|
Chad Little | 405 | 0
|
14,225 |
| 46
|
Buddy Arrington | 352 | 0
|
22,165 |
| 47
|
Ken Ragan | 314 | 0
|
15,775 |
| 48
|
Dana Patten | 313 | 0
|
9,595 |
| 49
|
Rick Jeffrey |
307 | 0
|
25,535 |
| 50
|
Mickey Gibbs |
283 | 0
|
12,850 |
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