Star Wars

   The controversial finish ranks among the wildest and wooliest in NASCAR history.

   It led to the intervention of a state governor, alleged death threats against the sport's biggest star and creation of a mythical move that never happened.

   The race was the third running of The Winston, an all-star event at the track then known as Charlotte Motor Speedway.  The principals were Dale Earnhardt, his arch rival Geoff Bodine, and Bill Elliott.

   Here's the story of a day that will live forever in NASCAR lore, May 17, 1987:

   It was hard to tell where Bill Elliott's forehead ended and his red hair began.

   That's because the Georgian's face was ablaze in anger.

   Elliott had just battled Dale Earnhardt--and lost--in a dramatic duel that makes this particular all-star battle the most memorable among many spectacular shows that have been staged annually since 1985.  The current stars are scheduled to come out once again Saturday night at the big track north of Charlotte, a layout now named Lowe's Motor Speedway.

   Elliott had the strongest car, leading 121 of the first 125 laps in his Ford on the 1.5-mile track.  But since The Winston was being run in increments of 75, 50 and 10 laps, rivals got repeated shots at him.

   As the last segment began, Elliott and Geoff Bodine ran abreast on the front row.  Earnhardt was lined up third.

   In turn one there was contact among the trio.  Who hit who first is still debated.

   The heavy bumping spun Bodine into Elliott, who had to slow and fight for control.  Earnhardt darted low and flashed ahead in the No. 3 Chevrolet he was in the process of making famous.

   Fans roared louder than the thundering engines.

   After a brief caution period for Bodine's spin, Earnhardt and Elliott ran 1-2 with seven laps to go.  Twice they brushed sheet metal.  Then Earnhardt appeared to force Elliott high in turn four.  Elliott responded by tagging Earnhardt, who careened off the asphalt into the grassy area between the homestretch and pit road.

   Earnhardt stayed on the the throttle and with sensational driving (and some luck) kept going straight.  He came back onto the pavement still in front.

   Earnhardt's feat quickly became known as "The Pass In The Grass."  Catchy, but incorrect.  There was no pass.  Earnhardt remained the leader throughout the incident.

   While Elliott pitted to replace a tire cut by the contact, Earnhardt headed to victory, winning by almost a second over runnerup Terry Labonte.

   The so-called "cool-down lap" was just the opposite.  Elliott banged into Earnhardt on the backstretch, then again on pit road.  Bodine popped the winner's car, too.

   Fans roared anew.  Half cheered Earnhardt.  Half booed and made threatening remarks and gestures.

   Because of the tension, two burly crewmen from Earnhardt's Richard Childress Racing team--Danny "Chocolate" Myers and Cecil Gordon, a former driver--accompanied Earnhardt to the press box as body guards.  Before meeting the media, Earnhardt watched a video of the closing 10 laps.

   "I know what happened and I'm just confirming it," said Earnhardt.  "On the restart Bodine chopped Elliott off.  It was just reflexes that allowed me to get under them.  Then Elliott knocks me into the grass.  I should be the one that's hot!"

   Elliott came to the press box after Earnhardt left, an unprecedented visit for a 14th-place finisher.

   "Dale knew I had the best car and he cut me off," said a seething Elliott.  "This after he hit Bodine and got him into me.  If a man has to win a race like that, he can have it."

   NASCAR fined Earnhardt and Elliott $2,500 each.  Bodine was fined $1,000.

   Two days later Georgia Governor Joe Frank Harris announced that he and fellow citizens had raised the money to pay the penalty for Elliott, then the state's favorite son.

   The animosity simmered, epecially among fans, throughout the summer.  Some Bodine followers allegedly felt so strongly that they threatened to do in Earnhardt in August when the Winston Cup tour visited the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y., Bodine's home track.   The threats were never made public, but were taken seriously enough that the FBI is said to have investigated.

   Earnhardt received extra protection at Watkins Glen, but there were no unusual incidents.

   Earnhardt and Elliott eventually became friends again, even trading visits to help promote each other's auto dealerships.  And Earnhardt and Bodine, through the strong intervention of NASCAR president Bill France Jr., were forced into a relative truce.

   Since 1992 the all-star event has been held at night, and post-race fireworks have become a traditional part of the entertainment.

   The rockets' red glare always is quite a sight to see.  But the bombs bursting in air will never match the on-track fireworks of 1987.