In 1986, Elliott won only 2 races, both being the Michigan races. With the season sweep at Michigan, Elliott became the first driver in NASCAR history to win 4 straight superspeedway races at one track. He also won four poles during the season, and he finished fourth in the championship standings. He also won The 1986 Winston, held at Atlanta, the only year the race was run somewhere other than Charlotte. Ironically, Atlanta is his hometown track, being the closest to Dawsonville in the circuit. He won six races the next season, including his second Daytona 500, and the Talladega 500, seven poles, and finished second in the final point standings to Dale Earnhardt by 489 points. In The 1987 Winston, he tangled with Earnhardt in what has become known as "the Pass In The Grass". However, Elliott's most lasting accomplishment that year was setting two NASCAR qualifying records, which stand to this day. At Daytona, he set the NASCAR speed record with an average speed of . He broke his own record at Talladega with an average speed of ; the previous record he set in 1986 was . In both races, he used a Ford Thunderbird which contained an engine built by his brother Ernie. However, at Talladega, Bobby Allison was spun and went airborne into the catch fence, tearing a large section away and injuring several fans. After this incident, NASCAR mandated the use of restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega. As a result, Elliott's speed records will likely never be broken.