The 1987 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 18th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 3, 1987, before an audience of 135,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28-kilometre) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 188 laps to 178 due to impending darkness that was caused by a lengthy red flag for debris cleanup and catch fence repairs for an earlier accident.