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 miles (4.28 km) 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.

Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed "Dega", and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located in Lincoln, Alabama, north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. As of 2023, the track hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, with a length of 2.660 mi (4.281 km), compared to the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.500 mi (4.023 km) long. The total peak capacity of Talladega is around 175,000 spectators, with the main grandstand capacity being about 80,000. As of 2023, Talladega is one of NASCAR's three drafting tracks, alongside Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.