1987 First Union 400
The 1987 First Union 400 was the sixth stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 5, 1987, before an audience of 26,500 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 miles (1.006 km) oval short track. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete.[1]
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1987 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | April 5, 1987 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual First Union 400 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.625 mi (1.006 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Average speed | 94.103 miles per hour (151.444 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 26,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 19.396 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 319 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
By race's end, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to dominate a majority of the race, leading 319 laps en route to his 24th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his fourth victory of the season, his second straight win, and his fourth win in six races, increasing his driver's championship points lead to 117 points over second-place driver Bill Elliott.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Wood Brothers Racing's Kyle Petty and RahMoc Enterprises' Neil Bonnett finished second and third, respectively.
Background
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about five miles east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures 0.625 mi (1.006 km) and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch. It has previously held races in NASCAR's top three series, including 93 Winston Cup Series races. The track, a NASCAR original, operated from 1949, NASCAR's inception, until the track's original closure in 1996. The speedway briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted several stock car series races before closing again in the spring of 2011. It was re-opened in August 2022 for grassroots racing.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was scheduled to be held on Friday, April 5, at 3:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 10 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 11-30 meant to be determined the following day on Saturday, April 6, at 12:15 PM EST.[6] However, due to rain, the first round was cancelled. As a result, qualifying was condensed into one round for all starting grid spots in the race, which was run on Saturday. Depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.[7]
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 19.396 and an average speed of 116.003 miles per hour (186.689 km/h).[8]
Eddie Bierschwale was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 319 | running | 185 | $44,675 |
| 2 | 12 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 170 | $20,055 |
| 3 | 21 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 400 | 56 | running | 170 | $14,470 |
| 4 | 19 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 160 | $12,935 |
| 5 | 11 | 15 | Ricky Rudd | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 155 | $14,890 |
| 6 | 15 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 399 | 1 | running | 155 | $6,435 |
| 7 | 17 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 399 | 0 | running | 146 | $4,660 |
| 8 | 5 | 11 | Terry Labonte[lower-alpha 1] | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 142 | $10,515 |
| 9 | 9 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 138 | $8,685 |
| 10 | 1 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 398 | 10 | running | 139 | $17,185 |
| 11 | 16 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 130 | $4,885 |
| 12 | 14 | 18 | Dale Jarrett (R) | Freedlander Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 0 | $4,725 |
| 13 | 26 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 397 | 1 | running | 129 | $7,380 |
| 14 | 4 | 22 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 396 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,300 |
| 15 | 2 | 35 | Benny Parsons | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 12 | running | 123 | $9,830 |
| 16 | 13 | 90 | Ken Schrader | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 115 | $4,415 |
| 17 | 18 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 395 | 0 | running | 112 | $4,205 |
| 18 | 29 | 81 | Eddie Bierschwale | Fillip Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 109 | $1,430 |
| 19 | 31 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 392 | 1 | running | 0 | $4,045 |
| 20 | 23 | 10 | Rodney Combs | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 386 | 0 | running | 103 | $2,030 |
| 21 | 6 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 383 | 0 | running | 100 | $1,335 |
| 22 | 24 | 64 | Jerry Cranmer | Langley Racing | Ford | 380 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,815 |
| 23 | 30 | 6 | Bobby Baker | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | 380 | 0 | running | 94 | $3,500 |
| 24 | 10 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Chevrolet | 379 | 0 | running | 91 | $3,440 |
| 25 | 20 | 16 | Larry Pearson | Pearson Racing | Chevrolet | 359 | 0 | rear end | 88 | $1,310 |
| 26 | 28 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 0 | running | 85 | $3,355 |
| 27 | 8 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 258 | 0 | crash | 82 | $3,345 |
| 28 | 7 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 0 | engine | 79 | $7,610 |
| 29 | 25 | 34 | Jesse Samples Jr. | AAG Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 0 | rear end | 76 | $1,160 |
| 30 | 27 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | cylinder head | 73 | $2,635 |
| 31 | 22 | 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 63 | 0 | crash | 70 | $1,135 |
| 32 | 32 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 29 | 0 | engine | 67 | $1,085 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 33 | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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Notes
- Due to injuries sustained at the 1987 TranSouth 500, Labonte was replaced by Brett Bodine for qualifying.[4] However, Labonte was able to run pace laps during the race before Bodine substituted him for the race. Per the rules at the time, Labonte is credited with starting the race.[5]
- Wolfgang qualified for the race; however, for unknown reasons, he was replaced by Slick Johnson for the race.
- After Bierschwale failed to qualify, Bierschwale replaced Buddy Arrington for the race.
References
- Cook, Monty (April 6, 1987). "Earnhardt hot; gets second straight win". The News Herald. p. 9. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 6, 1987). "Earnhardt Rolls To 4th Win In 6 Starts". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Mulhurn, Mike (April 5, 1987). "Earnhardt Takes First Union For 4th NASCAR Win". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 17, 23. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Owens, Mike (April 5, 1987). "From The Pressbox". Statesville Record & Landmark. pp. 2B. Retrieved October 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Mulhurn, Mike (April 6, 1987). "Bodine's Smooth Run Offers Johnson Hope". Winston-Salem Journal. p. 23. Retrieved October 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 3, 1988. pp. 6C. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 4, 1987). "Weather Postpones Wilkesboro 400 Time Trials". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 5, 1987). "Elliott Sets Track Record En Route To 400 Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 9B. Retrieved September 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.