1994 Tyson Holly Farms 400
The 1994 Tyson Holly Farms 400 was the 27th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 45th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 2, 1994, 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. In a dominant performance, owner-driver Geoff Bodine would manage to lap the entire field at race's end to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Precision Products Racing driver Rick Mast would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 31 in the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1994 Tyson Holly Farms 400 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. | |||
| Date | October 2, 1994 | ||
| Official name | 45th Annual Tyson Holly Farms 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 | 98.522 miles per hour (158.556 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 54,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Time | 18.978 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | |
| Laps | 334 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Bodine's performance remains the last time a driver has managed to lap the field in a race.[3]
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 split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 30, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, October 1, at 12:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-34 would be decided on time,[4] and 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 provisionals were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.
Jimmy Spencer, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 18.978 and an average speed of 118.558 miles per hour (190.801 km/h) in the first round.[5]
Six drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Standings after the race
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References
- Higgins, Tom (October 3, 1994). "Geoff Bodine covers field in 400". The Daily Item. p. 11. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Price, Mike (October 3, 1994). "Geoff Bodine's victory is part of a crazy year". Intelligencer Journal. p. 19. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Zeller, Bob (October 2, 1994). "Bodine laps field at Holly Farms". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- "NASCAR today". The Charlotte Observer. September 30, 1994. p. 15. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harris, Mike (October 1, 1994). "Spencer on pole for first time". Citizens' Voice. p. 55. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.