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1989 First Union 400

1989 First Union 400
Race details
Race 7 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1989 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Terry Labonte.
The 1989 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Terry Labonte.
Date April 16, 1989
Official name 39th 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 89.937 miles per hour (144.740 km/h)
Attendance 36,000
Pole position
Driver Blue Max Racing
Time 19.145
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 296
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1989 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 16, 1989, before an audience of 36,000 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. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate a majority of the race, leading 296 laps to take his 35th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of North Wilkesboro Speedway, the venue where the race was held

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.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac Kroger
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile Kodak
5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Stroh's Light
7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford Zerex
8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford Coors Light
11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Budweiser
15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford Motorcraft
16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick Chattanooga Chew
17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Tide
21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile B&B Racing
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers
26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick Quaker State
27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak
28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac Hardee's
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Country Time
31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac Bob Clark Motorsports
33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal Bandit
40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile Hess Racing
43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac Alka-Seltzer
55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum
57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac Heinz
60 Rodney Combs[a][b] Combs Racing Chevrolet Combs Racing
66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet Banquet Foods
70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac Rumple Furniture
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Lifebuoy
75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac Valvoline
83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce
84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick Miller High Life
88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac Crisco
94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile Sunoco

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 14, at 3:00 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 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, April 15, at 12:15 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 would be decided on time,[7] 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 were given.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.357 and an average speed of 116.237 miles per hour (187.065 km/h) in the first round.[8][9]

Four drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 19.145 117.524
2 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.190 117.249
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.203 117.169
4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 19.254 116.859
5 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 19.273 116.744
6 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 19.285 116.671
7 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 19.313 116.502
8 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 19.317 116.478
9 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 19.372 116.147
10 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 19.387 116.057
Failed to lock in Round 1
11 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 19.396 116.003
12 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 19.400 115.979
13 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 19.405 115.949
14 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 19.429 115.806
15 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.453 115.663
16 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 19.483 115.485
17 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 19.492 115.432
18 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 19.513 115.308
19 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 19.515 115.296
20 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 19.517 115.284
21 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 19.527 115.225
22 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 19.538 115.160
23 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 19.548 115.101
24 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 19.572 114.960
25 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 19.590 114.855
26 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 19.597 114.813
27 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 19.634 114.597
28 60 Rodney Combs Combs Racing Chevrolet 19.634 114.597
29 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 19.707 114.173
30 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 19.775 113.780
Provisionals
31 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.780 113.751
32 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 19.859 113.299
Failed to qualify
33 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 19.784 113.728
34 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 19.823 113.505
35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 20.029 112.337
36 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac - -
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 296 running 185 $51,225
2 13 7 Alan Kulwicki AK Racing Ford 400 0 running 170 $25,575
3 4 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 0 running 165 $19,425
4 10 84 Dick Trickle (R) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 400 5 running 165 $13,800
5 7 11 Terry Labonte Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 400 0 running 155 $14,025
6 8 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick 400 0 running 150 $7,475
7 2 5 Geoff Bodine Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 19 running 151 $9,200
8 15 17 Darrell Waltrip Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 74 running 147 $11,505
9 1 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 399 6 running 143 $16,850
10 29 2 Ernie Irvan U.S. Racing Pontiac 396 0 running 134 $9,575
11 17 28 Davey Allison Robert Yates Racing Ford 395 0 running 130 $9,495
12 28 60 Phil Parsons Combs Racing Chevrolet 394 0 running 127 $2,245
13 11 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 394 0 running 124 $5,170
14 31 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 394 0 running 121 $7,840
15 14 40 Ben Hess (R) Hess Racing Oldsmobile 393 0 running 118 $3,025
16 24 57 Hut Stricklin (R) Osterlund Racing Pontiac 390 0 running 115 $2,120
17 25 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Pontiac 390 0 running 112 $9,695
18 32 23 Eddie Bierschwale B&B Racing Oldsmobile 388 0 running 109 $3,395
19 18 29 Dale Jarrett Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 383 0 running 106 $4,745
20 26 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 376 0 running 103 $5,545
21 19 88 Greg Sacks Baker–Schiff Racing Pontiac 374 0 running 100 $6,350
22 5 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 367 0 running 97 $11,250
23 30 33 Harry Gant Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile 329 0 running 94 $6,025
24 23 16 Larry Pearson (R) Pearson Racing Buick 323 0 engine 91 $2,757
25 12 66 Rick Mast (R) Mach 1 Racing Chevrolet 321 0 engine 88 $4,200
26 6 94 Sterling Marlin Hagan Racing Oldsmobile 301 0 camshaft 85 $3,975
27 21 83 Lake Speed Speed Racing Oldsmobile 297 0 running 82 $3,875
28 20 15 Brett Bodine Bud Moore Engineering Ford 275 0 oil cooler 79 $4,575
29 9 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 272 0 crash 76 $3,775
30 27 4 Rick Wilson Morgan–McClure Motorsports Oldsmobile 270 0 crash 73 $3,225
31 22 31 Jim Sauter Bob Clark Motorsports Pontiac 161 0 brakes 70 $1,650
32 16 52 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 77 0 rear end 67 $1,650
Failed to qualify
33 8 Bobby Hillin Jr. Stavola Brothers Racing Buick
34 55 Phil Parsons Jackson Bros. Motorsports Oldsmobile
35 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac
36 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac
Official race results

Standings after the race

Notes

  1. ^ Driver switched to Phil Parsons after qualifying after Parsons failed to make the field in his original entry.[5]
  2. ^ Driver switched to Phil Parsons for the race after Parsons failed to qualify in his original entry.[6]

References

  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt Ends Drought (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 49. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt Ends Drought (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 51. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ King, Randy (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt returns to the front (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 45. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ King, Randy (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt returns to the front (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 48. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 16, 1989). "Wallace Carries Hot Streak To N. Wilkesboro". The Charlotte Observer. p. 76. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 16, 1989). "Wallace Carries Hot Streak To N. Wilkesboro". The Charlotte Observer. p. 76. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 14, 1989. p. 62. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 15, 1989). "Wallace Speeds To 400 Pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 15, 1989). "Wallace Speeds To 400 Pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1989 Valleydale Meats 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1989 season
Next race:
1989 Pannill Sweatshirts 500
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