1987 First Union 400 Explained
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 0.625miles oval short track. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete.[1]
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 0.625miles 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.[4] 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.[5]
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 19.396 and an average speed of 116.003mph.[6]
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 |
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| 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 | 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| 18 | 29 | 81 | Eddie Bierschwale | Fillip Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 109 | $1,430 |
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| 19 | 31 | 12 | Slick Johnson | Hamby Racing | Oldsmobile | 392 | 1 | running | 0 | $4,045 |
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| 20 | 23 | 10 | Rodney Combs | DiGard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 386 | 0 | running | 103 | $2,030 |
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| 21 | 6 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 383 | 0 | running | 100 | $1,335 |
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| 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 |
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| 25 | 20 | 16 | Larry Pearson | Pearson Racing | Chevrolet | 359 | 0 | rear end | 88 | $1,310 |
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| 26 | 28 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | 0 | running | 85 | $3,355 |
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| 27 | 8 | 26 | Morgan Shepherd | King Racing | Buick | 258 | 0 | crash | 82 | $3,345 |
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| 28 | 7 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 240 | 0 | engine | 79 | $7,610 |
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| 29 | 25 | 34 | Jesse Samples Jr. | AAG Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 0 | rear end | 76 | $1,160 |
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| 30 | 27 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 74 | 0 | cylinder head | 73 | $2,635 |
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| 31 | 22 | 62 | Steve Christman (R) | Winkle Motorsports | Pontiac | 63 | 0 | crash | 70 | $1,135 |
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| 32 | 32 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 29 | 0 | engine | 67 | $1,085 |
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| Failed to qualify |
|---|
| 33 | | 67 | Eddie Bierschwale | Arrington Racing | Ford | |
|---|
| Official race results | |
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Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
- Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
- News: Cook . Monty . April 6, 1987 . Earnhardt hot; gets second straight win . 9 . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . April 6, 1987 . Earnhardt Rolls To 4th Win In 6 Starts . 1C, 3C . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Mulhurn . Mike . April 5, 1987 . Earnhardt Takes First Union For 4th NASCAR Win . 17, 23 . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: April 3, 1988 . NASCAR Today . 6C . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . April 4, 1987 . Weather Postpones Wilkesboro 400 Time Trials . 1C . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . April 5, 1987 . Elliott Sets Track Record En Route To 400 Pole . 1B, 9B . . September 26, 2023 . Newspapers.com.
