1995 Tyson Holly Farms 400 Explained
The 1995 Tyson Holly Farms 400 was the 27th stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 46th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 1, 1995, 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. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.
After a 36-race absence, the race marked the NASCAR Winston Cup Series return for Ernie Irvan, who had suffered major head and lung injuries in a practice session at the 1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400. Irvan would finish sixth in the 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 0.625miles 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 split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 29, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, September 30, at 12:00 PM EST.[4] As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-32 would be decided on time, 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; which was usually four. 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.
Ted Musgrave, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.004 and an average speed of 118.396mph in the first round.[5]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|
| 1 | 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 126 | running | 185 | $71,590 |
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| 2 | 18 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 170 | $38,915 |
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| 3 | 14 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 12 | running | 170 | $33,065 |
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| 4 | 11 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | running | 160 | $28,595 |
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| 5 | 24 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 58 | running | 160 | $31,640 |
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| 6 | 7 | 88 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 31 | running | 155 | $14,715 |
|---|
| 7 | 6 | 28 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 108 | running | 151 | $24,790 |
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| 8 | 8 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 2 | running | 147 | $19,200 |
|---|
| 9 | 13 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 399 | 5 | running | 143 | $27,850 |
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| 10 | 32 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Elliott-Hardy Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 134 | $17,530 |
|---|
| 11 | 16 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 130 | $22,150 |
|---|
| 12 | 5 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 399 | 0 | running | 127 | $16,825 |
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| 13 | 33 | 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 124 | $11,600 |
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| 14 | 4 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 6 | running | 126 | $16,325 |
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| 15 | 10 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 118 | $21,075 |
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| 16 | 3 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 398 | 26 | running | 120 | $11,025 |
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| 17 | 34 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 398 | 6 | running | 117 | $10,875 |
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| 18 | 22 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 6 | running | 114 | $19,700 |
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| 19 | 29 | 15 | Dick Trickle | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 106 | $15,700 |
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| 20 | 1 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 396 | 12 | running | 108 | $26,100 |
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| 21 | 17 | 41 | Ricky Craven (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 395 | 0 | running | 100 | $11,225 |
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| 22 | 23 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 97 | $19,475 |
|---|
| 23 | 9 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 94 | $14,925 |
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| 24 | 31 | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 91 | $6,300 |
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| 25 | 25 | 26 | Hut Stricklin | King Racing | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 88 | $11,375 |
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| 26 | 26 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 85 | $16,650 |
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| 27 | 12 | 40 | Rich Bickle | Dick Brooks Racing | Pontiac | 394 | 2 | running | 87 | $11,100 |
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| 28 | 15 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 79 | $9,435 |
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| 29 | 19 | 31 | Jimmy Hensley | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 76 | $9,325 |
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| 30 | 27 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 393 | 0 | running | 73 | $13,925 |
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| 31 | 30 | 29 | Steve Grissom | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 70 | $8,726 |
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| 32 | 28 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 67 | $8,600 |
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| 33 | 36 | 33 | Robert Pressley (R) | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 392 | 0 | running | 64 | $13,575 |
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| 34 | 21 | 27 | Elton Sawyer | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 61 | $13,550 |
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| 35 | 35 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 391 | 0 | running | 58 | $8,075 |
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| 36 | 20 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 390 | 0 | running | 55 | $5,550 |
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| Failed to qualify |
|---|
| 37 | | 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | |
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| 38 | 32 | Greg Sacks | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet |
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| 39 | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford |
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| 40 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac |
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| 41 | 8 | Jeff Burton | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford |
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| 42 | 90 | Mike Wallace | Donlavey Racing | Ford |
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| 43 | 78 | Jay Hedgecock | Triad Motorsports | Ford |
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| Official race results | |
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Notes and References
- News: Harris . Mike . October 2, 1995 . Irvan 6th in return as Martin triumphs . 9 . Messenger-Inquirer . November 15, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Strubin . John . October 2, 1995 . Irvan's return overshadows Martin's victory . 49 . . November 15, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . October 2, 1995 . Irvan's outing answers some critics . 15 . . November 15, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: September 29, 1995 . Tyson Holly Farms 400 . 24 . . November 15, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Harris . Mike . September 30, 1995 . Irvan steals the spotlight . 24 . Morning Sentinel . November 15, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
