First Union 400 Explained

First Union 400
Series Long:	NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Venue:	North Wilkesboro Speedway, Wilkes County, North Carolina
Sponsor:	First Union
First Race:	1951
Last Race:	1996
Distance:	250miles
Laps:	400
Previous Names:	Wilkes County 150 (1951) Wilkes County 200 (1952–1953) Wilkes County 160 (1954–1958) Gwyn Staley 160 (1959–1960) Gwyn Staley 400 (1961–1978) Northwestern Bank 400 (1979–1985) First Union 400 (1986–1996)

The First Union 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held annually from 1951 to 1996 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina. It was the first of two Winston Cup Series races held annually (with the autumn's Tyson Holly Farms 400) at North Wilkesboro Speedway before the track was abandoned in 1996.^[1] The race was normally held in late March or early April.

Past winners

Year	Date		Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
1951	April 29	14	Fonty Flock	Frank Christian	Oldsmobile	150	93.75 (150.876)			Report	^[2]
1952	March 30	92	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson	200	125 (201.168)	2:08:00	58.597	Report	^[3]
1953	March 29	92	Herb Thomas	Herb Thomas	Hudson	200	125 (201.168)	1:44:18	71.907	Report	^[4]
1954	April 4	3	Dick Rathmann	John Ditz	Hudson	160	100 (160.934)	1:27:32	68.545	Report	^[5]
1955	April 3	87	Buck Baker	Bob Griffin	Oldsmobile	160	100 (160.934)	1:22:03	73.126	Report	^[6]
1956	April 8	300A	Tim Flock	Carl Kiekhaefer	Chrysler	160	100 (160.934)	1:24:28	71.034	Report	^[7]
1957	April 7	22	Fireball Roberts	Pete DePaolo	Ford	160	100 (160.934)	1:19:59	75.015	Report	^[8]
1958	May 18	11	Junior Johnson	Paul Spaulding	Ford	160	100 (160.934)	1:16:18	78.636	Report	^[9]
1959	April 5	43	Lee Petty	Petty Enterprises	Oldsmobile	160	100 (160.934)	1:23:21	71.985	Report	^[10]
1960	March 27	42	Lee Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	160	100 (160.934)	1:30:26	66.347	Report	^[11]
1961	April 16	4	Rex White	Rex White	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	3:00:11	83.248	Report	^[12]
1962	April 15	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	400	250 (402.336)	2:57:01	84.737	Report	^[13]
1963	April 28	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	257*	160.625 (258.5)	1:57:06	83.301	Report	^[14]
1964	April 19	28	Fred Lorenzen	Holman-Moody	Ford	400	250 (402.336)	3:03:05	81.93	Report	^[15]
1965	April 18	26	Junior Johnson	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford	400	250 (402.336)	2:37:49	95.047	Report	^[16]
1966	April 17	14	Jim Paschal	Frieden Enterprises	Plymouth	400	250 (402.336)	2:50:22	89.045	Report	^[17]
1967	April 16	26	Darel Dieringer	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford	400	270 (434.522)	2:40:16	93.594	Report	^[18]
1968	April 21	17	David Pearson	Holman-Moodybo	Ford	400	250 (402.336)	2:45:33	90.425	Report	^[19]
1969	April 20	22	Bobby Allison	Mario Rossi	Dodge	400	250 (402.336)	2:37:27	95.268	Report	^[20]
1970	April 18	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	400	250 (402.336)	2:38:41	94.246	Report	^[21]
1971	April 18	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	400	250 (402.336)	2:32:19	98.479	Report	^[22]
1972	April 23	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Plymouth	400	250 (402.336)	2:53:19	86.381	Report	^[23]
1973	April 8	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	400	250 (402.336)	2:34:17	97.224	Report	^[24]
1974	April 21	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	360*	225 (362.102)	2:20:20	96.2	Report	^[25]
1975	April 6	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Dodge	400	250 (402.336)	2:46:39	90.009	Report	^[26]
1976	April 4	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:34:52	96.858	Report	^[27]
1977	March 27	11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:48:38	88.95	Report	^[28]
1978	April 16	88	Darrell Waltrip	DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:42:26	92.345	Report	^[29]
1979	March 25	15	Bobby Allison	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	400	250 (402.336)	2:49:41	88.4	Report	^[30]
1980	April 20	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:37:04	95.501	Report	^[31]
1981	April 5	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	Buick	400	250 (402.336)	2:55:41	85.381	Report	^[32]
1982	April 18	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick	400	250 (402.336)	2:33:37	97.646	Report	^[33]
1983	April 17	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:44:03	91.436	Report	^[34]
1984	April 8	27	Tim Richmond	Blue Max Racing	Pontiac	400	250 (402.336)	2:33:19	97.83	Report	^[35]
1985	April 21	12	Neil Bonnett	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:39:53	93.818	Report	^[36]
1986	April 20	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:49:40	88.408	Report	^[37]
1987	April 5	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:39:24	94.103	Report	^[38]
1988	April 17	11	Terry Labonte	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:31:24	99.075	Report	^[39]
1989	April 16	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:46:47	89.937	Report	^[40]
1990	April 22	26	Brett Bodine	King Racing	Buick	400	250 (402.336)	2:58:46	83.908	Report	^[41]
1991	April 21	17	Darrell Waltrip	DarWal, Inc.	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	3:08:26	79.604	Report	^[42]
1992	April 12	28	Davey Allison	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	400	250 (402.336)	2:45:28	90.653	Report	^[43]
1993	April 18	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing	Pontiac	400	250 (402.336)	2:41:59	92.602	Report	^[44]
1994	April 17	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:36:33	95.816	Report	^[45]
1995	April 9	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:26:27	102.424	Report	^[46]
1996	April 14	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	250 (402.336)	2:35:39	96.37	Report	^[47]

• 1963: Race shortened due to rain.
• 1974: Race shortened due to energy crisis.
• 1977: Yarborough won on his birthday, the first driver to do so.
• 1990: Bodine's lone Winston Cup victory and last win for Buick; finish disputed due to a scoring error.

Multiple winners (drivers)

Wins	Driver	Years Won
10	Richard Petty	1962, 1963, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981
4	Darrell Waltrip	1978, 1982, 1983, 1991
	Dale Earnhardt	1986, 1987, 1989, 1995
3	Terry Labonte	1988, 1994, 1996
2	Herb Thomas	1952, 1953
	Lee Petty	1959, 1960
	Junior Johnson	1958, 1965
	Cale Yarborough	1976, 1977
	Bobby Allison	1969, 1979

Multiple winners (manufacturers)

Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
15	Chevrolet	1961, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996
8	Ford	1957, 1958, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1979, 1992
7	Plymouth	1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972
4	Dodge	1969, 1973, 1974, 1975
3	Hudson	1952, 1953, 1954
	Oldsmobile	1951, 1955, 1959
	Buick	1981, 1982, 1990
2	Pontiac	1984, 1993

Notes and References

1. Web site: North Wilkesboro alive and well, even without racing . NASCAR . April 1, 2009 . April 22, 2012 . Aumann, Mark.
2. Web site: 1951 Wilkes County 150. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
3. Web site: 1952 Wilkes County 200. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
4. Web site: 1953 Wilkes County 200. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
5. Web site: 1954 Wilkes County 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
6. Web site: 1955 Wilkes County 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
7. Web site: 1956 Wilkes County 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
8. Web site: 1957 Wilkes County 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
9. Web site: 1958 Wilkes County 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
10. Web site: 1959 Gwyn Staley 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
11. Web site: 1960 Gwyn Staley 160. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
12. Web site: 1961 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
13. Web site: 1962 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
14. Web site: 1963 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
15. Web site: 1964 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
16. Web site: 1965 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
17. Web site: 1966 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
18. Web site: 1967 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
19. Web site: 1968 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
20. Web site: 1969 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
21. Web site: 1970 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
22. Web site: 1971 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
23. Web site: 1972 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
24. Web site: 1973 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
25. Web site: 1974 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
26. Web site: 1975 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
27. Web site: 1976 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
28. Web site: 1977 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
29. Web site: 1978 Gwyn Staley 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
30. Web site: 1979 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
31. Web site: 1980 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
32. Web site: 1981 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
33. Web site: 1982 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
34. Web site: 1983 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
35. Web site: 1984 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
36. Web site: 1985 Northwestern Bank 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
37. Web site: 1986 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
38. Web site: 1987 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
39. Web site: 1988 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
40. Web site: 1989 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
41. Web site: 1990 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
42. Web site: 1991 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
43. Web site: 1992 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
44. Web site: 1993 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
45. Web site: 1994 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
46. Web site: 1995 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.
47. Web site: 1996 First Union 400. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 24, 2023.