The 1986 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 20, 1986, before an audience of 29,500 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.[1]
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 29 in the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Neil Bonnett. | |||
| Date | April 20, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 36th 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 | 88.408 miles per hour (142.279 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 29,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.014 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 195 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
By race's end, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt was able to hold off a late-race charge by Bud Moore Engineering's Ricky Rudd, securing his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports' Geoff Bodine finished third.
The race was the first start for African-American driver Willy T. Ribbs, after previous failed attempts in the 1986 season. With the start, Ribbs became the sixth African-American driver to make a start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the first African-American driver since George Wiltshire in 1975.[4]
Background
edit
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
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was done over two rounds of qualifying over two days. The first round was held on Friday, April 18, at 3:00 PM EST, with each driver having one lap to set a time. In the first round, the first eight drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot within the top eight; however, their official starting positions were then determined by calculating the averages of their first round time and their second round time, with the second round being held on Saturday, April 19, at 3:00 PM EST, with all drivers having one lap to set a time in the round.[5] Drivers who did not lock into the race in the first round had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time, with all non-locked in drivers setting positions 9-30 based on speed. Depending on if teams 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.[6]
Geoff Bodine, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting an average time of 20.014 and average speed of 112.419 miles per hour (180.921 km/h) in his two runs.[7]
Four drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ Cooper, Ray (April 21, 1986). "Earnhardt holds off Rudd to win again". News & Record. pp. B4, B6. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 21, 1986). "Earnhardt Wins, But Not By Much". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1D, 3D. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mulhurn, Mike (April 21, 1986). "Earnhardt Nips Rudd in Wet First Union 400". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 21, 25. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Myrie, Donovan (February 17, 2020). "Meet the influential African-American drivers in NASCAR's Cup Series". WKMG-TV. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 18, 1986). "Earnhardt–Waltrip Duel Due". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 7B. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 19, 1986). "King Richard Eyes 1st Pole In 7 Seasons". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 5C, 11C. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (April 20, 1986). "Bodine Nudges Petty As Ribbs Qualifies". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 5B. Retrieved December 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
