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 0.625 miles (1.006 km) 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.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1995 Tyson Holly Farms 400 program cover, featuring Enoch Staley. | |||
| Date | October 1, 1995 | ||
| Official name | 46th 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 | 102.998 miles per hour (165.759 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 19.004 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 126 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
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
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 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 118.396 miles per hour (190.540 km/h) in the first round.[5]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Harris, Mike (October 2, 1995). "Irvan 6th in return as Martin triumphs". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 9. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Strubin, John (October 2, 1995). "Irvan's return overshadows Martin's victory". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 49. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (October 2, 1995). "Irvan's outing answers some critics". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tyson Holly Farms 400". The Charlotte Observer. September 29, 1995. p. 24. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Mike (September 30, 1995). "Irvan steals the spotlight". Morning Sentinel. p. 24. Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
