1989 First Union 400
The 1989 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 16, 1989, before an audience of 36,000 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, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to dominate a majority of the race, leading 296 laps to take his 35th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2][3][4] To fill out the top three, owner-driver Alan Kulwicki and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 29 in the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1989 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Terry Labonte. | |||
| Date | April 16, 1989 | ||
| Official name | 39th 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 | 89.937 miles per hour (144.740 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 36,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Blue Max Racing | ||
| Time | 19.145 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 296 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
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 0.625 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
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 14, at 3:00 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 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, April 15, at 12:15 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 would be decided on time,[7] 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; up to two were given.
Rusty Wallace, driving for Blue Max Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.357 and an average speed of 116.237 miles per hour (187.065 km/h) in the first round.[8][9]
Four drivers would 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 | 296 | running | 185 | $51,225 |
| 2 | 13 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 170 | $25,575 |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 165 | $19,425 |
| 4 | 10 | 84 | Dick Trickle (R) | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 400 | 5 | running | 165 | $13,800 |
| 5 | 7 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 155 | $14,025 |
| 6 | 8 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 400 | 0 | running | 150 | $7,475 |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 19 | running | 151 | $9,200 |
| 8 | 15 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 74 | running | 147 | $11,505 |
| 9 | 1 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 399 | 6 | running | 143 | $16,850 |
| 10 | 29 | 2 | Ernie Irvan | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 396 | 0 | running | 134 | $9,575 |
| 11 | 17 | 28 | Davey Allison | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 130 | $9,495 |
| 12 | 28 | 60 | Phil Parsons | Combs Racing | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 127 | $2,245 |
| 13 | 11 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 124 | $5,170 |
| 14 | 31 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,840 |
| 15 | 14 | 40 | Ben Hess (R) | Hess Racing | Oldsmobile | 393 | 0 | running | 118 | $3,025 |
| 16 | 24 | 57 | Hut Stricklin (R) | Osterlund Racing | Pontiac | 390 | 0 | running | 115 | $2,120 |
| 17 | 25 | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 390 | 0 | running | 112 | $9,695 |
| 18 | 32 | 23 | Eddie Bierschwale | B&B Racing | Oldsmobile | 388 | 0 | running | 109 | $3,395 |
| 19 | 18 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Pontiac | 383 | 0 | running | 106 | $4,745 |
| 20 | 26 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 376 | 0 | running | 103 | $5,545 |
| 21 | 19 | 88 | Greg Sacks | Baker–Schiff Racing | Pontiac | 374 | 0 | running | 100 | $6,350 |
| 22 | 5 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 367 | 0 | running | 97 | $11,250 |
| 23 | 30 | 33 | Harry Gant | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 329 | 0 | running | 94 | $6,025 |
| 24 | 23 | 16 | Larry Pearson (R) | Pearson Racing | Buick | 323 | 0 | engine | 91 | $2,757 |
| 25 | 12 | 66 | Rick Mast (R) | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 321 | 0 | engine | 88 | $4,200 |
| 26 | 6 | 94 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 301 | 0 | camshaft | 85 | $3,975 |
| 27 | 21 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 297 | 0 | running | 82 | $3,875 |
| 28 | 20 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 275 | 0 | oil cooler | 79 | $4,575 |
| 29 | 9 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 272 | 0 | crash | 76 | $3,775 |
| 30 | 27 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 270 | 0 | crash | 73 | $3,225 |
| 31 | 22 | 31 | Jim Sauter | Bob Clark Motorsports | Pontiac | 161 | 0 | brakes | 70 | $1,650 |
| 32 | 16 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 77 | 0 | rear end | 67 | $1,650 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 33 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | ||||||
| 34 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | ||||||
| 35 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | ||||||
| 36 | 70 | J. D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
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Notes
- Driver switched to Phil Parsons after qualifying after Parsons failed to make the field in his original entry.[5]
- Driver switched to Phil Parsons for the race after Parsons failed to qualify in his original entry.[6]
References
- Higgins, Tom (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt Ends Drought (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 49. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt Ends Drought (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 51. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- King, Randy (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt returns to the front (Part 1)". The Roanoke Times. p. 45. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- King, Randy (April 17, 1989). "Earnhardt returns to the front (Part 2)". The Roanoke Times. p. 48. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 16, 1989). "Wallace Carries Hot Streak To N. Wilkesboro". The Charlotte Observer. p. 76. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 16, 1989). "Wallace Carries Hot Streak To N. Wilkesboro". The Charlotte Observer. p. 76. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. April 14, 1989. p. 62. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 15, 1989). "Wallace Speeds To 400 Pole (Part 1)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 25. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (April 15, 1989). "Wallace Speeds To 400 Pole (Part 2)". The Charlotte Observer. p. 28. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.