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1996 First Union 400

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1996 First Union 400
Race details
Race 7 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1996 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1996 First Union 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date April 14, 1996
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 96.37 miles per hour (155.09 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 19.287
Most laps led
Driver Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 167
Winner
No. 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1996 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 46th and to date, final iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 14, 1996, 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. In the final laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would manage to take advantage of a late-race restart with 20 to go and pull away to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of North Wilkesboro Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

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.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Hooters
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Ironman
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford QVC
8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Circuit City
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Spam
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Lowe's
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford Hayes Modems
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford PrimeStar, The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Parts America
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford HealthSource RI
21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Camel Cigarettes
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
27 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford David Blair Motorsports
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Cartoon Network, The Flintstones
30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal
37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Kmart, Little Caesars
41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light Silver Bullet
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Prodigy
75 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Remington Arms
77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
78 Randy MacDonald Triad Motorsports Ford Diamond Rio
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford Square D, TIC Financial Systems
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Burger King
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald's
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 12, 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, April 13, at 9:30 AM EST. 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,[3] 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.

Terry Labonte, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.287 and an average speed of 116.659 miles per hour (187.744 km/h).[4]

Five drivers would fail to qualify: Dave Marcis, Randy MacDonald, Mike Wallace, Ward Burton, and Bobby Hillin Jr.

Full qualifying results

[edit]
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.287 116.659
2 27 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford 19.370 116.159
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 19.373 116.141
4 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 19.375 116.129
5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.382 116.087
6 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 19.405 115.949
7 41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.414 115.896
8 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 19.437 115.759
9 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 19.437 115.759
10 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 19.443 115.723
11 33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 19.457 115.640
12 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 19.469 115.568
13 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 19.472 115.551
14 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 19.480 115.503
15 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 19.489 115.450
16 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 19.506 115.349
17 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 19.511 115.320
18 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 19.512 115.314
19 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 19.536 115.172
20 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 19.537 115.166
21 75 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 19.539 115.154
22 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 19.540 115.148
23 15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 19.544 115.125
24 30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 19.544 115.125
25 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 19.557 115.048
Failed to lock in Round 1
26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 19.560 115.031
27 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 19.570 114.972
28 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 19.601 114.790
29 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 19.604 114.772
30 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 19.610 114.737
31 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 19.634 114.597
32 19 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford 19.636 114.585
Provisionals
33 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford -* -*
34 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford -* -*
35 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford -* -*
36 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
Champion's Provisional
37 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford -* -*
Failed to qualify
38 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -* -*
39 78 Randy MacDonald Triad Motorsports Ford -* -*
40 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
41 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac -* -*
42 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official qualifying results

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 167 running 185 $229,025
2 17 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 0 running 170 $52,750
3 26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 0 running 165 $38,525
4 11 33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 400 43 running 165 $35,305
5 8 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 400 64 running 160 $31,855
6 22 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 399 1 running 155 $22,755
7 7 41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 2 running 151 $24,980
8 4 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 398 0 running 142 $20,815
9 5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 398 0 running 138 $20,390
10 28 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 398 0 running 134 $29,170
11 29 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 398 0 running 130 $16,615
12 6 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 398 1 running 132 $19,740
13 15 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 398 0 running 124 $19,425
14 31 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 398 0 running 121 $19,190
15 33 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 397 0 running 118 $24,140
16 35 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 397 0 running 115 $13,890
17 34 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 397 0 running 112 $20,590
18 16 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 397 0 running 109 $7,765
19 27 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 397 0 running 106 $18,415
20 10 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 396 0 running 103 $13,115
21 37 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 396 0 running 100 $18,065
22 32 19 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford 395 0 running 97 $7,515
23 19 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 395 0 running 94 $17,765
24 24 30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 394 0 running 91 $18,615
25 30 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 394 0 running 88 $17,640
26 25 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 394 0 running 85 $17,290
27 21 75 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 394 2 running 87 $10,140
28 23 15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 394 0 running 79 $17,075
29 9 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 394 0 running 76 $7,090
30 13 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 394 0 running 73 $16,215
31 18 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 392 0 running 70 $13,640
32 2 27 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford 391 0 running 67 $6,615
33 12 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 390 119 running 69 $21,615
34 20 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 368 1 crash 66 $14,590
35 14 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 368 0 running 58 $13,590
36 36 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 367 0 crash 55 $13,565
37 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 355 0 running 52 $23,415
Failed to qualify
38 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
39 78 Randy MacDonald Triad Motorsports Ford
40 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford
41 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac
42 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford
Official race results

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Higgins, Tom (April 15, 1996). "Labonte wins, catches Petty". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Macenka, Joe (April 15, 1996). "Labonte ties record in grand style". Star-Gazette. p. 19. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "First Union 400". The Charlotte Observer. April 12, 1996. p. 13. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ McCollister, Tom (April 13, 1996). "Labonte earns pole, goes for record next". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 71. Retrieved October 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon


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1996 Food City 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 season
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1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500 (Martinsville)