1995 First Union 400 Explained
The 1995 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 45th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 9, 1995, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625miles 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 to take his 64th 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 Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
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 0.625miles 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, March 24, at 2:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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, March 25, at 10:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-32 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; 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.
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 18.945 and an average speed of 118.765mph in the first round.[4]
Nine drivers would fail to qualify: Jeremy Mayfield, Kenny Wallace, Chuck Bown, Jay Hedgecock, Davy Jones, Billy Standridge, Jeff Purvis, Steve Kinser, and Randy MacDonald.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Fin | St | | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
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1 | 5 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 227 | running | 185 | $77,400 |
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2 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 95 | running | 175 | $61,625 |
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3 | 7 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 25 | running | 170 | $40,250 |
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4 | 11 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 400 | 56 | running | 165 | $29,630 |
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5 | 15 | 29 | Steve Grissom | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | running | 155 | $20,655 |
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6 | 9 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 150 | $19,855 |
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7 | 20 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 399 | 0 | running | 146 | $22,105 |
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8 | 13 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 142 | $17,915 |
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9 | 2 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 399 | 6 | running | 143 | $21,090 |
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10 | 22 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 134 | $19,595 |
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11 | 33 | 28 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 130 | $24,140 |
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12 | 17 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 127 | $16,840 |
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13 | 4 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 124 | $11,590 |
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14 | 27 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 121 | $21,815 |
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15 | 35 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 118 | $16,865 |
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16 | 30 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | running | 115 | $21,815 |
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17 | 34 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 397 | 12 | running | 117 | $6,915 |
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18 | 28 | 33 | Robert Pressley (R) | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | running | 109 | $16,865 |
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19 | 10 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 106 | $15,665 |
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20 | 8 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 0 | running | 103 | $8,065 |
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21 | 25 | 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 100 | $15,390 |
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22 | 23 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 395 | 0 | running | 100 | $15,240 |
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23 | 31 | 22 | Randy LaJoie (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 394 | 0 | running | 97 | $15,490 |
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24 | 18 | 31 | Ward Burton | A.G. Dillard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 94 | $6,465 |
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25 | 6 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 88 | $6,615 |
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26 | 14 | 8 | Jeff Burton | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 85 | $14,765 |
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27 | 29 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 394 | 0 | running | 82 | $9,565 |
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28 | 16 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Elliott-Hardy Racing | Ford | 393 | 0 | running | 79 | $6,225 |
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29 | 12 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 76 | $19,215 |
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30 | 3 | 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 73 | $15,040 |
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31 | 24 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 374 | 2 | fatigue | 75 | $13,865 |
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32 | 19 | 15 | Dick Trickle | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 369 | 0 | running | 67 | $14,740 |
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33 | 21 | 41 | Ricky Craven (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 360 | 0 | running | 64 | $8,715 |
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34 | 36 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | running | 61 | $7,715 |
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35 | 32 | 40 | Greg Sacks | Dick Brooks Racing | Pontiac | 325 | 0 | fatigue | 58 | $13,215 |
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36 | 26 | 90 | Mike Wallace | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 226 | 0 | accident | 55 | $5,715 |
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Failed to qualify |
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37 | | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | |
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38 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford |
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39 | 32 | Chuck Bown | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet |
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40 | 78 | Jay Hedgecock | Triad Motorsports | Ford |
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41 | 77 | Davy Jones (R) | Jasper Motorsports | Ford |
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42 | 47 | Billy Standridge | Standridge Motorsports | Ford |
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43 | 27 | Jeff Purvis | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford |
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44 | 26 | Steve Kinser | King Racing | Ford |
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45 | 52 | Randy MacDonald | Jimmy Means Racing | Ford |
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Official race results | |
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Notes and References
- News: Foreman Jr. . Tom . April 10, 1995 . Earnhardt's first victory of season comes easily . 11 . Wausau Daily Herald . October 29, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Higgins . Tom . April 10, 1995 . Earnhardt breezes to NASCAR win . 12 . The Daily Herald . October 29, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: April 7, 1995 . First Union 400 . 25 . . October 29, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
- News: Foreman Jr. . Tom . April 8, 1995 . Red-hot Gordon racks up another pole on tough track . 14 . Messenger-Inquirer . October 29, 2022 . Newspapers.com.