The 1987 Holly Farms 400 was the 25th stock car race of the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 4, 1987, before an audience of 32,500 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.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1987 Holly Farms 400 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson. | |||
| Date | October 4, 1987 | ||
| Official name | 38th Annual Holly Farms 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 | 96.051 miles per hour (154.579 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 32,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Melling Racing | ||
| Time | 19.532 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Laps | 207 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Jerry Punch | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
With the help of a final fast pit stop late in the race, Junior Johnson & Associates' Terry Labonte managed to pull away from second-place Dale Earnhardt, completing a dominant run where Labonte led the final 207 laps. The victory was Labonte's eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2]
Heading into the next four races of the season, Dale Earnhardt, who at this point had a 573 point lead in the driver's championship over Bill Elliott, was slated as the lock-in for the championship, only needing a 40th or better place finish in the next four races to clinch the championship.[2]
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, October 2, at 4:30 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 drivers in the round were 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, October 3, at 12:15 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver had one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 were 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; up to two were given.
Bill Elliott, driving for Melling Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 19.532 and an average speed of 115.196 miles per hour (185.390 km/h) in the first round.[4]
12 drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
edit
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Notes
edit- ^ For unknown reasons, driver changed to Trevor Boys.
- ^ For unknown reasons, driver changed to Slick Johnson.
References
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (October 5, 1987). "Cool Labonte Ices Win At North Wilkesboro". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1B, 7B. Retrieved November 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Mulhurn, Mike (October 5, 1987). "Labonte, Johnson End Winless Streaks". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. 11, 13. Retrieved November 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR Today". The Charlotte Observer. October 2, 1987. pp. 5B. Retrieved November 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (October 3, 1988). "Elliott Zips To 7th Pole". The Charlotte Observer. pp. 1C, 7C. Retrieved November 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
