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Subway 400

NASCARNextel Cup Series
Venue	North Carolina Speedway
Location	Rockingham, North Carolina,United States
Corporatesponsor	Subway
First race	1966
Last race	2004
Distance	399.681 miles (643.224 km)
Laps	393
Previous names	Peach Blossom 500 (1966) Carolina 500 (1967–1981, 1985) Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 (1982–1984) Goodwrench 500 (1986–1995) Goodwrench Service 400 (1996–1997) GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400 (1998) Dura Lube/Big K 400 (1999) Dura Lube/Kmart 400 (2000) Dura Lube 400 (2001) Subway 400 (2002–2004)
Most wins (driver)	Richard Petty (7)
Most wins (team)	Petty Enterprises (7)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Ford (9)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt
Length	1.017 mi (1.637 km)
Turns	4

TheSubway 400 was the second race of theNASCARWinston Cup Series season until 2004, held a week after theDaytona 500. This 400-mile (644 km) annual race was sponsored bySubway^[1] and was held atNorth Carolina Speedway (The Rock) since 1966. From 1966 to 1995, the race distance was 500 miles (805-km) which was shortened to 400 miles starting from the1996 season.

Until the 2004 Nextel Cup season, two annual races were held atRockingham. After the 2003 season, the fall race (thePop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400) — which was held in November — was moved toCalifornia Speedway, to be held on the lucrativeLabor Day weekend. This displaced theMountain Dew Southern 500 atDarlington Raceway, which moved to November 2004 before being removed from the schedule completely (replaced by a second date atTexas Motor Speedway). The changes were part of the trend of less races being held in the southeast and a broader distribution across theUnited States. Though the spring date was not directly transferred to California, NASCAR moved up the first California race to the traditional spring Rockingham date the week after Daytona. This resulted in some criticism because teams had to travel cross-country for the second race as most spend two weeks in Daytona and are based in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The draw for Rockingham was that teams got to stay close to home right after Daytona before traveling for the next race.

The 2004 Subway 400 had one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. Nextel Cup rookie,Kasey Kahne, in just his second series start, lost the race toMatt Kenseth by inches at the line. The exciting finish proved to be NASCAR's last stand at Rockingham, as the race (and the track, for that matter), were removed from the schedule permanently after that due to theFerko lawsuit. While theNASCAR Xfinity Series andNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returned to the track in 2025 (Trucks had previously returned in 2012 and 2013), the Cup Series did not.

• 1974: Race shortened due toenergy crisis.
• 1983: Race started on March 6; finished a week later on March 13 due to rain.
• 2001: Race started on Sunday but was finished on Monday due to rain.^[41]

• 1972:Bobby Allison started last and led over 300 laps before breaking, and pole-sitterBobby Isaac took the win, his final in Grand National racing.
• 1973:David Pearson led all but one lap en route to an overwhelming win, the beginning of his 1973 assault on superspeedway records.
• 1975:Cale Yarborough edged Pearson afterRichard Petty lost several laps with a cracked cylinder head.
• 1976: Petty won by two laps asBobby Allison survived a shocking tumble down the backstretch.
• 1977: Crashes galore kept the average speed to 97 MPH as Petty took his sixth Carolina 500 win.
• 1979: Just two weeks after theircrash in the Daytona 500,Cale Yarborough andDonnie Allison crashed while battling for the lead just 10 laps into the race, collecting several other cars;Darrell Waltrip andRichard Petty, both involved in the wreck, were pointedly critical of Yarborough's role.Bobby Allison took the win.
• 1981:Darrell Waltrip outlasted Petty and Cale for his first big track win withJunior Johnson.
• 1983: Petty edgedBill Elliott for his first win in seventeen months.
• 1985: Elliott suffered a leg injury in a hard crash, asNeil Bonnett edgedHarry Gant in a photo finish, the second straight Rockingham race to end in a photo finish, and second straight heartbreaker for Gant.
• 1989:Rusty Wallace made up a lap asDale Earnhardt andRicky Rudd tangled on the backstretch. Wallace pulled away to the win.
• 1990:Kyle Petty overwhelmed the field for his first win since 1987 and the first forSABCO Racing.
• 1995:Jeff Gordon edgedBobby Labonte for his first win of the season.
• 1996: A spirited battle for the lead ended in a wreck asDale Earnhardt hitBobby Hamilton into the wall off Four on Lap 343.
• 2001: One week afterDale Earnhardt's death,Steve Park drove aDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet to a close win overBobby Labonte. It was his final win in the Cup Series.
• 2002:Matt Kenseth ended a two-year victory drought after escaping a multicar melee on the backstretch whenJeff Gordon spun outCasey Atwood and four-other cars piled in.
• 2003:Dale Jarrett scored his second to last win.
• 2004: The final race at Rockingham ended in a close finish won byMatt Kenseth over rookieKasey Kahne.

• NASCAR Realignment

• Rockingham Speedway race results at Racing-Reference

• Former NASCAR races
• NASCAR races at Rockingham Speedway

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