| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 29 in the1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1986 First Union 400 program cover, featuringNeil Bonnett. | |||
| Date | April 20, 1986 | ||
| Official name | 36th Annual First Union 400 | ||
| Location | North Wilkesboro Speedway,North Wilkesboro, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.625 miles (1.006 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 400 laps, 250 mi (402.336 km) | ||
| Average speed | 88.408 miles per hour (142.279 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 29,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.014 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 195 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Larry Nuber,Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1986 First Union 400 was the seventhstock car race of the1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 36th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Sunday, April 20, 1986, before an audience of 29,500 inNorth Wilkesboro, North Carolina at theNorth Wilkesboro Speedway, a 0.625 miles (1.006 km) oval short track. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete.[1]
By race's end,Richard Childress Racing'sDale Earnhardt was able to hold off a late-race charge byBud Moore Engineering'sRicky Rudd, securing his 17th careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three,Hendrick Motorsports'Geoff Bodine finished third.
The race was the first start for African-American driverWilly T. Ribbs, after previous failed attempts in the 1986 season. With the start, Ribbs became the sixth African-American driver to make a start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the first African-American driver sinceGeorge Wiltshire in 1975.[4]
North Wilkesboro Speedway is ashort oval racetrack located onU.S. Route 421, about five miles east of the town ofNorth Wilkesboro,North Carolina, or 80 miles north ofCharlotte. It measures 0.625 mi (1.006 km) and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch. It has previously held races inNASCAR'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.
Qualifying was done over two rounds of qualifying over two days. The first round was held on Friday, April 18, at 3:00 PMEST, with each driver having one lap to set a time. In the first round, the first eight drivers in the round were guaranteed a starting spot within the top eight; however, their official starting positions were then determined by calculating the averages of their first round time and their second round time, with the second round being held on Saturday, April 19, at 3:00 PMEST, with all drivers having one lap to set a time in the round.[5] Drivers who did not lock into the race in the first round had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time, with all non-locked in drivers setting positions 9-30 based on speed. Depending on if teams 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.[6]
Geoff Bodine, driving forHendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting an average time of 20.014 and average speed of 112.419 miles per hour (180.921 km/h) in his two runs.[7]
Four drivers failed to qualify.
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| Previous race: 1986 TranSouth 500 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1986 season | Next race: 1986 Sovran Bank 500 |
