1987 Holly Farms 400

1987 Holly Farms 400

Race details[1]
Race 25 of 29 in the 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Date	October 4, 1987
Official name	Holly Farms 400
Location	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.625 mi (1.005 km)
Distance	400 laps, 250 mi (402 km)
Weather	Chilly with temperatures approaching 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed	96.051 miles per hour (154.579 km/h)
Attendance	31,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Bill Elliott	Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Terry Labonte	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	207
Winner
No. 1	Terry Labonte	Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Ned Jarrett

The 1987 Holly Farms 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 4, 1987, at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Summary

Exactly 6% of this race was run under caution; with the stretch of green flag laps lasting an average of 94 laps.^[2]

In this 400-lap event, Bill Elliott and Dave Marcis dominated the first 100 laps while Terry Labonte managed to dominate most of the race. Two Canadian drivers were in this 32-car grid - Trevor Boys and Larry Pollard. Slick Johnson would end up finishing in last-place due to a problem with his stock car engine on lap 11. Terry Labonte would end up beating Dale Earnhardt under a caution flag after two hours and thirty-six minutes of racing. Chevrolet and Ford vehicles would play a huge role in determining the starting lineup.^[2]

Davey Allison would become the lowest-finishing driver to complete the event. Hut Stricklin would be involved in a crash on lap 207 that knocked him out of the race. Bill Hollar and J.D. McDuffie would be two of the drivers who failed to make the starting grid.^[2] Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $45,575 ($94,927.89 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $1,125 ($2,343.26 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this event was $247,620 ($515,766.2 when adjusted for inflation).^[3]

Top ten finishers

Pos[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Winnings
1	4	11	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	400	$45,575
2	10	3	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	400	$26,950
3	1	9	Bill Elliott	Ford	399	$25,420
4	9	26	Morgan Shepherd	Buick	398	$11,205
5	18	5	Geoffrey Bodine	Chevrolet	398	$11,975
6	11	21	Kyle Petty	Ford	398	$9,425
7	5	7	Alan Kulwicki	Ford	398	$9,305
8	27	8	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	Buick	397	$7,980
9	19	43	Richard Petty	Pontiac	397	$5,310
10	20	27	Rusty Wallace	Pontiac	397	$9,975

Timeline

• Start of race: Bill Elliot has the pole position
• Lap 11: Slick Johnson develops an engine problem
• Lap 24: The differential on Harry Gant's vehicle becomes problematic
• Lap 40: Dave Marcis took over the lead from Bill Elliott
• Lap 46: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Dave Marcis
• Lap 179: Geoffrey Bodine took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt
• Lap 190: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Geoffrey Bodine
• Lap 194: Terry Labonte took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt
• Lap 198: Dave Marcis' engine gave up
• Lap 202: Steve Christman's engine stopped working, forcing him to leave the race
• Lap 207: Hut Stricklin had a terminal crash, ending his day on the track
• Lap 265: Buddy Arrington's engine became faulty
• Finish: Terry Labonte wins the race

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]
1	Dale Earnhardt	4136
2	Bill Elliott	3563
3	Terry Labonte	3446
4	Darrell Waltrip	3339
5	Neil Bonnett	3297

References

1. Weather information for the 1987 Holly Farms 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1987 Holly Farms 400 racing information at Racing Reference
3. 1987 Holly Farms 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet