Originally published on Nov. 2, 2018
By Zane Miller
The Last Hurrah is a series that discusses the final
major sports events at sporting venues around the world.
On Sunday, September 29th, 1996, the NASCAR Winston
Cup Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) made its final stop at North
Wilkesboro Speedway in Wilkesboro Township, North Carolina, for the running of
the Tyson Holly Farms 400.
The track first opened in 1946 as a half-mile dirt
track and the series had been running there since its inaugural season in 1949.
In 1950, the track was converted into a .625 mile dirt track and in 1957, it
was paved with asphalt, however the track configuration remained the same.
NASCAR had run at least one race at the track per
season since the ’49 season and two races per season since 1957, and became a
fan favorite for its classic short track racing action. A new set of
grandstands had even been added for the 1996 season. However, NASCAR was
looking to expand into larger markets, with the then-new track of Texas Motor
Speedway set to premiere on the Cup Series schedule in 1997 and New Hampshire
International (now Motor) Speedway, only three years old at that point, looking
to add a second race date. With the new tracks, NASCAR needed to open up two
spots on the schedule and the unfortunate venue to give up both of its dates
was North Wilkesboro.
Going into the Tyson Holly Farms 400, Terry Labonte
was one of the pre-race favorites as he had won the First Union 400 also held
at the track earlier in the year and had even brought back the same car he used
to win. Another favorite was Jeff Gordon, who had an 81 point lead over Labonte
in the standings coming into the race and had won the previous race, the Hanes
500 at Martinsville Speedway.
The pre-race events featured a number of past and
present drivers, such as Junior Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and
Richard Petty, reflecting on their memories of the track throughout their years
of racing. The grandstands were filled to capacity with many holding or putting
up homemade banners pleading for NASCAR to change their mind and keep the track
on the schedule. All of the drivers in the field also took part in a
commemorative photo, as seen below:
The race got underway just after 1 p.m. with Ted
Musgrave starting on the pole, however he was unable to even lead the first lap
as he was passed by Gordon. However, Gordon was overtaken by Bobby Hamilton on
lap 3 and held the lead through lap 22, when debris brought out the first
caution. Most of the leaders did not pit and Hamilton continued to lead, despite
a flat tire from Geoffrey Bodine’s car looking like it might bring out another
caution, he went down pit road on the race continued on.
Hamilton was eventually overtaken by Ernie Irvan on
lap 52, who lead for a handful of laps before being caught up to and passed by
Mark Martin on lap 71. A multi-car wreck on lap 72 brought out another caution,
as Kyle Petty spun out in turn four, with Hut Stricklin, Irvan and Hamilton
each receiving minor damage. Irvan’s problems were compounded with a one lap
penalty for pitting too early, making Irvan’s crew chief, Larry McReynolds,
furious as he climbed down from the pit box screaming at the official. The
penalty essentially knocked Irvan out of contention for the win.
As Martin continued to hold onto the lead after pit
stops, there was very nearly another accident on lap 89 as Robert Pressley and
Bobby Hillin Jr. got together, with Pressley coming close to spinning his car
out, however both cars were able to continue without further incident. Martin
eventually relinquished the lead to Rusty Wallace on lap 100, as Wallace would
lead for the next 27 laps until Gordon came back again to reclaim the top spot.
On the same lap, Wallace would get together with Rick Mast, who was competing
in the top five throughout the race, but again both drivers kept going. Another
near-accident occurred on lap 148 with Bodine, Michael Waltrip and Kenny
Wallace, each of whom had a brother who was also competing in the race, got
together but the cars continued with no caution. Rusty Wallace retook the lead on
lap 167, which Gordon responded to by retaking the lead again on lap 178. The
pair traded the lead a couple more times until Gordon claimed it on lap 190 and
stayed there. Green flag pit stops came up around lap 240 and as Gordon and
many other lead lap cars came in, Jeff Burton took his first lead of the race
by staying out for a couple extra laps. Ricky Rudd then claimed the lead,
taking advantage of an alternate pit strategy to stay out and lead the next 17
laps, but eventually came in, cycling the lead back to Gordon.
The caution would come out again as Derrike Cope had
engine trouble and went to the garage, but came back out later in the race. As
the green flag waved, Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett made contact in a battle for
position on the restart, with both continuing on. On lap 298, Wally Dallenbach
Jr. was forced into an unscheduled pit stop after contact with John Andretti
and Joe Nemechek caused a flat tire and shortly thereafter on lap 303 Earnhardt
grabbed the race lead. However, Gordon would come back to take the lead on lap
309, but Earnhardt took the lead again on lap 312.
On lap 315, with just 85 laps to go, Pressley spun to
bring out the caution. As the field came down for what was likely the final pit
stop of the race, Earnhardt’s crew was able to hold the lead, but Gordon took
the lead for good with 79 laps to go, diving underneath Earnhardt in turns
three and four to grab the advantage. After making the pass, nobody was a match
for Gordon as he went on to win by 1.73 seconds over Earnhardt.
“To win the last race at North Wilkesboro, it’s like
you feel sorry, but at the same time, you’re elated to go down in history,”
Gordon said in victory lane. “I think the fans saw a great show today, that was
one heck of a race all the way to the finish.”
The race was also notable as every car in the field
was still running at the end of the race, the first time since the same race in
1995 and the last time until the 2007 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire.
After the race, Gordon held a 111 point lead over
Labonte, however the advantage would be short lived as Gordon had an engine
failure the next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway while Labonte won the race, eventually
being the turning point in the ’96 championship run in which Labonte went on to
take his second Cup Series title.
The track was officially closed shortly after the final race, however it did reopen briefly beginning in 2009 as several late model races were run on the track. However, in 2011, the track was closed once again, this time most likely permanently.
Link to stats database: https://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Tyson_Holly_Farms_400/W
Watch the full race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ba6VUG4QNk
Other sources: Wheels:
A Season of NASCAR’s Winston Cup Circuit by Paul Hemphill
Abandoned- North
Wilkesboro Speedway by Bright Sun Films https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfM95OEug2I
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