# 1988 First Union 400

The 1988 First Union 400 was the seventh stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 17, 1988, before an audience of 33,000 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. Taking advantage of a misfortunate Dale Earnhardt, who had suffered a leaking tire late in the race, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Terry Labonte would manage to pass for the lead with 13 laps left in the race, maintaining the lead to take the victory. The victory was Labonte's ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, King Racing driver Ricky Rudd and the aforementioned Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

## Background

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

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 00 | Gary Brooks | Brooks Racing | Chevrolet | Brooks Racing |
| 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Chevrolet | Kroger |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench |
| 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Kodak |
| 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | Meacham Racing |
| 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Levi Garrett |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Stroh's Light |
| 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | Zerex |
| 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Miller High Life |
| 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | Coors Light |
| 09 | Doug French | Caragias Racing | Chevrolet | Caragias Racing |
| 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | Whitcomb Racing |
| 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | Budweiser |
| 12 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | Miller High Life |
| 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Crisco |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Tide |
| 20 | Alan Russell | Russell Racing | Chevrolet | Russell Racing |
| 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Folgers |
| 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | Quaker State |
| 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | Kodiak |
| 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Hardee's |
| 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Country Time |
| 31 | Brad Teague | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Slender You Figure Salons |
| 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit |
| 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | Piedmont Airlines |
| 46 | Glenn Moffat | Moffat Racing | Chevrolet | Moffat Racing |
| 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | Eureka |
| 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | Skoal, Crown Central Petroleum |
| 67 | Rick Jeffrey | Arrington Racing | Chevrolet | Pannill Sweatshirts |
| 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | Purolator |
| 70 | Jeff McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | Rumple Furniture |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Lifebuoy |
| 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | Valvoline |
| 78 | Jay Sommers | Sommers Racing | Chevrolet | Doe & Associates |
| 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | Wynn's, Kmart |
| 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | Red Baron Frozen Pizza |
| 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce |
| 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | AC Spark Plug |
| 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick | Sunoco |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 14, at 3:00 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 10 drivers in the round would be 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, April 15, at 12:15 pm EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 11-30 would be decided on time, 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.
Terry Labonte, driving for Junior Johnson & Associates, would win the pole, setting a time of 19.178 and an average speed of 117.322 miles per hour (188.811 km/h) in the first round.
Ten drivers would fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 19.178 | 117.322 |
| 2 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 19.185 | 117.279 |
| 3 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 19.198 | 117.200 |
| 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 19.215 | 117.096 |
| 5 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.232 | 116.993 |
| 6 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 19.262 | 116.810 |
| 7 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 19.266 | 116.786 |
| 8 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 19.268 | 116.774 |
| 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 19.272 | 116.750 |
| 10 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 19.313 | 116.502 |
| Failed to lock in Round 1 |||||||
| 11 | 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 19.331 | 116.393 |
| 12 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 19.343 | 116.321 |
| 13 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.360 | 116.219 |
| 14 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 19.365 | 116.189 |
| 15 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 19.379 | 116.105 |
| 16 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 19.392 | 116.027 |
| 17 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 19.397 | 115.997 |
| 18 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 19.406 | 115.944 |
| 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 19.407 | 115.938 |
| 20 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 19.419 | 115.866 |
| 21 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 19.425 | 115.830 |
| 22 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 19.448 | 115.693 |
| 23 | 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 19.456 | 115.646 |
| 24 | 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | 19.482 | 115.491 |
| 25 | 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | 19.503 | 115.367 |
| 26 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 19.510 | 115.325 |
| 27 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 19.514 | 115.302 |
| 28 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 19.562 | 115.019 |
| 29 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 19.596 | 114.819 |
| 30 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 19.713 | 114.138 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 31 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | -* | -* |
| 32 | 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 33 | 31 | Brad Teague | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 34 | 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick | -* | -* |
| 35 | 78 | Jay Sommers | Sommers Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 36 | 09 | Doug French | Caragias Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 37 | 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | -* | -* |
| 38 | 67 | Rick Jeffrey | Arrington Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 39 | 46 | Glenn Moffat | Moffat Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 40 | 70 | Jeff McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 41 | 00 | Gary Brooks | Brooks Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 42 | 20 | Alan Russell | Russell Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Terry Labonte | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 400 | 142 | running | 180 | $48,050 |
| 2 | 7 | 26 | Ricky Rudd | King Racing | Buick | 400 | 3 | running | 175 | $21,025 |
| 3 | 10 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 235 | running | 175 | $22,115 |
| 4 | 3 | 27 | Rusty Wallace | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 0 | running | 160 | $14,650 |
| 5 | 6 | 21 | Kyle Petty | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 155 | $12,965 |
| 6 | 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 150 | $9,560 |
| 7 | 12 | 55 | Phil Parsons | Jackson Bros. Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 398 | 0 | running | 146 | $6,760 |
| 8 | 20 | 28 | Davey Allison | Ranier-Lundy Racing | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 142 | $10,715 |
| 9 | 13 | 5 | Geoff Bodine | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 138 | $5,610 |
| 10 | 2 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 397 | 19 | running | 139 | $12,010 |
| 11 | 5 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | running | 130 | $7,280 |
| 12 | 15 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | running | 127 | $5,105 |
| 13 | 17 | 15 | Brett Bodine | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 124 | $9,130 |
| 14 | 18 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 396 | 0 | running | 121 | $7,475 |
| 15 | 16 | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | AK Racing | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 118 | $5,330 |
| 16 | 22 | 44 | Sterling Marlin | Hagan Racing | Oldsmobile | 396 | 0 | running | 115 | $4,580 |
| 17 | 11 | 90 | Benny Parsons | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 112 | $4,455 |
| 18 | 31 | 8 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 394 | 0 | running | 109 | $5,380 |
| 19 | 8 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Pontiac | 394 | 1 | running | 111 | $8,330 |
| 20 | 27 | 12 | Bobby Allison | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 393 | 0 | running | 103 | $8,805 |
| 21 | 21 | 29 | Dale Jarrett | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 393 | 0 | running | 100 | $1,510 |
| 22 | 24 | 68 | Derrike Cope | Testa Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 97 | $3,785 |
| 23 | 25 | 97 | Rodney Combs | Winkle Motorsports | Buick | 391 | 0 | running | 94 | $2,685 |
| 24 | 23 | 2 | Ernie Irvan (R) | U.S. Racing | Pontiac | 390 | 0 | running | 91 | $2,860 |
| 25 | 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 388 | 0 | running | 88 | $3,660 |
| 26 | 26 | 83 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 384 | 0 | running | 85 | $1,485 |
| 27 | 32 | 10 | Ken Bouchard (R) | Whitcomb Racing | Chevrolet | 384 | 0 | running | 82 | $1,660 |
| 28 | 28 | 4 | Rick Wilson | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Oldsmobile | 381 | 0 | running | 79 | $1,985 |
| 29 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 327 | 0 | running | 76 | $1,335 |
| 30 | 29 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Pontiac | 263 | 0 | brakes | 73 | $2,760 |
| 31 | 30 | 88 | Buddy Baker | Baker–Schiff Racing | Oldsmobile | 130 | 0 | rear end | 70 | $2,810 |
| 32 | 14 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 24 | 0 | engine | 67 | $4,760 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 33 | | 31 | Brad Teague | Bob Clark Motorsports | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 34 | | 98 | Brad Noffsinger (R) | Curb Racing | Buick | | | | | |
| 35 | | 78 | Jay Sommers | Sommers Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 36 | | 09 | Doug French | Caragias Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 37 | | 04 | Bill Meacham | Meacham Racing | Oldsmobile | | | | | |
| 38 | | 67 | Rick Jeffrey | Arrington Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 39 | | 46 | Glenn Moffat | Moffat Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 40 | | 70 | Jeff McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 41 | | 00 | Gary Brooks | Brooks Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 42 | | 20 | Alan Russell | Russell Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 1,059 |
| 3 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | 1,006 (-53) |
| 2 | 3 | Bill Elliott | 999 (-60) |
| 2 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | 992 (–67) |
| 2 | 5 | Neil Bonnett | 979 (–80) |
| | 6 | Bobby Allison | 943 (–116) |
| | 7 | Terry Labonte | 932 (–127) |
| 3 | 8 | Geoff Bodine | 882 (–177) |
| 1 | 9 | Ken Schrader | 879 (–180) |
| 2 | 10 | Darrell Waltrip | 872 (–187) |
| Official driver's standings ||||