Race of the week, 1989 Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro

March 12, 5:16 PMAtlanta NASCAR ExaminerJeremy Dunn

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 Previously featured races

• 1998 Daytona 500
• 1983 Carolina 500 at Rockingham
• 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond
• 2001 Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta

I figured since the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will not fire their engines this week, I will feature a race from a track that is no longer on the Cup schedule.  The North Wilkesboro Speedway is a 0.625-mile short track that occupied a place on the NASCAR agenda for five decades.  In 1996, the track was sold to Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre, hence, Texas Motor Speedway located in Fort Worth debuted on the Cup agenda in 1997.

The North Wilkesboro Speedway often provided electrifying vintage short track racing, and the 1989 Holly Farms 400 was no exception.  Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace were in the midst of a tight championship scrap.  Heading into the 26^th race of the 29-race season, Wallace owned a marginal 35-point lead.  Earnhardt utterly dominated the 400-lap event.  In fact, he led 343 total laps.  However, he did not lead the most important lap. 

Ricky Rudd, driving for Kenny Bernstein at the time, was in hot pursuit of Earnhardt following the final restart with three laps to go.  On the final lap, the two uncompromising drivers collided, and Geoff Bodine emerged from the skirmish unscathed, as did the eventual champion, Rusty Wallace. 

As you watch the video, you can judge for yourself who was at fault, but Earnhardt was not reticent in placing the blame on Rudd.  It was neither the first or last time these two firebrands hit head on.  Earnhardt lost the Winston Cup title by a mere twelve points.  Many among Earnhardt Nation will contend that if the incident with Rudd never occurred, Earnhardt would own a record-breaking eight championships.  Do the math, Wallace would have finished ninth instead of seventh, erasing eight points.  Furthermore, Earnhardt would have won instead of finishing tenth, earning 41 additional points.  It was a 49-point swing, and he lost the title by 12. 

Anyway, fans often reminisce about racing in North Wilkesboro.  This one is for you.