The Wilkes 400, held on October 2, 1977, at North Wilkesboro Speedway, was the 26th race of the 30-event NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Richard Petty won the pole position in the #43 STP Dodge for Petty Enterprises, while attendance reached 11,000 spectators for this fall short-track showdown.
The race covered 400 laps on the 0.625-mile paved oval, with Darrell Waltrip claiming victory and $12,500 in the #88 Gatorade Chevrolet for DiGard Motorsports after starting third and leading 189 laps. The top three finishers were Waltrip in first, Cale Yarborough in second, and Neil Bonnett in third. The race had an average speed of 86.713 mph, featured 10 lead changes. This classic at the historic track highlighted the tight, competitive short-track racing as Yarborough pursued his second consecutive championship.
