1995 NAPA 500

Auto race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1995February 2025May 2026 CUST Race 31 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season NAPA 500 Weather information for the 1995 NAPA 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1995 11 12 1995 31 31 1995 NAPA 500 program cover.png 1995 NAPA 500 program cover NAPA 500 Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia Comfortable and sunny with temperatures reaching up to 66 F C; wind speeds reaching of 12 mph km/h 1.522 2.449 328 499.2 803.3 163.633 mph on Darrell Waltrip DarWal Inc. 29.610 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing 268 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing ESPN Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Ned Jarrett The 1995 NAPA 500 was a NASCAR racing event that took place on November 12, 1995, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, United States. It was the final round of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and was won by Dale Earnhardt, who also led the most laps, while Jeff Gordon won the championship. Background thumb|Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held. Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races.NASCAR Race Tracks http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ September 2, 2011 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100912133620/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ September 12, 2010 The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.54 mi km long.NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ Atlanta Motor Speedway September 2, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061215/http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ 2011-07-21 dead The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five. NASCAR banned tinted windshields starting with this race, confiscating any that teams had in the pits before this one. The move to mandate clear windshields was to make it easier for drivers to see through cars ahead of them and see if a driver in front was signaling them for any reason.February 2023 Most of the cars entered were Chevrolets and Fords, with a limited number of Pontiacs competing. This was the final career race for owner Alan Dillard Jr., the owner of A.G. Dillard Motorsports. It was also the final career race for long time veteran owner D.K. Ulrich. The 1995 NAPA 500 was also the final race for Bobby Hillin in the #77, Michael Waltrip in the #30, Morgan Shepherd in the #21, Dick Trickle in the #15, Dale Jarrett in the #28, Jeff Burton in the #8, Hut Stricklin in the #26 and Todd Bodine in the #75. Junior Johnson would make his final appearance in this race as a car owner. He sold his #11 team to Brett Bodine during the off-season. Some of the more notable crew chiefs to fully participate in this race were Robin Pemberton, Andy Petree, Donnie Wingo, Cecil Gordon, Ray Evernham, Larry McReynolds, and Tim Brewer.1995 NAPA 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference Kenny Bernstein would retire from his career as a NASCAR team owner to spend more time with his family after this race.February 2023 Points leader Jeff Gordon was ahead of Dale Earnhardt by 147 points entering the race. To win his eighth Cup championship, Earnhardt had to win the race and lead the most laps during the race to earn the maximum 185 points while Gordon had to finish 42nd (the last-place finish) and not lead a single lap during the race (drivers that lead a lap during a race earn 5 bonus points). If all this occurred, Earnhardt would win the championship by only one point. For Gordon to win his first Cup championship, he had to finish no worse than 41st without leading a single lap during the race. If Gordon led a single lap during the race, he would secure his first championship regardless of where he finished. Race report Dale Earnhardt defeated Sterling Marlin by nearly four seconds after 22 lead changes during the event, with a record low of two safety car periods totaling eleven laps.1995 NAPA 500 racing results at Racing Reference1995 NAPA 500 results at Race-Database Earnhardt started in 11th place and came back from behind to win this race, which set a new race record for fastest 500-mile Cup race at the circuit in 3 hours, 3 minutes, 3 seconds, with an average speed of 163.633 MPH, a record that still stands after the 2019 season at the circuit.NASCAR Race Results for the 1995 NAPA 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Dale Earnhardt was able to dominate this race, as they set up a very aggressive engine package that would make him untouchable all race long, and the engine held up for the win. The average speed of the race was 163.632 mph km/h or. Darrell Waltrip scored his 59th pole position with a qualifying time of 29.6099 seconds for an average speed of 185.046 mph km/h or, in what would be the final pole of his illustrious Hall of Fame career. Ken Schrader finished 42nd in this race in a coincidental manner; his engine blew and that happened to be a situation that helped Jeff Gordon clinch his championship, as he was required to finish 41st or better to win. The #26 of Hut Stricklin would be involved in an accident on the third turn. Billy Standridge, Jack Sprague, Mike Wallace, Shane Hall, Delma Cowart, and Eric Smith would fail to qualify for this race.Qualifying information for the 1995 NAPA 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20170810014131/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1995-31/W August 10, 2017 at Racing Reference Out of the 42-driver grid, only six of them would not finish the race. All 42 of the qualifying drivers were born in the United States. Jeff Gordon won the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship after finishing in 32nd-place in this race. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer TeamTimeAvg. Speed (mph) 1 17 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet DarWal Inc.29.610185.046 2 10 Ricky Rudd Ford Rudd Performance Motorsports29.630184.921 3 43 Bobby Hamilton Pontiac Petty Enterprises29.653184.777 4 15 Dick Trickle Ford Bud Moore Engineering29.667184.690 5 98 Jeremy Mayfield Ford Cale Yarborough Motorsports29.672184.659 6 2 Rusty Wallace Ford Penske Racing South29.717184.379 7 30 Michael Waltrip Pontiac Bahari Racing29.732184.286 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports29.756184.138 9 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing29.805183.835 10 41 Ricky Craven Chevrolet Larry Hedrick Motorsports29.811183.798 11 3 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing29.823183.724 12 5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports29.849183.564 13 1 Rick Mast Ford Precision Products Racing29.856183.521 14 26 Hut Stricklin Ford King Racing29.875183.404 15 94 Bill Elliott Ford Bill Elliott Racing29.886183.337 16 7 Geoffrey Bodine Ford Geoff Bodine Racing29.890183.312 17 16 Ted Musgrave Ford Roush Racing29.909183.196 18 4 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Morgan–McClure Motorsports29.929183.073 19 8 Jeff Burton Ford Stavola Brothers Racing29.930183.067 20 11 Brett Bodine Ford Junior Johnson & Associates29.931183.061 21 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing29.934183.043 22 37 John Andretti Ford Kranefuss-Haas Racing29.938183.018 23 31 Gary Bradberry Chevrolet A.G. Dillard Motorsports29.959182.890 24 12 Derrike Cope Ford Bobby Allison Motorsports29.972182.811 25 19 Loy Allen, Jr. Ford TriStar Motorsports29.978182.7742688Ernie IrvanFordRobert Yates Racing29.983182.7442727Elton SawyerFordJunior Johnson & Associates30.001182.6542887Joe NemechekChevroletNEMCO Motorsports30.010182.5792971Dave MarcisChevroletMarcis Auto Racing30.018182.5303032Greg SacksChevroletActive Motorsports30.029182.4643122Ward BurtonPontiacBill Davis Racing30.062182.2633225Ken SchraderChevroletHendrick Motorsports30.065182.2453321Morgan ShepherdFordWood Brothers Racing30.101182.0273458Jimmy HortonChevroletHendrick Motorsports30.137181.8103577Bobby Hillin, Jr.FordJasper Motorsports30.152181.719369Lake SpeedFordMelling Racing30.170181.6113723Jimmy SpencerFordTravis Carter Enterprises30.184181.5273828Dale JarrettFordRobert Yates Racing30.225181.280Provisionals3929Steve GrissomChevroletDiamond Ridge Motorsports30.403180.2194033Robert PressleyChevroletLeo Jackson Motorsports30.346180.5584142Kyle PettyPontiacPetty Enterprises30.323180.6954275Todd BodineFordButch Mock Motorsports30.239181.196Failed to qualify4366Billy StandridgeFordRaDiUs Motorsports30.335180.6234444Jeff PurvisChevroletPhoenix Racing30.477179.7814590Mike WallaceFordDonlavey Racing30.609179.0064659Jack SpragueChevroletHendrick Motorsports30.692178.5224740Shane HallPontiacDick Brooks Racing30.695178.505480Delma CowartFordH. L. Waters Racing32.068170.8624949Eric SmithFordSmith Racing33.200165.036Source:Press AL PEARCE Daily WALTRIP CLAIMS NASCAR POLE https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-19951111-1995-11-11-9511110091-story.html 2021-07-04 dailypress.com en-US Race results Fin St # Driver MakeTeam Laps LedStatusPtsWinnings 1113Dale EarnhardtChevroletRichard Childress Racing 328268running185$141,850 2184Sterling MarlinChevroletMorgan–McClure Motorsports 3286running175$58,250 362Rusty WallaceFordPenske Racing South 3280running165$40,300 41594Bill ElliottFordBill Elliott Racing 32817running165$29,700 53122Ward BurtonPontiacBill Davis Racing 3280running155$30,000 63723Jimmy SpencerFordTravis Carter Enterprises 3280running150$21,025 72688Ernie IrvanFordRobert Yates Racing 3270running146$19,955 82118Bobby LabonteChevroletJoe Gibbs Racing 32713running147$27,275 93577Bobby Hillin, Jr.FordJasper Motorsports 3270running138$12,350 10210Ricky RuddFordRudd Performance Motorsports 32711running139$29,775 11167Geoffrey BodineFordGeoff Bodine Racing 3270running130$26,100 12730Michael WaltripPontiacBahari Racing 3260running127$20,575 13125Terry LabonteChevroletHendrick Motorsports 3260running124$25,650 142887Joe NemechekChevroletNEMCO Motorsports3260running121$14,825 152237John AndrettiFordKranefuss-Haas Racing 3250running118$15,800 16117Darrell WaltripChevroletDarWal Inc.3253running120$30,100 1796Mark MartinFordRoush Racing 3250running112$23,530 18598Jeremy MayfieldFordCale Yarborough Motorsports 3250running109$13,215 19369Lake SpeedFordMelling Racing 3240running106$12,775 202011Brett BodineFordJunior Johnson & Associates 3240running103$23,41021131Rick MastFordPrecision Products Racing3240running100$17,145223321Morgan ShepherdFordWood Brothers Racing3220running97$16,73023415Dick TrickleFordBud Moore Engineering3220running94$16,415242519Loy Allen, Jr.FordTriStar Motorsports3220running91$7,73025343Bobby HamiltonPontiacPetty Enterprises3219running93$11,985263458Jeff PurvisChevroletHendrick Motorsports3200running85$7,370271716Ted MusgraveFordRoush Racing3200running82$15,555282727Elton SawyerFordJunior Johnson & Associates3180running79$15,140292331Gary BradberryChevroletA.G. Dillard Motorsports3180running76$10,280301041Ricky CravenChevroletLarry Hedrick Motorsports3170running73$10,105313828Dale JarrettFordRobert Yates Racing3160running70$21,34032824Jeff GordonChevroletHendrick Motorsports3141running72$19,975334142Kyle PettyPontiacPetty Enterprises3120running64$14,810343032Greg SacksChevroletActive Motorsports3070running61$6,745352412Derrike CopeFordBobby Allison Motorsports3010running58$9,68036198Jeff BurtonFordStavola Brothers Racing2940running55$14,115372971Dave MarcisChevroletMarcis Auto Racing2890engine52$6,585381426Hut StricklinFordKing Racing2020crash49$11,500393929Steve GrissomChevroletDiamond Ridge Motorsports1940transmission46$6,500404275Todd BodineFordButch Mock Motorsports1410engine43$11,500414033Robert PressleyChevroletLeo Jackson Motorsports1040engine40$12,000423225Ken SchraderChevroletHendrick Motorsports920engine37$12,500 Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Darrell Waltrip had the pole position to start the race. Lap 2: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 7: Bobby Hamilton took over the lead from Ricky Rudd. Lap 16: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Bobby Hamilton. Lap 18: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Ricky Rudd. Lap 55: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Dale Earnhardt. Lap 56: Sterling Marlin took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 61: Jeff Gordon took over the lead from Sterling Marlin. Lap 62: Bill Elliott took over the lead from Jeff Gordon. Lap 64: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bill Elliott. Lap 72: Caution for debris; ended on lap 77. Lap 82: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Ricky Rudd. Lap 92: Ken Schrader became the last-place finisher due to a faulty engine. Jeff Gordon officially clinches the championship. Lap 104: Robert Pressley had problems with his engine, forcing him to end the race early. Lap 138: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Labonte. Lap 141: Todd Bodine's engine started acting up, ending his NASCAR race weekend prematurely. Lap 194: Steve Grissom's transmission stopped working properly, causing him to be the fourth DNF. Lap 201: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Labonte. Lap 202: Hut Stricklin had a terminal crash. Lap 204: Caution due to Hut Stricklin's accident, ended on lap 208. Lap 270: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bill Elliott. Lap 289: Dave Marcis' engine gave out, making him the 37th-place finisher in the race. Finish: Dale Earnhardt was officially declared the winner of the event. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Jeff Gordon 4614 0 2 10px Dale Earnhardt 4580 -34 3 Sterling Marlin 4361 -253 4 Mark Martin 4320 -294 5 10px Rusty Wallace 4240 -374 6 10px Terry Labonte 4146 -468 7 10px Ted Musgrave 3949 -665 8 Bill Elliott 3746 -868 9 Ricky Rudd 3734 -880 10 10px Bobby Labonte 3718 -896 References 1995 Dura Lube 500 1996 Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1995-96 NAPA 500 NAPA 500 Category:NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway