1996 Daytona 500

Auto race run in Florida in 1996 February 2025 CUST Race 1 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/FL/Daytona%20Beach/1996-02-18 Weather of the 1996 Daytona 500 The Old Farmers' Almanac 2014-03-17 1996 2 18 1996 1 31 1996_Daytona_500_logo.jpg 1996 Daytona 500 logo Daytona International SpeedwayDaytona Beach, Florida, U.S. 2.5 4.02336 200 500 804.672 Temperatures reaching up to 63 F C; wind speeds approaching 13 mph km/h 154.308 mi/h Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports 44 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing CBS Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett 9.2/24 (13.9 million viewers) The 1996 Daytona 500, the 38th running of the event, was run on February 18, 1996, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, as the first race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Dale Jarrett won this race for the second time after winning it in 1993 and for the first (and only) time in all of Daytona 500 history, Dale Earnhardt won the pole position, allowing many to believe that he would finally win the race. Ernie Irvan returned to race full-time alongside Earnhardt (both drivers won their respective Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races). Background alt=Aerial view of the Daytona International Speedway with Lake Lloyd toward the center.|left|thumb|Daytona International Speedway, where the race was held. Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races.http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ Race Tracks Turner Sports NASCAR December 30, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20110628180503/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ June 28, 2011 dead The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 mi km out long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56 mi km on sports car course and a 2.95 mi km on motorcycle course. http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx Track facts Daytona International Speedway DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com December 30, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215156/http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx dead The track's 180 acre on infield includes the 29 acre on Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach and Road Course and opened with the 1959 Daytona 500. The History of ISC http://www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com/The-Team/History.aspx International Speedway Corporation June 14, 2015 InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com December 30, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032949/http://www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com/The-Team/History.aspx December 1, 2017 dead The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.What Makes Daytona Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfLk32NBl4 https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/1UfLk32NBl4 2021-12-21 live Daytona International Speedway YouTube May 10, 2012 2:51 It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Race summary Opening laps The lead changed four times between Ernie Irvan, Ken Schrader, Sterling Marlin, and Dale Earnhardt in the first five laps. Reigning Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon was eliminated on lap 8 after getting a light tap from Jeremy Mayfield. Busch Series Goody's 300 winner Steve Grissom, along with Joe Nemechek (both Busch Series champions), Rick Mast, and Rusty Wallace, were involved in a chain reaction incident after Gordon hit the wall. Mast's and Wallace's cars both were relatively undamaged, but Grissom and Nemechek lost several laps after repairs. On lap 29, Earnhardt's ignition failed, triggering a wreck for Ernie Irvan. Wally Dallenbach Jr., who could not see Earnhardt, tagged Irvan and sent him into the wall. Due to a new rules package, the lead changed hands early and often. On lap 50, no one but Dale Earnhardt or Terry Labonte (the new leader) had spent more than 4 consecutive laps in the lead. Lap 54 saw 1990 race winner Derrike Cope hit the turn 4 wall, which ended his day. Mid-race developments On lap 77, 1994 and 1995 winner Sterling Marlin took the lead away from Terry Labonte and led three laps before having engine problems. Not much later, Labonte began to drop back with overheating issues after leading the most laps at 44. He managed a decent finish, but Marlin almost instantly retired from the lead. IndyCar veteran John Andretti, whose uncle Mario won the 1967 race, became the new leader. He and Earnhardt, along with Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip, were all prime contenders at halfway. The field made green flag pit stops over the next 10 laps. Andretti came in for another pit stop immediately after his scheduled stop because not all of the right rear lugnuts had been tightened. On lap 131, while trying to get his lap back, he had a hard crash in turn 2. Waltrip clipped him as he tried to go past his spinning car, only to damage the right-front fender. The damage seemed to improve the car's aerodynamic qualities. Shortly after the restart, Mike Wallace suddenly snapped loose and collected Loy Allen Jr., Brett Bodine and Bobby Labonte, whose car was relatively undamaged. Only Wallace; Allen Jr.; and Bodine were all done for the day. Run to the finish Geoff Bodine and Lake Speed crashed at lap 159, collecting Bobby Hamilton, Chad Little, Robert Pressley, Jeff Purvis and Morgan Shepherd. This prompted the final pit stops. Dale Jarrett and his crew chief Todd Parrott decided on a four-tire change, while the Richard Childress Racing duo of Earnhardt and David Smith opted for two. Bud Moore, whose car and driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. were not yet sponsored for the season, were going to gamble that their full tank of fuel from the previous caution would be enough to finish. Even so, Dallenbach kept the #15 in the lead pack in the waning laps. Earnhardt quickly dispatched new leader and last year's Rookie of the Year Ricky Craven. He lost the lead briefly to Schrader but at lap 177, Jarrett passed him with four fresh tires. Earnhardt could keep up with Jarrett, but he could not repass him. This would allow Jarrett to win his second Daytona 500 win, followed by Earnhardt, Schrader, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton. Results Pos Grid Car Driver Team Make Laps Led Status 1 7 88 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 40 Running 2 1 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 32 Running 3 4 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 12 Running 4 15 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running 5 16 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running 6 9 15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 0 running 7 20 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running 8 21 94 Bill Elliott (W) Bill Elliott Racing Ford 200 29 Running 9 10 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 200 0 Running 10 11 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 1 Running 11 19 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 200 1 Running 12 34 44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running 13 36 41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running 14 32 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 200 0 Running 15 23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running 16 43 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 200 0 Running 17 35 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running 18 29 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac 199 0 Flagged 20 39 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 199 0 Flagged 21 33 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 22 42 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 23 27 30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 197 0 Flagged 24 5 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 196 44 Flagged 25 18 27 Elton Sawyer (R) David Blair Motorsports Ford 196 0 Flagged 26 13 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 195 0 Flagged 27 26 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 191 0 Flagged 28 31 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 190 0 Flagged 29 40 17 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 180 0 Handling 30 25 33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 171 0 Contact TO 31 12 75 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 164 0 Contact TO 32 41 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 162 1 Contact BS 33 30 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 158 0 Contact 34 38 7 Geoff Bodine (W) Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 157 0 Contact 35 2 28 Ernie Irvan (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 145 2 Flagged 36 24 19 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 135 0 Contact BS 37 17 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 135 0 Contact BS 38 6 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 128 23 Contact BS 39 37 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 86 0 Contact TO 40 3 4 Sterling Marlin (W) Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 81 3 Engine 41 22 12 Derrike Cope (W) Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 53 0 Contact TO 42 8 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13 0 Contact TO 43 28 63 Dick Trickle Schnell Motorsports Ford 9 0 EngineFailed to qualify 65 Steve Seligman (R) O'Neil Racing Ford 95 Chuck Bown Sadler Brothers Racing Ford 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 73 Tracy Leslie (R) Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet 0 Delma Cowart H.L. Waters Racing Ford 57 Jim Bown (R) Kenova Motorsports Chevrolet 80 Joe Ruttman Hover Motorsports Ford 72 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1996 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W https://archive.today/20120909031338/http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W 2012-09-09 live 2012-02-17 1996 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W https://archive.today/20120909031338/http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W 2012-09-09 live 2012-02-17 Media Television The Daytona 500 was covered by CBS for the 18th consecutive time since 1979 in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1980 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, David Hobbs and Dick Berggren handled pit road for the television side. CBS Booth announcers Pit reporters Lap-by-lap Color-commentators Ken Squier Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren References 1995 NAPA 500 1996 Goodwrench Service 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season 1995–96 Daytona 500 Daytona 500 Category:NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway