1995 Daytona 500

Last updated
1995 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1995 Daytona 500 program cover and logo.jpg
1995 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 19, 1995 (1995-02-19)
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching as high as 66.9 °F (19.4 °C); wind speeds approaching 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) [1]
Average speed 141.710 miles per hour (228.060 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Duel 2 Winner Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
DriverSterling MarlinMorgan-McClure Motorsports
Laps 105
Winner
No. 4Sterling MarlinMorgan-McClure Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett
Nielsen Ratings 7.8/20
(11.4 million viewers)
Logo for the 1995 Daytona 500. 1994-95 Daytona 500 logo.png
Logo for the 1995 Daytona 500.

The 1995 Daytona 500, the 37th running of the event, was held on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Dale Jarrett won his first career Winston Cup pole. Sterling Marlin won the race for the second straight year, his second Daytona 500 win, after leading 105 laps, including the final 20.

Contents

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held. Daytona International Speedway on the day of the Daytona 500.JPG
Daytona International Speedway, the track 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, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. [2] The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course. [3] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) 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 Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959. [4] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, [5] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. [6]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. [7] 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. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers. [8]

Race summary

Opening laps

Outside polesitter Dale Earnhardt led the opening lap for the first time in his Daytona 500 career. Lap 3 saw Sterling Marlin in the Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 car take the lead. The first yellow flag came out on lap 9 when Joe Nemechek (in his first race for his own team) crashed and collected Brett Bodine. Two laps after the restart, IMSA and IndyCar veteran Davy Jones touched with fellow rookie Randy LaJoie exiting turn 4, clipping the wall and spinning the Jasper Motorsports No. 77 car into the pits. Before 30 laps were put on the board, sprint car king Steve Kinser crashed with Phil Parsons. Jeff Gordon took the lead from Marlin during the yellow flag pit stops. After the restart, Mark Martin and 1985 and 1987 winner Bill Elliott stopped for flat tires. On lap 43, John Andretti and 1990 winner Derrike Cope collided exiting turn 2. Both drivers continued with minimal damage, but as Cope came through the tri-oval to catch up to the field, both rear tires suddenly blew out, sending him into a harmless spin but rendering his car disabled as he could get no traction with both rear tires flat. On lap 58, Mike Wallace got loose in turn 2 and tagged Jeff Purvis, sending both cars into the wall and the 1994 and 1993 ARCA 200 winners respectively were finished for the day. Caution flag pit stops resulted in Dave Marcis staying out to lead one lap (a regular practice for Dave), and Mark Martin's Roush Racing crew placed his car in front. On lap 68, Gordon retook the lead.

Mid-race events

On lap 70, rain interrupted the race for 2 hours. Jeff Gordon led Marlin, Todd Bodine, Earnhardt and Ken Schrader when the red flag was withdrawn. On lap 97, Todd Bodine spun exiting turn 4 (whether or not contact with Robert Pressley caused it was unclear), and engine failure soon took him out after the restart. He joined Purvis, Mike Wallace, Kinser Parsons, and Nemechek as the 6 cars out of the race. During the pit stops, Gordon dropped from the lead to 20th after a very long pit stop. Earnhardt was the new leader, and at halfway he led Michael Waltrip, Morgan Shepherd, Marlin and Ken Schrader to the restart. With help from Marlin, the younger Waltrip took the lead from Earnhardt for 2 laps before the defending 500 winner retook the lead. Meanwhile, Gordon was reclaiming lost ground quickly and passed Michael Waltrip in turn 2 on lap 109 to re-enter the top 10.

On lap 131, Dave Marcis hit the turn 3 wall and slowed to a stop in the middle of turns 3 and 4. After the restart, a small dispute developed in his pits centering on the status of his unused tires. The Penske team showed up to make an offer for the tires, but Marcis wanted the tires to go to Richard Childress Racing and Earnhardt, for whom Marcis and his team had done many miles of testing and from whom he had received an engine for the race. "I may not have been in the Daytona 500 if it wasn't for Richard Childress," said Marcis of the former owner-driver.

Going through all of this, Marlin retained the lead until, with 40 laps to go, rookie Randy LaJoie spun on the backstretch and lost his windshield. As the yellow flag was being waved, Bobby Hamilton made contact with Rusty Wallace, resulting in Wallace's fifth straight Daytona 500 crash (4 of which resulted in a DNF, with the 1992 running as the exception). Rick Mast led a lap during the caution. 1989 winner Darrell Waltrip had a transmission failure that would cost him 20 laps to repair. Meanwhile, Gordon suffered an aerodynamic setback that would cost him the race. The jack was let down too soon on the driver's side during the tire change, and the fender was bent by the left front tire. Earnhardt would lead the field to the restart, and afterward, Gordon would brush the wall in his now ill-handling car. He brought the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car in for a correctional pit stop and lost a lap.

Finish

With 20 laps to go, Marlin passed Earnhardt for the lead on the back straightaway. With 15 laps to go, Bobby Labonte (in his first race for Joe Gibbs Racing) crashed in turn 1, nearly collecting his older brother Terry. Earnhardt came in for 4 new tires, gambling that maneuverability would be more valuable than track position. Just before the restart, rookie Robert Pressley spun in the short chute before turn 1 after contact from Dick Trickle. When the green was waved Earnhardt quickly re-entered the top 10, and with 10 to go, he was side by side with Ricky Rudd for 9th. He passed Mark Martin for the second position with 4 laps to go, but Sterling Marlin's Chevrolet was not to be denied. This was Sterling Marlin's second Winston Cup win, both of which were in the Daytona 500. Marlin also joined Richard Petty (in the 1974 race) and Cale Yarborough (in 1984 race) as the only drivers who have won back-to-back Daytona 500's; this has not been done (until the 2020 race) when Denny Hamlin joined. Martin went to third while his teammate Ted Musgrave finished fourth and 1993 winner Dale Jarrett (who started on the Pole) finished 5th.

This was Richard Petty's only Daytona 500 as a broadcaster, and the first Daytona 500 to be broadcast with a reduction in availability. As a result of the Fox affiliate switches of 1994, many markets where CBS lost major affiliates and were relegated to minor affiliates could not receive the race, including three markets where a NASCAR-sanctioned national series races were held -- Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Detroit. The Atlanta market losses affected North Georgia, where Bill Elliott is based, as mountainous areas of northern Georgia could not receive the race because WGCL had a much weaker signal than the station that defected (WAGA). That situation was resolved in 1996 when WSPA in Spartanburg launched WNEG as a CBS affiliate in September 1995.

Results

PosGridNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatusLaps ledPoints
134 Sterling Marlin (W) Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 200Running105185
223 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200Running23175
366 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200Running7170
41216 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 200Running0160
5128 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 200Running0155
61530 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 200Running2155
73529 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 200Running0146
8115 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200Running0142
9925 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200Running0138
103021 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200Running0134
111715 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200Running0130
121342 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Chevrolet 200Running0127
131810 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 200Running0124
14169 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 200Running0121
152131 Ward Burton Dilliard Racing Ford 200Running0118
161441 Ricky Craven # Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200Running0115
173727 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 200Running0112
182543 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 200Running0109
192780 Joe Ruttman Hover Motorsports Ford 200Running0106
20407 Geoff Bodine (W) Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 200Running0103
21411 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 200Running1105
22424 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199Running61102
231094 Bill Elliott (W) Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 199Running094
24288 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 199Running091
253911 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 199Running088
263133 Robert Pressley # Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 199Running085
273837 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 197Running082
282666 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 196Running079
292422 Randy LaJoie # Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 195Running076
302018 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 185Accident073
312212 Derrike Cope (W) Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 184Running070
32517 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 180Running067
333377 Davy Jones # Jasper Motorsports Ford 166Running064
3472 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 158Accident061
352998 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 155Engine058
361971 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 129Engine160
37875 Todd Bodine RahMoc Enterprises Ford 105Engine052
383444 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 57Accident049
393690 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 57Accident046
404226 Steve Kinser # King Racing Ford 27Accident043
413219 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford 27Accident040
422387 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 8Accident037
Failed to qualify
4420 Bobby Hillin Jr. Moroso Racing Ford
4540 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac
4614 Randy MacDonald Hagan Racing Pontiac
4795 Doug Heveron Sadler Brothers Racing Ford
4882 Terry Byers # Byers Racing Ford
4952 Gary Bradberry # Means Racing Ford
5062 Ronnie Sanders Henley Gray Racing Ford
5181 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford
5273 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Ford
5399 Shawna Robinson CPR Motorsports Ford
5472 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
5551 Kerry Teague Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
5697 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Ford
5768 Bob Strait Strait Racing Ford
5823 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford
590 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
6047 Billy Standridge Johnson Racing Ford
6167 Ken Bouchard Cunningham Racing Ford
6248 James Hylton Hylton Racing Pontiac
6353 Ritchie Petty Petty Brothers Racing Ford
6432 Mike Chase # Active Motorsports Chevrolet
6565 Steve Seligman O'Neil Racing Ford

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 54th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 54th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 31st modern-era Cup Series season. It began on February 10, 2002, at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 17, 2002, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was declared as the Winston Cup champion. Bill Elliott won the 2002 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award. He would win it for the 16th and final time in his career. He withdrew from the ballot after receiving the award. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was captured by Ford after winning 14 events and gaining 245 points over second-place finisher Chevrolet, who had 10 wins and 211 points.

The 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 42nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 19th modern-era Cup Series. It began on Sunday, February 11, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Because of a highly controversial penalty to Mark Martin early in the season, Dale Earnhardt with Richard Childress Racing was crowned the Winston Cup champion for the fourth time, edging out Martin by 26 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 52nd season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 52nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and was the 29th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 13 and ended on November 20. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte was crowned champion at season's end. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by Ford as they captured 14 wins and 234 points to better Pontiac's 11 wins and 213 points. Chevrolet finished third with nine wins and 199 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 46th season of NASCAR stock car racing

The 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 46th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 23rd modern-era Cup series. The season began on Sunday, February 20, and ended on Sunday, November 13. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing was crowned champion at season's end, winning consecutive Winston Cups for the third time in his career and tying Richard Petty for the record of most top-level NASCAR championships with seven. It was also the 7th and final NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship for Dale Earnhardt before his death 7 years later in 2001, this was also the final season for 18-time Winston Cup winner Harry Gant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span>

The 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 47th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 24th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 12 in Daytona Beach and concluded on November 12 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his first career championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span>

The 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 45th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 22nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 7 and ended on November 14. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the title, the sixth of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 43rd season of first-tier NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 43rd of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 20th modern-era Cup Season. It began February 10 and ended November 17. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won his fifth Winston Cup championship at the conclusion of the season. The season was marred by the death of driver and team owner J. D. McDuffie, who was killed in a wreck at Watkins Glen.

The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 41st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 18th modern-era Cup season. It began February 12 and ended November 19. Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing won the championship. This was the first year that every Winston Cup race had flag to flag coverage, with almost all of them being televised live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 40th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 20 at the Atlanta International Speedway. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the championship.

The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 38th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 15th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won his second championship this year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Daytona 500</span> Auto race run in Florida in 1996

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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Daytona 500</span> 44th iteration of the Daytona 500

The 2002 Daytona 500, the 44th running of the event, was held on February 17 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first of 36 races of the 2002 Winston Cup Season. Rookie Jimmie Johnson, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole with fellow Daytona 500 rookie Kevin Harvick qualifying second, making this the first time the field would be led by two first-time Daytona 500 participants. Ward Burton, driving the No.22 Dodge for Bill Davis Racing, won the race. This race was the last for long-time veteran driver Dave Marcis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Daytona 500</span> First race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1991 Daytona 500 By STP was the first stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 17, 1991, before an audience of 145,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Following a period of three late-race cautions, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan took the lead from Dale Earnhardt with six laps left in the race. With three laps to go, Earnhardt spun and collected Davey Allison and Kyle Petty, bringing out the final caution with two laps left. Coasting to the finish on fumes, Irvan was able to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his only Daytona 500 victory. To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin and RahMoc Enterprises driver Joe Ruttman finished second and third, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 Daytona 500</span> First race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1992 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 16, 1992, before an audience of 140,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Daytona 500</span> First race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1993 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 14, 1993, before an audience of 150,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Daytona 500</span> Auto race run in Florida in 1994

The 1994 Daytona 500, the 36th running of the event, was held February 20 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Loy Allen Jr., ARCA graduate and Winston Cup rookie, driving the No. 19 for TriStar Motorsports, won the pole. Speedweeks 1994 was marked by tragedy when two drivers, Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr, were killed in separate practice accidents for this race. Sterling Marlin in the Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 won the race, the first win of his NASCAR career.

This article documents historical records, statistics, and race recaps of the Daytona 500, held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Pepsi 400</span> NASCAR race at Daytona in 2001

This is about the Summer 2001 race at Daytona. For the race at Michigan, see 2001 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 The Winston</span> Fourth iteration of the NASCAR All-Star Race

The 1988 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 22, 1988. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 135-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Darrell Waltrip of Hendrick Motorsports won the pole and led the most laps (50), but it was Terry Labonte of Junior Johnson & Associates who won the race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Pepsi 400</span> 17th race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 2002 Pepsi 400 was the 17th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 44th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 6, 2002, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 160 laps to complete. At race's end, Michael Waltrip, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., would win a crash-marred race under caution, a decision that would prove controversial with fans, as they wanted the race to finish under green. To fill out the podium, Rusty Wallace of Penske Racing and Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

References

  1. "Weather of the 1995 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  3. "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. "Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations". Roadracing World. Lake Elsinore, California: Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. March 24, 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. "Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona International Speedway. April 24, 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  7. What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  8. "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  9. "1995 Daytona 500". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 2014-04-13.