Race details | |||
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Race 18 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
![]() The 1996 DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Sterling Marlin. | |||
Date | July 28, 1996 | ||
Official name | 28th Annual DieHard 500 | ||
Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
Distance | 129 laps, 343.14 mi (552.249 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
Average speed | 133.387 miles per hour (214.666 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 100,000 | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | ||
Time | 49.779 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
Laps | 40 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | CBS | ||
Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Motor Racing Network |
The 1996 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1996, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 188 laps to 129 laps due to darkness caused by rain delays and lengthy crash cleanups. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to avoid numerous crashes and stay in front when the race was eventually called to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his sixth victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
On lap 117, a major crash involving 13 drivers, including the drivers of Dale Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin, would occur on the track's frontstretch. Marlin would be spun by hitting Ernie Irvan's front bumper, sending him into Earnhardt. Earnhardt would proceed to crash violently into the outside wall, sending Earnhardt into a flip before landing on all four wheels. In the midst of the chaos, others would be involved in the accident, with many placing blame on Irvan and Marlin for the crash. In the process, Earnhardt would be transported to the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama where he was diagnosed with a broken sternum and a broken left collarbone. [3]
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.
Qualifying was originally scheduled split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 26, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. [4] However, on Saturday, July 27, rain would eventually force the cancellation of second-round qualifying, and the decision was made that positions 26-38 would be determined by their first round qualifying speeds and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to four provisionals were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field. [5]
Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.779 and an average speed of 192.370 miles per hour (309.590 km/h) in the first round. [6]
Chad Little was the only driver to fail to qualify.
The race was due to start at 12:15pm CST but rain delayed the start time to 3:35pm and ran eleven laps before rain red flagged the race at 4:09pm with the race restarting at 4:32pm and the race starting at 4:36pm on lap thirteen.
Wight light fading, NASCAR elected to shorten the race with a five lap shootout from the green flag on lap 125.
The Diehard 500 was covered by CBS with Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker in commentary.
The 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 48th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 25th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. The season had been started on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The season would be remembered for Terry Labonte pulling off a massive upset and winning his second Winston Cup Championship over teammate Jeff Gordon.
The 1993 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 2, 1993, before an audience of 145,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. After a rain-delay late into the race, NASCAR officials determined to let the race finish under a two-lap shootout. In a late-race charge, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to charge from fourth to first on the final lap to take his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Bobby Allison Motorsports driver Jimmy Spencer and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1994 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 1, 1994, before an audience of 150,000 in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would make a charge to the front with six to go, defending the lead for the final five laps to take his 62nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. Earnhardt dedicated his win to the late Ayrton Senna, who lost his life earlier that day in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan and Bahari Racing driver Michael Waltrip would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1997 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 10, 1997, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Heavy rain and prior NASCAR commitments forced this race to be rescheduled from April 27, 1997.
The 1986 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 4, 1986, before an audience of 130,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete.
The 2000 Winston 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the last of five No Bull 5 events in that year's season, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 15, 2000, before an audience of 140,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete.
The 2000 DieHard 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 16, 2000, before an audience of 185,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In a late race charge, Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon made a pass for the lead with five laps left in the race, defending the lead to take his 50th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Mike Skinner and Dale Earnhardt, both drivers from Richard Childress Racing, finished second and third, respectively.
The 1993 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 25th, 1993, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In one of the closest finishes in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to best out a last-lap challenge against Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan by 0.005 seconds at the finish line, with Earnhardt managing to extend his dominant driver's championship lead over the rest of the field with the victory. The victory was Earnhardt's 59th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish third.
The 1997 DieHard 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 12, 1997, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final three laps of the race, with help from brother Bobby Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a late-race charge through the field to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Cale Yarborough Motorsports driver John Andretti would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1996 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 28, 1996, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would manage to hold off the field in the final 20 laps to take his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1995 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 23, 1995, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1994 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 24, 1994, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final nineteen laps of the race, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Jimmy Spencer would manage to hold off the field to take his second and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, teammate Bill Elliott and Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would finish second and third, respectively. With his third place finish, Irvan would regain the points lead in the overall driver's standings.
The 1993 Pepsi 400 was the 15th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 3, 1993, 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, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to fend off the field on the final restart with nine to go to take his 57th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Stavola Brothers Racing driver Sterling Marlin and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1992 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 2, 1992, before an audience of 142,500 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1992 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 26, 1992, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to come back from a lap deficit and best out Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin by 19 thousandths of a second to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Sterling Marlin and Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1991 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5, 1991, but was delayed to Monday, May 6, due to rain. The race was held before an audience of 105,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. Running on a fuel strategy, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to drive the last 56 laps of the race on one tank of fuel to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.
The 1991 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1991, before an audience of 95,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to fend off the field, leading the final 28 laps of the race to take his 51st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1990 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 21st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 6, 1990, before an audience of 140,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt was able to fend off part-time driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Greg Sacks to take his 42nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Greg Sacks and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1990 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 29, 1990, before an audience of 70,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt dominated a majority of the race, leading 134 laps in the race to take his 45th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Melling Racing driver Bill Elliott and Hagan Racing driver Sterling Marlin would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1988 Talladega DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 31, 1988, before an audience of 80,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Ken Schrader would manage to make a pass for the lead coming out of the track's second turn, holding onto the lead for the rest of the lap to take the victory. The victory was Schrader's first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Geoff Bodine and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.