1996 Food City 500

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1996 Food City 500
Race details
Race 6 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 Food City 500.jpeg
The 1996 Food City 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. Artwork by Sam Bass.
DateMarch 31, 1996
Official name 36th Annual Food City 500
Location Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 0.533 miles (0.858 km)
Distance 342 laps, 182.286 mi (293.36 km)
Scheduled distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Average speed 91.308 miles per hour (146.946 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Racing
Time 15.527
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 148
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1996 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 31, 1996, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race was shortened from its scheduled 500 laps to 342 laps due to rain. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.

Contents

Background

The layout of Bristol Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held. Bristol Motor Speedway map.png
The layout of Bristol Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry list

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Hooters
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford QVC
8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Circuit City
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Spam
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Lowe's
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford Hayes Modems
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford PrimeStar, The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Parts America
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford HealthSource RI
21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Camel Cigarettes
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
27 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford David Blair Motorsports
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Cartoon Network, The Flintstones
30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Team Realtree
33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal
37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Kmart, Little Caesars
41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light Silver Bullet
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Prodigy
75 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Remington Arms
77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford Square D, TIC Financial Systems
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Burger King
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald's
95 Chuck Bown Sadler Brothers Racing Ford Shoney's Inn
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 29, at 3:00 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. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, March 30, at 12:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-32 would be decided on time, [3] 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.

Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.527 and an average speed of 123.578 miles per hour (198.880 km/h). [4]

Six drivers would fail to qualify: Mike Wallace, John Andretti, Johnny Benson Jr., Dave Marcis, Bobby Hillin Jr., and Chuck Bown.

Full qualifying results

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
16 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 15.527123.578
25 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.610122.921
317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 15.627122.787
44 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 15.637122.709
518 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 15.653122.584
631 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.653122.584
788 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.657122.552
824 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.677122.396
910 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 15.678122.388
1081 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 15.690122.294
112 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 15.704122.185
1222 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 15.709122.147
1341 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.710122.139
148 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 15.713122.115
1523 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 15.716122.092
1628 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.726122.014
1712 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 15.727122.007
1875 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 15.728121.999
193 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.730121.983
2087 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 15.743121.883
217 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 15.744121.875
2211 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 15.760121.751
2333 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 15.761121.744
2443 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 15.765121.713
2521 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 15.770121.674
Failed to lock in Round 1
269 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 15.774121.643
2727 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford 15.790121.520
2825 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.791121.512
2919 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford 15.804121.412
3016 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 15.806121.397
3115 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 15.832121.198
321 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 15.838121.152
Provisionals
3399 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 15.947120.324
3442 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 15.989120.008
3598 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 15.856121.014
3629 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 15.864120.953
3794 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 15.991119.992
Failed to qualify
3890 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford -*-*
3937 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford -*-*
4030 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac -*-*
4171 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -*-*
4277 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford -*-*
4395 Chuck Bown Sadler Brothers Racing Ford -*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1824 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 342148running185$93,765
225 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3420running170$54,215
316 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 34259running170$44,815
4193 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3420running160$35,351
5112 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 34276running160$29,895
6788 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 3420running150$26,395
7518 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 3412running151$28,895
82919 Dick Trickle TriStar Motorsports Ford 3410running142$15,495
91341 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3410running138$25,190
102521 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 3400running134$27,040
11148 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 3400running130$16,190
12321 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 3400running127$23,340
131523 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 3400running124$22,565
14910 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 3409running126$26,115
153442 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 3400running118$23,265
161628 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 3400running115$25,890
172333 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 3400running112$21,940
1844 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 3400running109$27,490
19217 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 3400running106$14,780
202211 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 3390running103$23,321
213598 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 3380running100$14,215
221712 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 3380running97$21,065
233399 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 3380running94$10,415
243115 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 3380running91$20,840
253016 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 3360running88$20,895
26317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 3330crash85$21,865
273629 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 3260running82$20,441
283794 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 32438running84$20,290
292825 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3050running76$20,160
301875 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 3040running73$12,835
312087 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 2610running70$18,835
322443 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 2030running67$15,835
331222 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 2000running64$24,785
341081 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 1840running61$8,835
35269 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 1520running58$15,835
36631 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7210crash60$8,835
372727 Elton Sawyer David Blair Motorsports Ford 290crash52$8,835
Failed to qualify
3890 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford
3937 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford
4030 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac
4171 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
4277 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford
4395 Chuck Bown Sadler Brothers Racing Ford
Official race results

References

  1. Higgins, Tom (April 1, 1996). "Gordon `rains' in Bristol victory". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  2. Harris, Mike (April 1, 1996). "Rain is Gordon's friend". Public Opinion. p. 16. Retrieved October 12, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Food City 500". The Charlotte Observer . March 29, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved October 13, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. Harris, Mike (March 30, 1996). "Martin zips to Bristol pole". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 17. Retrieved October 12, 2022. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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1996 TranSouth Financial 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 season
Next race:
1996 First Union 400