Race details | |||
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Race 10 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
![]() The 1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover. | |||
Date | May 5, 1996 | ||
Official name | 8th Annual Save Mart Supermarkets 300 | ||
Location | Sonoma, California, Sears Point Raceway | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.52 mi (4.06 km) | ||
Distance | 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km) | ||
Average speed | 77.673 miles per hour (125.003 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 102,000 | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
Time | 1:38.050 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
Laps | 36 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
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 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the tenth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the fourth race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the eighth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 5, 1996, in Sonoma, California, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to pull away on the final restart with six to go to take his 43rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Bud Moore Engineering driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. would finish second and third, respectively.
Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long; [3] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout. [4] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km). [5]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, May 3, at 6:00 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, May 4, at 3:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-38 would be decided on time, [6] and four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while two more additional provisionals would be given to teams in the Winston West Series.
Terry Labonte, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:38.050 and an average speed of 92.524 miles per hour (148.903 km/h). [7]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify: Geoff Bodine, Chad Little, Mark Krogh, Joe Bean, Wayne Jacks, Bill McAnally, and Lance Hooper.
Sonoma Raceway is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, California. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 ft (49 m) of total elevation change. It is host to one of the few NASCAR Cup Series races each year that are run on road courses. It has also played host to the IndyCar Series, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, and several other auto races and motorcycle races such as the American Federation of Motorcyclists series. Sonoma Raceway continues to host amateur, or club racing events with some open to the public. The largest such car club is the Sports Car Club of America. The track is 30 mi (48 km) north of San Francisco and Oakland.
The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The 218.9-mile (352.3 km) race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007.
The 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 49th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 26th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. It began on February 9 and ended on November 16. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his second Cup championship at the end of the season.
The 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth stock car race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the first of the season's two road course events. It was held on June 24, 2007 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California before a crowd of 102,000. The 90-lap race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing team who started from thirty-second position. Kevin Harvick finished second and his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton came in third.
The 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 26, 2011, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps, it was the sixteenth race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. The race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jeff Gordon finished second, and Carl Edwards clinched third.
The 2012 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 24, 2012, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps, it was the sixteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. Clint Bowyer of Michael Waltrip Racing took his first win of the season, while Tony Stewart finished second and Kurt Busch finished third.
The 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 23, 2013, at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, United States. Contested over 110 laps on the 1.99-mile (3.2 km) road course, it was the sixteenth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship, and the first of two road course competitions on the schedule. Martin Truex Jr. of Michael Waltrip Racing won the race, breaking a 218-race winless streak stretching back to June 2007, while Jeff Gordon finished second. Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five. The top rookie of the race was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. who finished 27th.
The 2006 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series stock car race held on June 25, 2006 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Contested over 110 laps on a 1.99 mile road course, it was the 16th race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.
The 2005 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was the 16th stock car race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 17th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 26, 2005, in Sonoma, California, at the club layout in Infineon Raceway, a 1.99 miles (3.20 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 110 laps to complete. At race's end, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would best Ricky Rudd of Wood Brothers Racing, passing him in the closing laps of the race to win his 20th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would finish third.
The 2004 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was the 16th stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 16th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 27, 2004, in Sonoma, California, at the club layout in Infineon Raceway, a 1.99 miles (3.20 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 110 laps to complete. At race's end, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would dominate the race to win his 67th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his third of the season. To fill out the podium, Jamie McMurray and Scott Pruett of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
The 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was the 16th stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 15th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 22, 2003, in Sonoma, California, at the club layout in Infineon Raceway, a 1.99 miles (3.20 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 110 laps to complete. At race's end, Robby Gordon of Richard Childress Racing would win under caution, but not before making a controversial pass racing back to the line against eventual third-place finisher, teammate Kevin Harvick on lap 71 that sealed Gordon's victory. The win was Gordon's second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second.
The 2002 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was the 16th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 14th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 23, 2002, in Sonoma, California, at the club layout in Infineon Raceway, a 1.99 miles (3.20 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 110 laps to complete. Ricky Rudd, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would take advantage of a disaster-stricken Jerry Nadeau when Nadeau suffered rear end problems while leading with three to go. The win was Rudd's 23rd and final NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season. To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Terry Labonte of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
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The 1998 Dura Lube/Kmart 500 was the 31st stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 11th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 25, 1998, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race was shortened from its scheduled 312 laps to 257 laps due to inclement weather. At race's end, Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Rusty Wallace would dominate the race when the race was stopped to take his 48th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the podium, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
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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. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.