1996 UAW-GM Quality 500

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1996 UAW-GM Quality 500
Race details
Race 28 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 UAW-GM Quality 500.jpeg
The 1996 UAW-GM Quality 500 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
DateOctober 6, 1996
Official name 37th Annual UAW-GM Quality 500
Location Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 1.5 miles (2.41 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Scheduled distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Average speed 143.143 miles per hour (230.366 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 29.337
Most laps led
Driver Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 129
Winner
No. 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

The 1996 UAW-GM Quality 500 was the 28th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 6, 1996, in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would manage to make a late-race charge to the front, managing to close and come within one point of teammate Jeff Gordon in the point standings after a late season slump by Gordon. The win was Labonte's 18th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.

Contents

Background

The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held. Charlotte Motor Speedway diagram.svg
The layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Entry list

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford Masters Inn Economy
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Hooters
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Silver Splash
02 Robbie Faggart Miles Motorsports Chevrolet Miles Motorsports
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 Badcock Home Furniture
14 Robby Gordon Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Racing for Kids
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 Loy Allen Jr. 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 Todd Bodine David Blair Motorsports Ford David Blair Motorsports
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Chad Little Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Cartoon Network, The Flintstones
30 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal
37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Kmart, Little Caesars
40 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Chevrolet First Union
41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light
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
78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford Diamond Rio
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 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald's
95 Gary Bradberry Sadler Brothers Racing Ford Shoney's Inn
97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac Sterling Cowboy
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 Wednesday, October 2, 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 Thursday, October 3, at 1:30 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, [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.

Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.337 and an average speed of 184.068 miles per hour (296.229 km/h). [4]

Five drivers would fail to qualify: Joe Nemechek, Gary Bradberry, Dave Marcis, Robbie Faggart, and Delma Cowart.

Full qualifying results

Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
118 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 29.337184.068
224 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.577182.574
337 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 29.597182.451
443 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.626182.272
527 Todd Bodine David Blair Motorsports Ford 29.626182.272
629 Jeff Green Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 29.628182.260
799 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 29.635182.217
841 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.679181.947
928 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.695181.849
1088 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.716181.720
1121 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.718181.708
126 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.730181.635
1314 Robby Gordon Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 29.731181.629
1422 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 29.736181.598
1575 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 29.819181.093
165 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.820181.087
1730 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 29.868180.796
181 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 29.885180.693
1916 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 29.886180.687
209 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 29.892180.650
2194 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 29.895180.632
2211 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 29.900180.602
232 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 29.941180.355
248 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 29.961180.234
2577 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 29.985180.090
267 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 29.987180.078
2725 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.000180.000
2823 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 30.005179.970
2990 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 30.026179.844
3097 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 30.028179.832
3198 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 30.034179.796
3278 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford 30.041179.754
334 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 30.049179.706
343 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.060179.641
3540 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Chevrolet 30.065179.611
3612 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 30.076179.545
3715 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 30.125179.253
3819 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 30.147179.122
Provisionals
3910 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford -*-*
4042 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac -*-*
4181 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford -*-*
4233 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet -*-*
Champion's Provisional
4317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet -*-*
Failed to qualify
4487 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet -*-*
4595 Gary Bradberry Sadler Brothers Racing Ford -*-*
4671 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -*-*
4702 Robbie Faggart Miles Motorsports Chevrolet -*-*
480 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford -*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1165 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334129running185$133,950
2126 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 33456running175$85,100
31088 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 3340running165$58,300
4334 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 3340running160$60,100
5841 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33486running160$63,400
6343 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 33415running155$44,700
71422 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 3340running146$37,500
8232 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 3340running142$35,000
91121 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 3340running138$31,000
102194 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 3340running134$31,100
11799 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 33411running135$26,900
12209 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 3340running127$24,300
133910 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 3330running124$26,250
141730 Johnny Benson Jr. (R) Bahari Racing Pontiac 3330running121$22,450
15181 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 3330running118$21,450
162823 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 3331running120$19,450
171916 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 3320running112$18,450
183612 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 3320running109$17,950
19443 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 3320running106$20,050
20267 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 3320running103$23,450
21527 Todd Bodine David Blair Motorsports Ford 3320running100$7,900
223097 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 3310running97$6,195
231575 Morgan Shepherd Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 3300running94$9,515
243540 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Chevrolet 3300running91$5,875
25248 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 3300running88$9,340
26629 Jeff Green Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 3280running85$16,615
273278 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford 3280running82$5,500
282211 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 3270running79$15,580
292725 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3250running76$15,370
304181 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 3251running78$8,365
31224 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31914running75$35,070
324233 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 3140running67$14,995
333715 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 3110axle64$14,415
343819 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 2860handling61$4,890
352990 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 2300crash58$4,865
362577 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 2280crash55$4,840
37928 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 2080crash52$20,220
381314 Robby Gordon Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 2060crash49$4,800
393198 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 2060crash46$5,300
40118 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 17921engine48$48,900
414042 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 1140engine40$11,800
424317 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 880clutch37$11,800
43337 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 170crash34$15,300
Failed to qualify
4487 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet
4595 Gary Bradberry Sadler Brothers Racing Ford
4671 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
4702 Robbie Faggart Miles Motorsports Chevrolet
480 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
Official race results

References

  1. Higgins, Tom (October 7, 1996). "CMS victory leaves Labonte one behind Gordon with 3 races left". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  2. Harris, Mike (October 7, 1996). "Labonte's victory tightens points race". The Republic. p. 14. Retrieved October 25, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Charlotte schedule". The State. October 2, 1996. p. 14. Retrieved October 25, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. Hembree, Mike (October 3, 1996). "Bobby Labonte on Charlotte pole". The Greenville News. p. 21. Retrieved October 25, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 season
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