1996 DieHard 500
18th race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Motor car race
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]
Background
The layout of Talladega Superspeedway , the venue where the race was held.
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.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
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.
Full qualifying results
Race results
Fin
St
#
Driver
Team
Make
Laps
Led
Status
Pts
Winnings
1
2
24
Jeff Gordon
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
129
37
running
180
$272,550
2
3
88
Dale Jarrett
Robert Yates Racing
Ford
129
5
running
175
$55,070
3
8
6
Mark Martin
Roush Racing
Ford
129
7
running
170
$53,980
4
6
28
Ernie Irvan
Robert Yates Racing
Ford
129
1
running
165
$44,455
5
15
23
Jimmy Spencer
Travis Carter Enterprises
Ford
129
0
running
155
$50,025
6
40
7
Geoff Bodine
Geoff Bodine Racing
Ford
129
0
running
150
$40,175
7
7
99
Jeff Burton
Roush Racing
Ford
129
0
running
146
$23,475
8
24
18
Bobby Labonte
Joe Gibbs Racing
Chevrolet
129
0
running
142
$33,425
9
9
17
Darrell Waltrip
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports
Chevrolet
129
0
running
138
$27,795
10
32
2
Rusty Wallace
Penske Racing South
Ford
129
0
running
134
$31,925
11
21
71
Dave Marcis
Marcis Auto Racing
Chevrolet
129
3
running
135
$19,955
12
18
42
Kyle Petty
Team SABCO
Pontiac
129
0
running
127
$26,575
13
39
94
Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott Racing
Ford
129
0
running
124
$26,255
14
36
75
Morgan Shepherd
Butch Mock Motorsports
Ford
129
0
running
121
$18,985
15
42
87
Joe Nemechek
NEMCO Motorsports
Chevrolet
129
0
running
118
$26,710
16
1
98
Jeremy Mayfield
Cale Yarborough Motorsports
Ford
129
12
running
120
$24,375
17
37
43
Bobby Hamilton
Petty Enterprises
Pontiac
128
0
running
112
$25,110
18
10
30
Johnny Benson Jr. (R)
Bahari Racing
Pontiac
128
0
running
109
$25,905
19
27
41
Ricky Craven
Larry Hedrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
128
0
running
106
$24,625
20
12
81
Kenny Wallace
FILMAR Racing
Ford
127
0
running
103
$19,085
21
31
19
Loy Allen Jr.
TriStar Motorsports
Ford
126
0
running
100
$17,005
22
41
11
Brett Bodine
Brett Bodine Racing
Ford
126
0
running
97
$23,595
23
38
95
Gary Bradberry
Sadler Brothers Racing
Ford
121
0
running
94
$13,495
24
29
5
Terry Labonte
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
120
0
crash
91
$29,715
25
34
29
Greg Sacks
Diamond Ridge Motorsports
Chevrolet
119
0
crash
88
$23,335
26
26
25
Ken Schrader
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
119
0
crash
85
$23,060
27
23
12
Derrike Cope
Bobby Allison Motorsports
Ford
117
0
crash
82
$22,490
28
4
3
Dale Earnhardt
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
117
40
crash
89
$31,020
29
16
4
Sterling Marlin
Morgan–McClure Motorsports
Chevrolet
117
19
crash
81
$29,450
30
5
9
Lake Speed
Melling Racing
Ford
117
0
crash
73
$19,830
31
14
33
Robert Pressley
Leo Jackson Motorsports
Chevrolet
117
1
crash
75
$19,690
32
35
15
Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Bud Moore Engineering
Ford
117
0
crash
67
$19,620
33
33
22
Ward Burton
Bill Davis Racing
Pontiac
117
0
crash
64
$27,540
34
25
8
Hut Stricklin
Stavola Brothers Racing
Ford
114
0
running
61
$12,495
35
30
77
Bobby Hillin Jr.
Jasper Motorsports
Ford
113
0
running
58
$12,465
36
17
16
Ted Musgrave
Roush Racing
Ford
113
0
running
55
$19,420
37
28
10
Ricky Rudd
Rudd Performance Motorsports
Ford
113
0
running
52
$27,406
38
11
90
Dick Trickle
Donlavey Racing
Ford
109
0
crash
49
$12,250
39
19
37
John Andretti
Kranefuss-Haas Racing
Ford
102
4
crash
51
$19,250
40
20
44
Jeff Purvis
Phoenix Racing
Chevrolet
86
0
engine
43
$12,250
41
13
1
Rick Mast
Precision Products Racing
Pontiac
85
0
running
40
$19,250
42
22
21
Michael Waltrip
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
16
0
engine
37
$19,250
Failed to qualify
43
97
Chad Little
Mark Rypien Motorsports
Pontiac
Official race results
References
^ Harris, Mike (July 29, 1993). "Gordon triumphs as Earnhardt escapes serious injury" . Messenger-Inquirer . p. 11. Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ McCollister, Tom (July 29, 1996). "Gordon first; Earnhardt injured" . The Atlanta Constitution . p. 23. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Higgins, Tom (July 29, 1996). "Opinions differ on cause of crash" . The Charlotte Observer . p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "DieHard 500" . The Charlotte Observer . July 26, 1996. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Higgins, Tom (July 28, 1996). "Mayfield has pole for Talladega race, but it may not help" . The Charlotte Observer . p. 118. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Harris, Mike (July 27, 1996). "Little-known Mayfield wins first Winston Cup pole" . The Stuart News . p. 40. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
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