| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
| Date | May 20, 1995 (1995-05-20) | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course length | 1.5 miles (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 70 laps, 105 mi (169 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures around 65.4 °F (18.6 °C), with winds gusting to 17.26 miles per hour (27.78 km/h)[2] | ||
| Average speed | 132.678 mph (213.525 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 49 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Buddy Baker, andErnie Irvan | ||
The 1995 edition ofThe Winston Select was astock car racing competition that took place on May 20, 1995. Held atCharlotte Motor Speedway inConcord, North Carolina, the 70-lap race was an exhibition race in the1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series.Bobby Labonte ofJoe Gibbs Racing won the pole, whileJeff Gordon ofHendrick Motorsports led the most laps and won the race.
The race also started the trend ofspecial paint schemes, withDale Earnhardt sporting a reverse paint scheme of hisGM Goodwrench car.
The Winston Select was open to winning drivers and team owners from last season through theSave Mart Supermarkets 300 atSears Point Raceway and all previous All-Star race winners and past NASCAR Winston Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 1995. The top five finishers of The Winston Select Open advanced to complete the starting grid of 20 cars.
The earnings for The Winston Select were as follows:
| The Winston Select earnings | |
| Total purse | US$1,081,000 |
| Qualifying pole winner | US$50,000 |
| Segment 1 & 2 winner(s) | US$50,000 |
| Segment 3 winner | US$200,000 |
| The Winston Select Open winner | US$28,000 |
Bobby Labonte won the pole for the all-star event to collect theUS$50,000 bonus.Todd Bodine,Ken Schrader,Robert Pressley,Mike Wallace, andLake Speed transferred from The Winston Select Open to make the field.Mark Martin andJeff Gordon served as the onboard camera cars throughout the race.Sterling Marlin had to start at the back of the field after he crashed his primary car during qualifying.Elton Sawyer andJimmy Spencer also started at the back after missing the drivers' meeting. At the drop of the green flag,Rusty Wallace overtook Bobby Labonte for the first lap beforeDale Earnhardt, sporting a silver reverse paint scheme of his iconicGM Goodwrench car, took the lead from laps 2 to 5. Gordon charged forward to take the lead from Earnhardt on lap 6 and kept it until lap 30 to win a caution-free Segment 1 and theUS$50,000 bonus whileRicky Rudd and Martin completed the top-three.
During the 10-minute break between segments, the fan balloting on whether or not to invert the field for the second 30-lap segment was unveiled. The fans had spoken and the result flashed on the Winston Cup scoreboard — INVERT!
Pressley, who finished last in Segment 1, led the field for a total of 16 laps. The first caution occurred on lap 33 when Spencer and Schrader collided with each other, sending Schrader to the turn 2 wall while Earnhardt spun and made contact withTerry Labonte on the inside line. The race restarted on lap 37, but on lap 40, Earnhardt tapped Jarrett from behind, triggering a multi-car accident involving Jarrett, Martin, Todd Bodine, and Spencer in turn 3 and signaling another caution. The race resumed on lap 44. Gordon powered his way back to the front on lap 47 and crossed the finish line in Segment 2 and collect anotherUS$50,000 bonus whileDarrell Waltrip and Earnhardt completed the top-three.
During the final 10-lap shootout, Waltrip jumped the restart, forcing another yellow to redo the restart. When the green flag dropped again, Earnhardt took the lead from the inside line, but he got loose and collided with Waltrip on turn 4, with both Bobby Labonte and Speed losing control on the infield grass and slamming the outside wall. Caution flags do not count in the final segment, setting up a ten-lap dash. When the green flag dropped for the final time, Gordon maintained the lead and took the checkered flag to win theUS$200,000 bonus while Marlin finished second and Rudd third.