| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 31 in the1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 1996 Daytona 500 logo | |||
| Date | February 18, 1996 (1996-02-18) | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida,U.S. | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds approaching 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 154.308 miles per hour (248.335 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 44 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier,Buddy Baker, andNed Jarrett | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 9.2/24 (13.9 million viewers) | ||
The1996 Daytona 500, the 38th running of theevent, was run on February 18, 1996, atDaytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida, as the first race of the1996 NASCAR Winston Cup season.Dale Jarrett won this race for the second time after winning it in1993 and for the first (and only) time in all of Daytona 500 history,Dale Earnhardt won thepole position, allowing many to believe that he would finally win the race.Ernie Irvan returned to race full-time alongside Earnhardt (both drivers won their respectiveGatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races).
Daytona International Speedway is arace track inDaytona Beach, Florida, that is one of sixsuperspeedways to holdNASCAR races, the others beingMichigan International Speedway,Auto Club Speedway,Indianapolis Motor Speedway,Pocono Raceway, andTalladega Superspeedway.[2] The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speedtri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km)sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course.[3] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hostedpowerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated byInternational Speedway Corporation.
The track was built by NASCAR founderBill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the formerDaytona Beach Road Course and opened with thefirst Daytona 500 in 1959.[4] The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[5] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start.
The lead changed four times betweenErnie Irvan,Ken Schrader,Sterling Marlin, andDale Earnhardt in the first five laps.Reigning Winston Cup championJeff Gordon was eliminated on lap 8 after getting a light tap fromJeremy Mayfield.Busch SeriesGoody's 300 winnerSteve Grissom, along withJoe Nemechek (both Busch Series champions),Rick Mast, andRusty Wallace, were involved in a chain reaction incident after Gordon hit the wall. Mast's and Wallace's cars both were relatively undamaged, but Grissom and Nemechek lost several laps after repairs. On lap 29, Earnhardt's ignition failed, triggering a wreck forErnie Irvan.Wally Dallenbach Jr., who could not see Earnhardt, tagged Irvan and sent him into the wall.
Due to a new rules package, the lead changed hands early and often. On lap 50, no one butDale Earnhardt orTerry Labonte (the new leader) had spent more than 4 consecutive laps in the lead. Lap 54 saw1990 race winnerDerrike Cope hit the turn 4 wall, which ended his day.
On lap 77,1994 and1995 winnerSterling Marlin took the lead away fromTerry Labonte and led three laps before having engine problems. Not much later, Labonte began to drop back with overheating issues after leading the most laps at 44. He managed a decent finish, but Marlin almost instantly retired from the lead.IndyCar veteranJohn Andretti, whose uncleMario wonthe 1967 race, became the new leader. He and Earnhardt, along withBill Elliott,Dale Jarrett,Ken Schrader andMichael Waltrip, were all prime contenders at halfway. The field made green flag pit stops over the next 10 laps. Andretti came in for another pit stop immediately after his scheduled stop because not all of the right rear lugnuts had been tightened. On lap 131, while trying to get his lap back, he had a hard crash in turn 2. Waltrip clipped him as he tried to go past his spinning car, only to damage the right-front fender. The damage seemed to improve the car'saerodynamic qualities. Shortly after the restart,Mike Wallace suddenly snapped loose and collectedLoy Allen Jr.,Brett Bodine andBobby Labonte, whose car was relatively undamaged. Only Wallace; Allen Jr.; and Bodine were all done for the day.
Geoff Bodine andLake Speed crashed at lap 159, collectingBobby Hamilton,Chad Little,Robert Pressley,Jeff Purvis andMorgan Shepherd. This prompted the finalpit stops.Dale Jarrett and hiscrew chiefTodd Parrott decided on a four-tire change, while theRCR duo of Earnhardt and David Smith opted for two.Bud Moore, whose car and driverWally Dallenbach Jr. were not yet sponsored for the season, were going to gamble that their full tank of fuel from the previous caution would be enough to finish. Even so, Dallenbach kept the#15 in the lead pack in the waning laps. Earnhardt quickly dispatched new leader andlast year's Rookie of the YearRicky Craven. He lost the lead briefly to Schrader but at lap 177, Jarrett passed him with four fresh tires. Earnhardt could keep up with Jarrett, but he could not repass him. This would allow Jarrett to win his second Daytona 500 win, followed by Earnhardt, Schrader,Mark Martin andJeff Burton.
The Daytona 500 was covered byCBS for the 18th consecutive time since1979 in the United States.Ken Squier, two-timeNASCAR Cup Series championNed Jarrett and1980 race winnerBuddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth.Mike Joy,David Hobbs andDick Berggren handled pit road for the television side.
| CBS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | |
| Ken Squier | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker | Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren |
| Preceded by | NASCAR Winston Cup Series season 1995–96 | Succeeded by |