1996 Winston Select 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 9 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1996 Winston Select 500 program cover, featuring Mark Martin. | |||
| Date | April 28, 1996 | ||
| Official name | 27th Annual DieHard 500 | ||
| Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.66 miles (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 149.999 miles per hour (241.400 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Time | 49.654 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | |
| Laps | 48 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
The 1996 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 28, 1996, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. At the end of the 188-lap race, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin held off the field in the final 20 laps to take his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt finished second and third, respectively.
The race saw a series of crashes. The first major crash included Bill Elliott on lap 79, when Elliott's car spun into the backstretch grass area and blew over into the air. The car landed hard, with Elliott suffering a broken left femur, causing him to miss the next eight weeks of racing.[3][4] Later into the race on lap 130, a crash involving 14 cars sent Ricky Craven flipping wildly into the air and into the protective catch-fence in turn 1. Craven was knocked unconscious during the crash, and suffered a broken back. This led to a nearly one-hour race stoppage for clean-up and catch fence repair.[5][6]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 26, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver had one lap to set a time. After the first round, the top 25 drivers were guaranteed a starting spot in the race. Drivers outside the top 25 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, April 27, at 12:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-32 were decided on time,[7] 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.
Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, won the pole, setting a time of 49.654 and an average speed of 192.855 miles per hour (310.370 km/h).[8]
Five drivers failed to qualify: Phil Barkdoll, Steve Seligman, Bobby Hillin Jr., Delma Cowart, and Chad Little.
Full qualifying results
Race results
References
- ↑ Higgins, Tom (April 29, 1996). "Craven flips; Marlin flies". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ↑ Harris, Mike (April 29, 1996). "Patient Marlin takes advantage of crash". Morning Sentinel. p. 8. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ McCollister, Tom (April 29, 1996). "Elliott hurt in crash-filled win by Marlin". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 31. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Injured Elliott will miss Sears Point". The Sacramento Bee. May 2, 1996. p. 19. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Grant, Joe (April 29, 1996). "Craven survives spectacular crash". Morning Sentinel. p. 15. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Houston, Rick (July 1, 2020). "The Scene Vault: Ricky Craven And The Talladega Big One". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ↑ "Winston Select 500". The Charlotte Observer. April 26, 1996. p. 32. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Harris, Mike (April 27, 1996). "Irvan wins first pole since crash". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 11. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.