1996 Brickyard 400

1996 Brickyard 400
Race details
Race 19 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1996 Brickyard 400 program cover
1996 Brickyard 400 program cover
Date August 3, 1996 (1996-08-03)
Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 160 laps, 400 mi (643.74 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)[1]
Average speed 139.508 mph (224.516 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing
Laps 70
Winner
No. 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Danny Sullivan, Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons
Nielsen Ratings 4.3/-[2]

The 1996 Brickyard 400, the 3rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on August 3, 1996, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race was the nineteenth of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the pole position with a speed of 176.419 miles per hour (283.919 km/h),[3] while Robert Yates Racing's Dale Jarrett won the race.

The track had been repaved, and speeds had been reported to have increased by 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h).[4]

Race

Five laps into the race, the first caution flew for a crash involving Greg Sacks, Robert Pressley, Ricky Craven, Dave Marcis, and Bobby Hillin Jr.[5] On lap 23, pole-sitter Jeff Gordon cut his right-front tire and hit the wall;[4] Gordon finished 37th.[5] Subsequently, Johnny Benson Jr. took the lead, and led a race-high 70 laps.[5] Ernie Irvan took the lead from Benson on lap 108, and on lap 126, an error made during a pit stop dropped Benson to 13th.[4] Meanwhile, Dale Jarrett took the lead from his Robert Yates Racing teammate Irvan, who reclaimed the lead on lap 139 after passing Jarrett in turn 3. Jarrett managed to pass Irvan in turn 2[6] of lap 154,[5] and kept the lead after the race ended under caution due to Pressley crashing in turn 4 on lap 159.[6] Irvan finished second, followed by Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Morgan Shepherd, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Benson, Rick Mast and Bill Elliott.[5]

Afterwards, Jarrett and crew chief Todd Parrott kissed the yard of bricks at the start/finish line, a practice that has continued to be performed in NASCAR,[7] and was eventually also done by Gil de Ferran after his win in the Indianapolis 500 in 2003.[8]

In the points standings after the race, Terry Labonte led with 2792 points, Dale Earnhardt trailed with 2731 points; Jarrett (2729), Jeff Gordon (2688), and Ricky Rudd (2415) rounded out the Top 5.[5]

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.015 176.419† 1
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 51.159 175.922 2
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 51.183 175.840 3
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.298 175.445 4
77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 51.328 175.343 5
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 51.331 175.333 6
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 51.390 175.131 7
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 51.406 175.077 8
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51.413 175.053 9
29 Greg Sacks Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 51.439 174.965 10
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 51.443 174.951 11
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 51.455 174.910 12
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 51.455 174.910 13
30 Johnny Benson Jr. # Bahari Racing Pontiac 51.465 174.876 14
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 51.502 174.750 15
8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 51.513 174.713 16
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 51.515 174.706 17
15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 51.589 174.456 18
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Racing Ford 51.592 174.446 19
23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 51.597 174.429 20
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 51.600 174.419 21
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 51.607 174.395 22
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 51.628 174.324 23
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 51.647 174.260 24
90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 51.664 174.203 25
95 Gary Bradberry Sadler Brothers Racing Ford 51.551 174.584 26‡
37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 51.676 174.162 27
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 51.715 174.031 28
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 51.785 173.796 29
21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 51.873 173.501 30
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 51.877 173.487 31
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 51.941 173.274 32
17 Darrell Waltrip DarWal Inc. Chevrolet 51.960 173.210 33
33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 51.971 173.174 34
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 51.977 173.154 35
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 51.977 173.154 36
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 52.037 172.954 37
75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Ford 52.045 172.927 38
41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Provisional
 39
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
Provisional
 40
Failed to Qualify
91 Ron Barfield Jr. Bill Elliott Racing Ford 52.101 172.471
27 Jason Keller David Blair Motorsports Ford 52.332 171.979
78 Randy MacDonald # Triad Motorsports Ford 52.532 171.324
44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 52.535 171.314
46 Stacy Compton # Monroe Motorsports Chevrolet 52.611 171.067
02 Robbie Faggart Miles Motorsports Chevrolet 52.668 170.882
50 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Ford 52.818 170.396
57 Steve Seligman Team III Motorsports Ford 53.663 167.713
# Rookie of the Year candidate / † New track record / ‡ Fastest second round qualifier
Source:[9][10]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 24 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 160 180
2 15 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 160 175
3 9 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 170
4 2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 160 165
5 38 75 Morgan Shepherd RahMoc Enterprises Ford 160 155
6 35 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 160 155
7 17 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 160 146
8 14 30 Johnny Benson Jr. # Bahari Racing Pontiac 160 152
9 8 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac 160 138
10 7 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 160 139
11 28 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 160 130
12 20 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 160 127
13 3 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 160 129
14 36 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 160 121
15 12 3 Dale Earnhardt* Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 160 123
16 4 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 160 120
17 18 15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Bud Moore Engineering Ford 160 112
18 16 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 160 109
19 27 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 160 106
20 29 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 160 103
21 21 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 160 100
22 22 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 159 97
23 25 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 159 94
24 23 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 159 91
25 19 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Racing Ford 159 88
26 5† 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 159 85
27 6 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 159 82
28 30 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 159 79
29 26 95 Gary Bradberry Sadler Brothers Racing Ford 158 76
30 34 33 Robert Pressley Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 157 73
31 37 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 156 70
32 10 29 Greg Sacks Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 154 72
33 31 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 151 64
34 39 41 Ricky Craven Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 142 61
35 40 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 112 58
36 32 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 82 55
37 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40 57
38 13 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 37 54
39 11 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 37 51
40 33 17 Darrell Waltrip DarWal Inc. Chevrolet 9 43
# Rookie of the Year candidate / *Mike Skinner took over Earnhardt's car after five laps / † Started at rear of field due to backup car
Source:[11]

Standings after the race

Terry Labonte led the points standings after the race.
Pos Driver Points
1 Terry Labonte 2792
2 Dale Earnhardt 2731
3 Dale Jarrett 2729
4 Jeff Gordon 2688
5 Ricky Rudd 2415
6 Rusty Wallace 2393
7 Ernie Irvan 2363
8 Mark Martin 2357
9 Ken Schrader 2336
10 Sterling Marlin 2336

Media

Television

The 1996 Brickyard 400 was carried live on television by ABC Sports. Paul Page, who was the announcer on ABC's Indianapolis 500 broadcasts, served as host for the final time. Bob Jenkins, 1973 Cup Series champion Benny Parsons and 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan called the race from the broadcast booth except Sullivan who was stationed in turn 2. Jerry Punch, Jack Arute and Gary Gerould handled pit road for the television side.

ABC/ESPN
Host Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap Color-commentators
Paul Page Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons
Danny Sullivan 		Jerry Punch
Jack Arute
Gary Gerould

References

  1. ^ "1996 Brickyard 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "Brickyard 400 shoots a brick". SportsMediaWatch.com. July 29, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  3. ^ "Daily Trackside Report". The Auto Channel. August 2, 1996. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Countdown To The 20th Running: The 1996 Brickyard 400". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "1996 Brickyard 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Oreovicz, John (July 29, 2011). "Dale Jarrett remembers a great day". ESPN. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "KISSING THE BRICKS, A NASCAR-INDY TRADITION". NASCAR. July 22, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  8. ^ Caldwell, Dave (May 26, 2003). "AUTO RACING; De Ferran Dethrones Castroneves at Indy 500". The New York Times. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  9. ^ "1996 Brickyard 400: Starting Lineup". The Auto Channel. August 2, 1996. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  10. ^ "1996 Brickyard 400: Daily Trackside Report". The Auto Channel. August 2, 1996. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  11. ^ "1996 Official Race Results : Brickyard 400". NASCAR.com. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on 2004-04-10. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1996 		Succeeded by