1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 (Dover) Explained

Type:NASWINSTON
Scheduled Km:804.672
Official Name:27th Annual Miller Genuine Draft 500
Caption:The 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Network:TNN
First Team:Team SABCO
Most Team:Team SABCO
First Driver:Kyle Petty
Most Driver:Kyle Petty
Pole Team:Hendrick Motorsports
Pole Driver:Jeff Gordon
Most Laps:271
Car:42
Distance Km:804.672
Location:Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway
Scheduled Laps:500
Scheduled Mi:500
Distance Laps:500
Avg:119.88mph
Date:June 4
Pole Time:23.427
Course Km:1.6
Course Mi:1
Race Name:Miller Genuine Draft 500
Year:1995
Season No:31
Race No:12
Distance Mi:500
Announcers:Mike Joy, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker

The 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 was the 12th stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 4, 1995, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Ending a two-year long winless drought, Team SABCO driver Kyle Petty would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his eighth and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Roush Racing driver Ted Musgrave would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiacSkoal
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFordMiller Genuine Draft
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFordExide
8Jeff BurtonStavola Brothers RacingFordRaybestos
9Lake SpeedMelling RacingFordSpam
10Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFordTide
11Brett BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordLowe's
12Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFordMane 'n Tail
15Dick TrickleBud Moore EngineeringFordFord Quality Care
16Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFordThe Family Channel
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletWestern Auto
18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
19Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFordHealthSource RI
21Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Randy LaJoie (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiacMBNA
23Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFordSmokin' Joe's
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletBudweiser
26Hut StricklinKing RacingFordQuaker State
27Elton SawyerJunior Johnson & AssociatesFordHooters
28Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
29Steve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevroletMeineke
30Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
31Ward BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsChevroletHardee's
32Chuck BownActive MotorsportsChevroletActive Trucking
33Robert Pressley (R)Leo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal Bandit
37John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFordLittle Caesars, Kmart
40Greg SacksDick Brooks RacingPontiacKendall
41Ricky Craven (R)Larry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
42Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiacCoors Light Silver Bullet
43Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletOlive Garden
75Todd BodineButch Mock MotorsportsFordFactory Stores of America
77Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFordUS Airways, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
79Doug FrenchWaters RacingChevroletAljo Custom Embroidary
81Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFordTIC Financial Systems
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevroletBurger King
90Mike WallaceDonlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
94Bill ElliottElliott-Hardy RacingFordMcDonald's
98Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordRCA

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 2, at 3:00 pm EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they 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, June 3, at 11:30 am EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21–38 would be decided on time,[3] 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; which was usually four. 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.

Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.427 and an average speed of 153.669mph in the first round.[4]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
124Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet23.427153.669
231Ward BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsChevrolet23.593152.588
318Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet23.685151.995
437John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord23.696151.924
54Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet23.722151.758
67Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord23.750151.579
741Ricky Craven (R)Larry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet23.810151.197
887Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet23.817151.153
926Hut StricklinKing RacingFord23.829151.076
1011Brett BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord23.837151.026
1123Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord23.851150.937
1230Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac23.860150.880
136Mark MartinRoush RacingFord23.906150.590
1443Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac23.907150.584
1521Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord23.914150.539
162Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord23.927150.458
171Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFord23.947150.332
1828Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord23.973150.169
195Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet23.979150.131
2094Bill ElliottElliott-Hardy RacingFord23.987150.081
Failed to lock in Round 1
218Jeff BurtonStavola Brothers RacingFord23.726151.732
2222Randy LaJoie (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac23.834151.045
233Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet23.877150.773
2415Dick TrickleBud Moore EngineeringFord23.990150.063
2571Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet24.016149.900
2675Todd BodineButch Mock MotorsportsFord24.032149.800
2727Elton SawyerJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord24.066149.589
2877Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord24.085149.471
2910Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord24.097149.396
3032Chuck BownActive MotorsportsChevrolet24.113149.297
3190Mike WallaceDonlavey RacingFord24.114149.291
3216Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord24.130149.192
3333Robert Pressley (R)Leo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet24.131149.180
349Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord24.137149.149
3581Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord24.141149.124
3629Steve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet24.143149.112
3742Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac24.144149.007
3898Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord24.164148.982
Provisionals
3917Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet-*-*
4025Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet-*-*
4112Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord-*-*
4240Greg SacksDick Brooks RacingPontiac-*-*
Failed to qualify
4379Doug FrenchWaters RacingChevrolet-*-*
4419Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord-*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
13742Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac500271running185$77,665
2318Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet50018running175$61,555
33216Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord5002running170$43,305
4926Hut StricklinKing RacingFord50023running165$35,615
5233Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet50010running160$45,545
6124Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet499132running155$37,890
754Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet4990running146$30,540
81230Michael WaltripBahari RacingPontiac4990running142$26,440
9162Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord4990running138$31,490
10887Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet4991running139$19,440
114025Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet4980running130$24,540
124112Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord4980running127$18,940
13171Rick MastPrecision Products RacingFord4980running124$23,540
143190Mike WallaceDonlavey RacingFord4960running121$18,140
152094Bill ElliottElliott-Hardy RacingFord4960running118$18,940
163629Steve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet4960running115$17,390
173898Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord4960running112$17,165
183581Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord4960running109$13,350
193333Robert Pressley (R)Leo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet4950running106$22,865
203917Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet4940running103$23,215
211011Brett BodineJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord4940running100$26,165
22741Ricky Craven (R)Larry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet4880running97$17,015
232222Randy LaJoie (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac4860running94$21,365
241443Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac4780running91$16,215
25218Jeff BurtonStavola Brothers RacingFord4610running88$21,765
261521Morgan ShepherdWood Brothers RacingFord4490running85$20,915
2767Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord4460running82$27,465
284240Greg SacksDick Brooks RacingPontiac4450running79$17,815
291123Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord4370running76$15,765
302675Todd BodineButch Mock MotorsportsFord4360running73$20,215
312910Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord4360running70$25,665
322415Dick TrickleBud Moore EngineeringFord4270running67$17,605
333032Chuck BownActive MotorsportsChevrolet4180running64$12,555
34349Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord4050running61$12,505
35136Mark MartinRoush RacingFord3920running58$26,305
362571Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet3150crash55$12,280
37195Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2900engine52$27,080
38231Ward BurtonA.G. Dillard MotorsportsChevrolet14943crash54$12,680
39437John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord20crash46$13,280
401828Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord20crash43$26,680
412727Elton SawyerJunior Johnson & AssociatesFord20crash40$20,280
422877Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord20crash37$12,780
Failed to qualify
4379Doug FrenchWaters RacingChevrolet
4419Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord
Official race results

Notes and References

  1. News: Brinster . Dick . June 5, 1995 . Petty ends long victory drought . 25 . . November 3, 2022.
  2. News: Treffinger . Dave . June 5, 1995 . Petty ends skid with Dover win . 38 . Courier-Post . November 3, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: June 2, 1995 . Miller Genuine Draft 500 . 22 . . November 3, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Bryson . Gene . June 3, 1995 . Gordon wins Miller pole . 2 . The News Journal . November 3, 2022 . Newspapers.com.