1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 explained

Type:NASWINSTON
Location:Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway
Distance Mi:400
Pole Time:38.836
Scheduled Km:643.737
Distance Km:643.737
Scheduled Laps:200
Distance Laps:200
Course Km:3.2
Scheduled Mi:400
Course Mi:2
Avg:139.792mph
Year:1996
Date:August 18
Race Name:GM Goodwrench Dealer 400
Official Name:27th Annual GM Goodwrench Dealer 400
Caption:The 1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Race No:21
Season No:31
Car:88
Most Laps:135
Pole Team:Roush Racing
Pole Driver:Jeff Burton
First Driver:Dale Jarrett
Most Driver:Mark Martin
Most Team:Roush Racing
First Team:Robert Yates Racing
Network:NASCAR on ESPN
Announcers:Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons

The 1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 was the 21st stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, August 18, 1996, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would engage in a battle with Roush Racing driver Mark Martin, eventually passing Martin with seven laps to go and holding Martin off to come victorious in the race. The race was Jarrett's eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth and final victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the podium, the aforementioned Mark Martin and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiacHooters
2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFordMiller
3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevroletGM Goodwrench Service Plus
4Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevroletKodak
5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevroletKellogg's Frosted Flakes
6Mark MartinRoush RacingFordValvoline
7Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFordQVC
8Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFordCircuit City
9Lake SpeedMelling RacingFordSpam
10Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFordTide
11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFordLowe's
12Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFordBadcock Home Furniture
14Ron Hornaday Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.ChevroletRacing for Kids
15Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFordHayes Modems
16Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFordPrimeStar, The Family Channel
17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevroletParts America
18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevroletInterstate Batteries
19Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFordHealthSource RI
21Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFordCitgo
22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiacMBNA
23Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFordCamel Cigarettes
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevroletDuPont
25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevroletBudweiser
27Elton SawyerDavid Blair MotorsportsFordDavid Blair Motorsports
28Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFordTexaco, Havoline
29Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevroletCartoon Network, The Flintstones
30Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiacPennzoil
33Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevroletSkoal
37Jeremy MayfieldKranefuss-Haas RacingFordKmart, Little Caesars
41Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevroletKodiak
42Jim SauterTeam SABCOPontiacCoors Light
43Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiacSTP
71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevroletProdigy
75Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFordRemington Arms
77Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFordJasper Engines & Transmissions
81Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFordSquare D, TIC Financial Systems
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevroletBurger King
88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFordQuality Care Service, Ford Credit
90Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFordHeilig-Meyers
94Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFordMcDonald's
97Chad LittleMark Rypien MotorsportsPontiacSterling Cowboy
98Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFordRCA
99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFordExide

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 16, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 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, August 17, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-36 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.

Jeff Burton, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 38.836 and an average speed of 185.395mph.[4]

Two drivers would fail to qualify: Elton Sawyer and Ron Hornaday Jr.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
199Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord38.836185.395
218Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet38.871185.228
36Mark MartinRoush RacingFord38.873185.219
490Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord38.890185.138
543Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac39.044184.407
64Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet39.047184.393
724Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.097184.157
817Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet39.162183.852
99Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord39.166183.833
1021Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord39.188183.730
1188Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord39.201183.669
1228Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord39.211183.622
1381Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord39.259183.397
1477Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord39.276183.318
1537John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord39.277183.313
163Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet39.291183.248
1787Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet39.306183.178
1825Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.359182.931
1930Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac39.387182.801
202Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord39.391182.783
2194Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord39.392182.778
225Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.402182.732
2310Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord39.426182.621
2422Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac39.437182.570
2515Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord39.456182.482
2623Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord39.347182.987
2712Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord39.421182.644
2875Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord39.442182.547
297Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord39.469182.422
3042Jim SauterTeam SABCOPontiac39.487182.338
3111Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord39.498182.288
321Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac39.521182.182
338Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord39.524181.168
3416Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord39.541182.089
3597Chad LittleMark Rypien MotorsportsPontiac39.575181.933
3633Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet39.602181.809
3771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet39.642181.626
3841Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.753181.118
Provisionals
3998Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord-*-*
4029Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet-*-*
4119Mike WallaceTriStar MotorsportsFord-*-*
Failed to qualify
4227Elton SawyerDavid Blair MotorsportsFord-*-*
4314Ron Hornaday Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet-*-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
11188Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord2008running180$83,195
236Mark MartinRoush RacingFord200135running180$79,170
3225Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2003running170$57,120
41228Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord2000running160$43,770
5724Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2000running155$44,040
6218Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet20038running155$41,240
71930Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac2000running146$35,515
82310Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord2006running147$35,465
9199Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord2000running138$25,215
102623Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord2000running134$36,865
112875Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord2000running130$22,665
12297Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord2000running127$32,765
13543Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac2000running124$28,765
142194Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord2000running121$28,265
151825Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2000running118$28,915
16321Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac2000running115$27,215
17163Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2000running112$32,865
183841Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet2000running109$29,165
191477Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord2000running106$19,265
203998Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord2000running103$20,765
213042Jim SauterTeam SABCOPontiac2000running100$25,640
22817Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet2001running102$25,440
233416Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord2000running94$25,215
242712Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord1990running91$25,015
251021Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord1990running88$19,565
26338Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord1990running85$17,465
271787Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet1990running82$24,315
283111Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord1990running79$24,265
294119Mike WallaceTriStar MotorsportsFord1990running76$16,665
304029Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet1990running73$21,115
311537John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord1760crash70$20,940
3299Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord1697crash72$21,890
3364Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet1670crash64$30,440
342515Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord1550ignition61$20,790
352422Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac1490fuel pump58$28,740
363597Chad LittleMark Rypien MotorsportsPontiac1110running55$13,715
371381Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord840crash52$13,690
38490Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord812engine54$13,740
39202Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord770engine46$28,615
403771Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet350engine43$13,615
413633Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet50crash40$20,615
Failed to qualify
4227Elton SawyerDavid Blair MotorsportsFord
4314Ron Hornaday Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet
Official race results

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Higgins . Tom . August 19, 1996 . Jarrett's ploy pays off . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20000815213730/http://www.thatsracin.com/96/docs/8_18gm.htm . August 15, 2000 . October 21, 2022 . That's Racin' . The Charlotte Observer.
  2. News: Atkins . Harry . August 19, 1996 . .168 seconds edge . 17 . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . October 21, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: August 16, 1996 . GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 . 28 . . October 21, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  4. News: Cotsonika . Nicholas J. . August 17, 1996 . Burton hits goal with pole . 33 . The News and Observer . October 21, 2022 . Newspapers.com.