1995 NAPA 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held. | |||
| Date | November 12, 1995 | ||
| Official name | NAPA 500 | ||
| Location | Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | ||
| Distance | 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures ranging between 30 °F (−1 °C) and 66 °F (19 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 163.633 miles per hour (263.342 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | DarWal Inc. | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 268 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers |
Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Ned Jarrett | ||
The 1995 NAPA 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 12, 1995, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.
Background
Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[2] The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.[3]
Summary
Dale Earnhardt defeated Sterling Marlin by nearly four seconds after 22 lead changes and two grueling cautions for 11 laps.[4][5] Earnhardt started in 11th place and came back from behind to win this race; which lasted for more than three hours and was the final race in NASCAR's pre-Internet era.[4][5][6] Darrell Waltrip would earn the race's pole position with a lightning fast qualifying speed of 185.046 miles per hour or 297.803 kilometres per hour.[4] Ken Schrader would earn the last-place position of the race due to an engine problem on the 92nd lap of this 328-lap race.[4][5] The #26 of Hut Stricklin would be involved in an accident on the third turn.[4] Billy Standridge, Jack Sprague, Mike Wallace, Shane Hall, Delma Cowart, and Eric Smith would fail to qualify for this race.[4] Out of the 42-driver grid, only six of them would not finish the race.[4][5] All 42 of the qualifying drivers were born in the United States of America.[4]
Most of the field would have Chevrolet and Ford as their manufacturer while Pontiac would bring a limited amount of vehicles.[4][5] The average speed of the race was 163.632 miles per hour or 263.340 kilometres per hour.[4][5] Jeff Gordon would go on to win the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship after this race.[4][5]
There was an opportunity for Dale Earnhardt to defeat Jeff Gordon by one point. Had Dale Earnhardt won the race and Jeff Gordon either finished in 42nd place or last place, Earnhardt would have won the championship. Jeff Purvis was used as a start-and-park driver to guarantee that Jeff would win the championship that year. Kenny Bernstein would retire from his career as a NASCAR team owner to spend more time with his family after this race.
Top twenty finishers
- Dale Earnhardt (No. 3)
- Sterling Marlin (No. 4)
- Rusty Wallace (No. 2)
- Bill Elliott (No. 94)
- Ward Burton (No. 22)
- Jimmy Spencer (No. 23)
- Ernie Irvan (No. 88)
- Bobby Labonte (No. 18)
- Bobby Hillin, Jr. (No. 77)
- Ricky Rudd (No. 10)
- Geoffrey Bodine (No. 7)
- Michael Waltrip (No. 30)
- Terry Labonte (No. 5)
- Joe Nemechek (No. 87)
- John Andretti (No. 37)
- Darrell Waltrip (No. 17)
- Mark Martin (No. 6)
- Jeremy Mayfield (No. 98)
- Lake Speed (No. 9)
- Brett Bodine (No. 11)
Timeline
- Start of race: Darrell Waltrip had the pole position to start the race
- Lap 2: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 7: Bobby Hamilton took over the lead from Ricky Rudd
- Lap 16: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Bobby Hamilton
- Lap 18: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Ricky Rudd
- Lap 55: Darrell Waltrip took overt the lead from Dale Earnhardt
- Lap 56: Sterling Marlin took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip
- Lap 61: Jeff Gordon took over the lead from Sterling Marlin
- Lap 62: Bill Elliott took over the lead from Jeff Gordon
- Lap 64: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bill Elliott
- Lap 72: Caution for debris; ended on lap 77
- Lap 82: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Ricky Rudd
- Lap 92: Ken Schrader became the last-place finisher due to a faulty engine
- Lap 104: Robert Pressley had problems with his engine, forcing him to end the race early
- Lap 138: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Labonte
- Lap 141: Todd Bodine's engine started acting up, ending his NASCAR race weekend prematurely
- Lap 194: Steve Grissom's transmission stopped working properly, causing him to be the fourth DNF
- Lap 201: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bobby Labonte
- Lap 202: Hut Stricklin had a terminal crash
- Lap 204: Caution due to Hut Stricklin's accident, ended on lap 208
- Lap 270: Dale Earnhardt took over the lead from Bill Elliott
- Lap 289: Dave Marcis' engine gave out, making him the 37th-place finisher in the race
- Finish: Dale Earnhardt was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[4] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 4614 | 0 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 4580 | -34 |
| 3 | Sterling Marlin | 4361 | -253 |
| 4 | Mark Martin | 4320 | -294 |
| 5 | Rusty Wallace | 4240 | -374 |
| 6 | Terry Labonte | 4146 | -468 |
| 7 | Ted Musgrave | 3949 | -665 |
| 8 | Bill Elliott | 3746 | -868 |
| 9 | Ricky Rudd | 3734 | -880 |
| 10 | Bobby Labonte | 3718 | -896 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1995 NAPA 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1995 NAPA 500 racing results at Racing Reference
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1995 NAPA 500 results at Race-Database
- ↑ NASCAR Race Results for the 1995 NAPA 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
| Preceded by 1995 Dura Lube 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1995-96 |
Succeeded by 1996 Daytona 500 |