1995 Purolator 500

The 1995 Purolator 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 36th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 12, 1995, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to dominate the majority of the race to take his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.

1995 Purolator 500
Race details
Race 4 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1995 Purolator 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
The 1995 Purolator 500 program cover, featuring Bill Elliott.
Date March 12, 1995
Official name 36th Annual Purolator 500
Location Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Scheduled Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Average speed 150.115 miles per hour (241.587 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Richard Childress Racing
Time 29.605
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 250
Winner
No. 3 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

The layout of Atlanta Motor Speedway, the circuit where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

  • (R) - denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford Exide
8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Spam
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Lowe's
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford Ford Quality Care
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford TriStar Motorsports
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Smokin' Joe's
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford Quaker State
27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Hooters
28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Meineke
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet Hardee's
32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet Active Trucking
33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Little Caesars, Kmart
40 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac Kendall
41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light Silver Bullet
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Jackaroo Barby-Q-Sauce
47 Billy Standridge Standridge Motorsports Ford World Championship Wrestling
52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford NAPA Auto Parts
66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford DuraGloss
67 Ken Bouchard Cunningham Racing Ford Cunningham Racing
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Olive Garden
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
76 Johnny Chapman RaDiUs Motorsports Ford RaDiUs Motorsports
77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford US Airways, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
78 Pancho Carter Triad Motorsports Ford Equipment Supply Company
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford TIC Financial Systems
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Burger King
90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford McDonald's
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 10, at 12:30 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, March 11, at 11:00 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; up to four provisionals were given. 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.

Dale Earnhardt, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.605 and an average speed of 185.077 miles per hour (297.853 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Eight cars would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.605 185.077
2 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 29.610 185.046
3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.705 184.454
4 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 29.728 184.311
5 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.824 183.718
6 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 29.836 183.644
7 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.839 183.625
8 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 29.848 183.570
9 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.858 183.509
10 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 29.865 183.466
11 32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet 29.933 183.049
12 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 29.970 182.823
13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.978 182.774
14 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 29.990 182.701
15 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 30.028 182.470
16 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 30.072 182.203
17 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.074 182.191
18 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 30.083 182.136
19 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 30.113 181.955
20 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 30.120 181.912
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 30.073 182.197
22 44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 30.122 181.900
23 26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford 30.133 181.834
24 40 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Pontiac 30.137 181.810
25 77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford 30.137 181.810
26 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 30.139 181.798
27 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 30.173 181.593
28 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 30.173 181.593
29 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.179 181.557
30 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 30.236 181.214
31 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 30.238 181.202
32 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.240 181.190
33 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 30.251 181.125
34 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 30.262 181.059
35 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 30.277 180.969
36 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 30.344 180.569
37 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 30.370 180.415
38 19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford 30.378 180.367
Provisionals
39 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac -* -*
40 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac -* -*
41 22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac -* -*
42 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 31 Ward Burton TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
44 52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford -* -*
45 27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford -* -*
46 67 Ken Bouchard Cunningham Racing Ford -* -*
47 76 Johnny Chapman RaDiUs Motorsports Ford -* -*
48 66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford -* -*
49 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford -* -*
50 78 Pancho Carter Triad Motorsports Ford -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 250 running 185 $104,950
2 2 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 328 7 running 175 $50,000
3 5 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 2 running 170 $44,150
4 1 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 62 running 165 $52,950
5 18 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 327 0 running 155 $33,725
6 17 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 327 0 running 150 $24,950
7 7 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 327 0 running 146 $27,200
8 6 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 327 0 running 142 $26,200
9 13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 326 0 running 138 $26,500
10 12 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 326 0 running 134 $28,100
11 19 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 326 0 running 130 $20,870
12 32 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 0 running 127 $18,350
13 8 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 325 0 running 124 $15,030
14 40 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 325 1 running 126 $19,360
15 21 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 324 0 running 118 $11,580
16 20 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 324 0 running 115 $10,320
17 9 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 324 0 running 112 $14,310
18 16 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 324 0 running 109 $14,090
19 27 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 323 0 running 106 $18,780
20 15 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 323 0 running 103 $11,060
21 37 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 323 0 running 100 $18,450
22 10 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 322 0 running 97 $18,290
23 31 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 322 0 running 94 $22,580
24 25 77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford 320 0 running 91 $13,445
25 36 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford 307 0 running 88 $9,540
26 35 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 302 0 engine 85 $9,285
27 29 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 298 4 crash 87 $17,575
28 33 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 296 0 running 79 $9,100
29 24 40 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Pontiac 272 0 engine 76 $17,285
30 34 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 263 0 handling 73 $23,450
31 30 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 258 0 running 70 $16,990
32 42 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 248 0 running 67 $11,830
33 28 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 191 0 engine 64 $16,635
34 4 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 187 2 engine 66 $16,600
35 39 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 147 0 crash 58 $16,065
36 14 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 146 0 crash 55 $8,540
37 22 44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 146 0 crash 52 $8,525
38 11 32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet 93 0 engine 49 $8,445
39 41 22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 67 0 engine 46 $13,445
40 26 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 33 0 engine 43 $9,445
41 23 26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford 9 0 crash 40 $13,445
42 38 19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford 9 0 crash 37 $8,445
Failed to qualify
43 31 Ward Burton TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
44 52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford
45 27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford
46 67 Ken Bouchard Cunningham Racing Ford
47 76 Johnny Chapman RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
48 66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
49 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford
50 78 Pancho Carter Triad Motorsports Ford
Official race results

References

  1. Higgins, Tom (March 13, 1995). "Gordon holds off late charge". Kenosha News. p. 22. Retrieved December 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. Harris, Mike (March 13, 1995). "Mystery unsolved, but Gordon wins the Purolator 500". The Park City Daily News. p. 10. Retrieved December 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "Nuts and Bolts". The Charlotte Observer. March 10, 1995. p. 17. Retrieved December 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. McLaurin, Jim (March 11, 1995). "Earnhardt gets pole, but wants perfection". The State. p. 30. Retrieved December 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com. open access
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