1996 NAPA 500
The 1996 NAPA 500 was the 31st and final stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 10, 1996, 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, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte would manage to dominate for a majority of the race to take his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1996 NAPA 500 program cover, with artwork by Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | November 10, 1996 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual NAPA 500 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
| Average speed | 134.661 miles per hour (216.716 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 29.476 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 147 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
In the process, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte, needing an eighth-place finish or better to clinch the championship, would ride to a fifth-place finish, finishing ahead of runnerup Jeff Gordon, Labonte's teammate by 37 points. The championship was Labonte's second and final championship of his career.[3]
Background
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.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, November 8, at 2:30 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, November 9, 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 26-38 would be decided on time,[4] 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.
Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.476 and an average speed of 185.887 miles per hour (299.156 km/h).[5]
Six drivers would fail to qualify: Derrike Cope, Jeremy Mayfield, Dick Trickle, Kenny Wallace, Ron Barfield Jr., and Kyle Petty.
Full qualifying results
Race results
References
- Green Jr., Ron (November 11, 1996). "Labontes take home all the prizes". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- Sonderegger, John (November 11, 1996). "At NAPA 500, Labontes Win More Than Race". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 24. Retrieved October 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harris, Mike (November 11, 1996). "Labonte, brothers cruise to race, NASCAR crowns". Citizens' Voice. p. 53. Retrieved October 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "NAPA 500". The Charlotte Observer. November 8, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved October 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Strubin, John (November 9, 1996). "'Other' Labonte might be factor in race for series title". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 101. Retrieved October 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.