The 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the tenth stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the third race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the seventh iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 7, 1995, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to make a late-race pass on the leader with two laps to go to take his 65th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover, featuring Ken Schrader and Mark Martin. | |||
| Date | May 7, 1995 | ||
| Official name | 7th Annual Save Mart Supermarkets 300 | ||
| Location | Sonoma, California, Sears Point Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.52 mi (4.06 km) | ||
| Distance | 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 74 laps, 186.48 mi (300.11 km) | ||
| Average speed | 70.681 miles per hour (113.750 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Rudd Performance Motorsports | ||
| Time | 1:38.467 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 66 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
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Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[3] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[4] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[5]
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, May 5, at 6:30 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, May 6, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-37 would be decided on time,[6] and four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while two more additional provisionals would be given to teams in the Winston West Series.
Ricky Rudd, driving for Rudd Performance Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:38.467 and an average speed of 92.132 miles per hour (148.272 km/h) in the first round.[7]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Spander, Art (May 8, 1995). "Earnhardt's one for the road". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 49. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Peterson, Anne M. (May 8, 1995). "Milestone win for Earnhardt". Citizens' Voice. p. 56. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sears Point". www.gt-racing.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Passing is tough in Chute | chronicle.augusta.com". 2011-06-07. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "SEARS POINT BREAKS GROUND ON MODIFIED CHUTE - RacingWest". 2007-09-29. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
- ^ "Save Mart 300". The Charlotte Observer. May 5, 1995. p. 28. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Peterson, Anne M. (May 6, 1995). "Rudd sets record in winning Save Mart pole". The Item. p. 15. Retrieved November 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
