The 1996 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1996, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 188 laps to 129 laps due to darkness caused by rain delays and lengthy crash cleanups. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to avoid numerous crashes and stay in front when the race was eventually called to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his sixth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1996 DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Sterling Marlin. | |||
| Date | July 28, 1996 | ||
| Official name | 28th Annual DieHard 500 | ||
| Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 129 laps, 343.14 mi (552.249 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Average speed | 133.387 miles per hour (214.666 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 100,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | ||
| Time | 49.779 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 40 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
On lap 117, a major crash involving 13 drivers, including the drivers of Dale Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin, would occur on the track's frontstretch. Marlin would be spun by hitting Ernie Irvan's front bumper, sending him into Earnhardt. Earnhardt would proceed to crash violently into the outside wall, sending Earnhardt into a flip before landing on all four wheels. In the midst of the chaos, others would be involved in the accident, with many placing blame on Irvan and Marlin for the crash. In the process, Earnhardt would be transported to the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama where he was diagnosed with a broken sternum and a broken left collarbone.[3]
Background
edit
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was originally scheduled split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 26, at 4:00 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.[4] However, on Saturday, July 27, rain would eventually force the cancellation of second-round qualifying, and the decision was made that positions 26-38 would be determined by their first round qualifying speeds 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.[5]
Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.779 and an average speed of 192.370 miles per hour (309.590 km/h) in the first round.[6]
Chad Little was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace
editRain Delay
editThe race was due to start at 12:15pm CST but rain delayed the start time to 3:35pm and ran eleven laps before rain red flagged the race at 4:09pm with the race restarting at 4:32pm and the race starting at 4:36pm on lap thirteen.
Race Start
editThe Big One
editOn lap 116, Earnhardt was leading with Marlin on his outside and Irvan behind him, the big one happened when Irvan got into Marlin which led him to turn into Earnhardt. Earnhardt was hit in the roof by Derrike Cope and on the side by Robert Pressley. The accident also collected Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Lake Speed, Brett Bodine, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Ward Burton, Ken Schrader, Greg Sacks and Ricky Craven. Martin had a puncture and Irvan had right front fender damage but both stayed on the lead lap, Craven fell a lap down and Bodine fell three laps down. The race was red flagged on lap 118 to clear up the cars of Earnhardt, Marlin, Pressley, Labonte, Speed, Burton, Schrader, Craven, and Dallenbach, Jr did not restart the race. Earnhardt was then sent to hospital with a broken collarbone.
Finish
editWight light fading, NASCAR elected to shorten the race with a five lap shootout from the green flag on lap 125. Gordon would win from Jarrett. The race would be completed by 7:05pm
Race results
editMedia
editTelevision
editThe Diehard 500 was covered by CBS in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1975 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, David Hobbs and Dick Berggren handled pit road for the television side. Due to the rain delay, CBS aired Golf instead but aired the race as an abridge broadcast on August 4th, the day after the 1996 Brickyard 400. This would be the last race David Hobbs would work with CBS as he would leave for Speedvision to cover their Formula One races.
| CBS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | |
| Ken Squier | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker |
Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren |
References
edit- ^ Harris, Mike (July 29, 1993). "Gordon triumphs as Earnhardt escapes serious injury". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 11. Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCollister, Tom (July 29, 1996). "Gordon first; Earnhardt injured". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 23. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (July 29, 1996). "Opinions differ on cause of crash". The Charlotte Observer. p. 20. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "DieHard 500". The Charlotte Observer. July 26, 1996. p. 22. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (July 28, 1996). "Mayfield has pole for Talladega race, but it may not help". The Charlotte Observer. p. 118. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harris, Mike (July 27, 1996). "Little-known Mayfield wins first Winston Cup pole". The Stuart News. p. 40. Retrieved January 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
