1995 NAPA 500
Race details | |||
---|---|---|---|
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 | ||
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)[1] | ||
Average speed | 163.633 miles per hour (263.342 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Darrell Waltrip | 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 is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 12, 1995, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, U.S.A..
Summary
Dale Earnhardt defeated Sterling Marlin by nearly four seconds after 22 lead changes and two grueling cautions for 11 laps.[2][3] 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.[2][3][4] 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.[2] 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.[2][3] The #26 of Hut Stricklin would be involved in an accident on the third turn.[2] Billy Standridge, Jack Sprague, Mike Wallace, Shane Hall, Delma Cowart, and Eric Smith would fail to qualify for this race.[2] Out of the 42-driver grid, only six of them would not finish the race.[2][3] All 42 of the qualifying drivers were born in the United States of America.[2]
Most of the field would have Chevrolet and Ford as their manufacturer while Pontiac would bring a limited amount of vehicles.[2][3] The average speed of the race was 163.632 miles per hour or 263.340 kilometres per hour.[2][3] Jeff Gordon would go on to win the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship after this race.[2][3]
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
- Sterling Marlin
- Rusty Wallace
- Bill Elliott
- Ward Burton
- Jimmy Spencer
- Ernie Irvan
- Bobby Labonte
- Bobby Hillin, Jr.
- Ricky Rudd
- Geoffrey Bodine
- Michael Waltrip
- Terry Labonte
- Joe Nemechek
- John Andretti
- Darrell Waltrip
- Mark Martin
- Jeremy Mayfield
- Lake Speed
- Brett Bodine
Timeline
- Start of race: Darrell Waltrip had the pole position to start the race
- Lap 72: Caution for debris; ended on lap 77
- 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 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 202: Hut Stricklin had a terminal crash
- Lap 204: Caution due to a one-car accident; ended on lap 208
- Lap 289: Dave Marcis' engine gave out; making him the 37th place finisher in the race
- End of race: Dale Earnhardt won the race
Standings after the race
Pos | Driver | Points[2] |
---|---|---|
1 | Jeff Gordon | 4614 |
2 | Dale Earnhardt | 4580 |
3 | Sterling Marlin | 4361 |
4 | Mark Martin | 4320 |
5 | Rusty Wallace | 4240 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1995 NAPA 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 1995 NAPA 500 racing results at Racing Reference
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 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 |