The 1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the tenth stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the fourth race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the eighth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 5, 1996, in Sonoma, California, 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, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to pull away on the final restart with six to go to take his 43rd 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 Bud Moore Engineering driver Wally Dallenbach Jr. would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover. | |||
| Date | May 5, 1996 | ||
| Official name | 8th 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 | 77.673 miles per hour (125.003 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 102,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 1:38.050 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| Laps | 36 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| 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 3, at 6:00 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. 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 4, at 3:00 PM 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,[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.
Terry Labonte, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:38.050 and an average speed of 92.524 miles per hour (148.903 km/h).[7]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify: Geoff Bodine, Chad Little, Mark Krogh, Joe Bean, Wayne Jacks, Bill McAnally, and Lance Hooper.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (May 6, 1996). "Wallace springs into action at Sears Point". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
- ^ "Wallace wins in California". Asheville Citizen-Times. May 6, 1996. p. 19. Retrieved October 14, 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 3, 1996. p. 28. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Higgins, Tom (May 4, 1996). "Terry Labonte wins fourth pole this year". The Anniston Star. p. 15. Retrieved October 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
