The 1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500, the 47th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on September 1, 1996 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested at 367 laps on the 1.366 mile (2.198 km) speedway, it was the 23rd race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 1996 Southern 500 program cover | |||
| Date | September 1, 1996 | ||
| Official name | Mountain Dew Southern 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway, Darlington County, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 10.2 miles per hour (16.4 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 135.757 miles per hour (218.480 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 143 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons | ||
Top 10 results
edit| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 3 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford |
| 4 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 6 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford |
| 8 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford |
| 10 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford |
Race statistics
edit- Time of race: 3:41:34
- Average Speed: 135.757 miles per hour (218.480 km/h)
- Pole Speed: 170.934
- Cautions: 6 for 37 laps
- Margin of Victory: 5.23 sec
- Lead changes: 29
- Percent of race run under caution: 10.1%
- Average green flag run: 47.1 laps
References
edit- ^ Weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ Race statistics at Race Database