The 1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 was the 21st stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, August 18, 1996, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would engage in a battle with Roush Racing driver Mark Martin, eventually passing Martin with seven laps to go and holding Martin off to come victorious in the race. The race was Jarrett's eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, the aforementioned Mark Martin and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | August 18, 1996 | ||
| Official name | 27th Annual GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 | ||
| Location | Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.2 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Average speed | 139.792 miles per hour (224.973 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 38.836 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 135 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NASCAR on ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 16, at 3:00 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, August 17, at 10:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-36 would be decided on time,[3] 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.
Jeff Burton, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 38.836 and an average speed of 185.395 miles per hour (298.364 km/h).[4]
Two drivers would fail to qualify: Elton Sawyer and Ron Hornaday Jr.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Higgins, Tom (August 19, 1996). "Jarrett's ploy pays off". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ Atkins, Harry (August 19, 1996). ".168 seconds edge". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "GM Goodwrench Dealer 400". The Charlotte Observer. August 16, 1996. p. 28. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas J. (August 17, 1996). "Burton hits goal with pole". The News and Observer. p. 33. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
