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1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500

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1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500
Race details
Race 23 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500 program cover, featuring Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, and Mark Martin.
The 1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500 program cover, featuring Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, and Mark Martin.
Date September 3, 1995
Official name 46th Annual Mountain Dew Southern 500
Location Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.221 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Scheduled Distance 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km)
Average speed 121.231 miles per hour (195.102 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Kranefuss-Haas Racing
Time 29.380
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 208
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1995 Mountain Dew Southern 500 was the 23rd stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 46th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 3, 1995, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 367 laps to complete. On the final restart with nine to go, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to pull away from the field to take his eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

[edit]
The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Entry list

[edit]
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford Exide
8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Spam
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Lowe's
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford Ford Quality Care
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford HealthSource RI
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Smokin' Joe's
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
26 Hut Stricklin King Racing Ford Quaker State
27 Elton Sawyer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Hooters
28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Meineke
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Greg Sacks A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet Hardee's
32 Ed Berrier Active Motorsports Chevrolet ATS Wood Recycling
33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Little Caesars, Kmart
40 Rich Bickle Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac Kendall
41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light Silver Bullet
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
66 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford Duragloss
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Terramite
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford US Airways, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Burger King
88 Gary Bradberry Bradberry Racing Chevrolet Bradberry Racing
90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford McDonald's
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 24, at 2:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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, March 25, at 10:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-38 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; up to four 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.

John Andretti, driving for Kranefuss-Haas Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.380 and an average speed of 167.379 miles per hour (269.370 km/h) in the first round.[4]

Three drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

[edit]
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 29.380 167.379
2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 29.414 167.186
3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.535 166.501
4 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 29.557 166.377
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.559 166.366
6 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.611 166.073
7 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 29.682 165.676
8 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 29.684 165.665
9 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 29.756 165.264
10 26 Hut Stricklin King Racing Ford 29.759 165.247
11 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 29.767 165.203
12 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.771 165.181
13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 29.803 165.004
14 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 29.848 164.755
15 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 29.870 164.633
16 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.884 164.556
17 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.885 164.551
18 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 29.887 164.540
19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 29.887 164.540
20 31 Greg Sacks A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 29.888 164.534
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 29.642 165.900
22 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.671 165.738
23 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 29.768 165.198
24 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 29.780 165.131
25 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 29.785 165.103
26 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 29.799 165.026
27 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 29.810 164.965
28 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 29.819 164.915
29 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 29.845 164.771
30 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.852 164.733
31 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 29.853 164.727
32 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 29.899 164.474
33 19 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 29.913 164.397
34 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 29.914 164.391
35 27 Elton Sawyer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 29.921 164.353
36 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.952 164.183
37 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 29.960 164.139
38 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.012 163.854
Provisionals
39 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford -* -*
40 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac -* -*
41 40 Rich Bickle Team SABCO Pontiac -* -*
42 32 Ed Berrier Active Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 66 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford -* -*
44 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford -* -*
45 88 Gary Bradberry Bradberry Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

[edit]
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 367 54 running 180 $70,630
2 3 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 367 208 running 180 $62,155
3 21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 367 9 running 170 $40,580
4 8 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 367 1 running 165 $39,090
5 25 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 367 1 running 160 $28,870
6 2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 367 37 running 155 $34,865
7 10 26 Hut Stricklin King Racing Ford 367 0 running 146 $20,620
8 13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 367 0 running 142 $27,700
9 7 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 367 0 running 138 $18,670
10 6 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 367 1 running 139 $29,580
11 30 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 367 0 running 130 $22,740
12 1 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 367 41 running 132 $24,445
13 32 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 366 0 running 124 $12,955
14 22 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 365 0 running 121 $16,965
15 31 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 363 0 running 118 $17,775
16 26 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 363 0 running 115 $21,405
17 15 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 361 0 running 112 $22,535
18 17 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 361 0 running 109 $17,260
19 16 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 360 0 running 106 $26,680
20 42 32 Ed Berrier Active Motorsports Chevrolet 358 0 running 103 $15,460
21 41 40 Rich Bickle Team SABCO Pontiac 352 0 running 100 $16,375
22 28 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 350 0 engine 97 $19,855
23 38 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 349 0 running 94 $19,635
24 40 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 347 0 running 91 $19,360
25 14 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 342 0 running 88 $14,350
26 39 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 333 0 running 85 $18,890
27 34 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 333 0 running 82 $13,680
28 12 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 331 0 running 79 $24,870
29 11 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 325 0 running 76 $13,360
30 27 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 322 0 running 73 $13,300
31 23 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 319 0 running 70 $23,115
32 35 27 Elton Sawyer Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 313 0 handling 67 $18,025
33 36 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 313 0 running 64 $23,960
34 33 19 Loy Allen Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 309 0 running 61 $9,925
35 9 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 308 1 running 63 $24,415
36 4 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 292 0 crash 55 $17,255
37 19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 289 0 running 52 $9,691
38 20 31 Greg Sacks A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 264 0 crash 49 $9,545
39 29 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 264 0 engine 46 $9,545
40 18 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 263 0 crash 43 $14,545
41 24 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 251 1 crash 45 $10,545
42 37 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 147 13 crash 42 $14,545
Failed to qualify
43 66 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford
44 52 Brad Teague Jimmy Means Racing Ford
45 88 Gary Bradberry Bradberry Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Iacobelli, Pete (September 4, 1995). "Gordon edges out Earnhardt". Morning Sentinel. p. 12. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ Woody, Larry (September 4, 1995). "Gordon has positive spin on his mishap". The Tennessean. p. 21. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Southern 500". The Charlotte Observer. September 1, 1995. p. 31. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Higgins, Tom (September 2, 1995). "John Andretti wins 1st pole". The Anniston Star. p. 21. Retrieved January 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
Previous race:
1995 Goody's 500 (Bristol)
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1995 season
Next race:
1995 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Richmond)