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1996 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 11 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
	The 1996 Coca-Cola 600 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date	May 26, 1996
Official name	37th Annual Coca-Cola 600
Location	Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility; 1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Scheduled Distance	400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Average speed	147.581 miles per hour (237.509 km/h)
Attendance	165,000
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Gordon;
Time	29.384
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Jarrett
Laps	199
Winner
No. 88	Dale Jarrett
Television in the United States
Network	TBS
Announcers	Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren
Radio in the United States
Radio	Performance Racing Network

The 1996 Coca-Cola 600 was the 11th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 26, 1996, in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.^[1]^[2] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.

#	Driver	Team	Make	Sponsor
0	Delma Cowart	H. L. Waters Racing	Ford	Masters Inn Economy
1	Rick Mast	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	Hooters
2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	Miller
02	Robbie Faggart	Miles Motorsports	Chevrolet	Miles Motorsports
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	QVC
8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford	Circuit City
9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	Spam
10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	Tide
11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	Lowe's
12	Derrike Cope	Bobby Allison Motorsports	Ford	Mane 'n Tail
15	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	Hayes Modems
16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	PrimeStar, The Family Channel
17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	Parts America
18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries
19	Dick Trickle	TriStar Motorsports	Ford	HealthSource RI
21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	Citgo
22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac	MBNA
23	Jimmy Spencer	Travis Carter Enterprises	Ford	Camel Cigarettes
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont
25	Ken Schrader	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Budweiser
26	Hermie Sadler	Sadler Racing	Chevrolet	Peebles Department Stores
27	Elton Sawyer	David Blair Motorsports	Ford	David Blair Motorsports
28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Texaco, Havoline
29	Steve Grissom	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	Cartoon Network, The Flintstones
30	Johnny Benson Jr. (R)	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	Pennzoil
33	Robert Pressley	Leo Jackson Motorsports	Chevrolet	Skoal
37	Jeremy Mayfield	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	Kmart, Little Caesars
41	Ricky Craven	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Kodiak
42	Kyle Petty	Team SABCO	Pontiac	Coors Light Silver Bullet
43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	STP
49	Mark Gibson	Campbell Racing	Ford	49 Express Pit Stop
57	Steve Seligman	Seligman Racing	Ford	Matco Tools
63	Ed Berrier	Schnell Motorsports	Ford	Purina Hi-Pro
71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	Prodigy
75	Morgan Shepherd	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	Remington Arms
77	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	Jasper Engines & Transmissions
78	Randy MacDonald	Triad Motorsports	Ford	Diamond Rio, Hanes
81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	Square D, TIC Financial Systems
87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Chevrolet	Burger King
88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90	Dick Trickle	Donlavey Racing	Ford	Heilig-Meyers
94	Todd Bodine	Elliott-Hardy Racing	Ford	McDonald's Monopoly
95	Chuck Bown	Sadler Brothers Racing	Ford	Shoney's
97	Chad Little	Mark Rypien Motorsports	Pontiac	Sterling Cowboy
98	Jeremy Mayfield	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	RCA
99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	Exide

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 22, at 7:00 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 Thursday, May 23, at 6:00 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,^[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 provisionals 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.

Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.384 and an average speed of 183.773 miles per hour (295.754 km/h) in the first round.^[4]

Seven drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.	#	Driver	Team	Make	Time	Speed
1	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.384	183.773
2	41	Ricky Craven	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.528	182.877
3	37	John Andretti	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	29.529	182.871
4	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.594	182.469
5	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	29.606	182.395
6	97	Chad Little	Mark Rypien Motorsports	Pontiac	29.659	182.070
7	6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	29.675	181.971
8	21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	29.675	181.971
9	19	Dick Trickle	TriStar Motorsports	Ford	29.688	181.892
10	9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	29.700	181.818
11	30	Johnny Benson Jr. (R)	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	29.736	181.598
12	94	Todd Bodine	Elliott-Hardy Racing	Ford	29.741	181.568
13	99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	29.754	181.488
14	12	Derrike Cope	Bobby Allison Motorsports	Ford	29.762	181.439
15	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	29.774	181.366
16	81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	29.786	181.293
17	77	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	29.786	181.293
18	23	Jimmy Spencer	Travis Carter Enterprises	Ford	29.811	181.141
19	15	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	29.827	181.044
20	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	29.830	181.026
21	29	Steve Grissom	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.836	180.989
22	28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	29.850	180.905
23	25	Ken Schrader	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.853	180.886
24	98	Jeremy Mayfield	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	29.872	180.771
25	8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford	29.876	180.747
Failed to lock in Round 1
26	1	Rick Mast	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	29.897	180.620
27	90	Mike Wallace	Donlavey Racing	Ford	29.948	180.313
28	17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.949	180.307
29	33	Robert Pressley	Leo Jackson Motorsports	Chevrolet	29.995	180.030
30	10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	30.005	179.970
31	7	Geoff Bodine	Geoff Bodine Racing	Ford	30.037	179.778
32	42	Kyle Petty	Team SABCO	Pontiac	30.045	179.730
33	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.059	179.647
34	95	Chuck Bown	Sadler Brothers Racing	Ford	30.059	179.647
35	22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac	30.081	179.515
36	4	Sterling Marlin	Morgan–McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.132	179.211
37	43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	30.137	179.182
38	75	Morgan Shepherd	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	30.157	179.063
Provisionals
39	16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	-*	-*
40	11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	-*	-*
41	71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	-*	-*
42	27	Elton Sawyer	David Blair Motorsports	Ford	-*	-*
Champion's Provisional
43	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	-*	-*
Failed to qualify
44	78	Randy MacDonald	Triad Motorsports	Ford	-*	-*
45	63	Ed Berrier	Schnell Motorsports	Ford	-*	-*
46	26	Hermie Sadler	Sadler Racing	Chevrolet	-*	-*
47	49	Mark Gibson	Campbell Racing	Ford	-*	-*
48	02	Robbie Faggart	Miles Motorsports	Chevrolet	-*	-*
49	0	Delma Cowart	H. L. Waters Racing	Ford	-*	-*
50	57	Steve Seligman	Seligman Racing	Ford	-*	-*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

Fin	St	#	Driver	Team	Make	Laps	Led	Status	Pts	Winnings
1	15	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	400	199	running	185	$165,250
2	20	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	400	7	running	175	$97,000
3	4	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	59	running	170	$75,300
4	1	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	400	101	running	165	$118,200
5	23	25	Ken Schrader	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	399	0	running	155	$46,350
6	36	4	Sterling Marlin	Morgan–McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	399	9	running	155	$55,100
7	7	6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	399	0	running	146	$43,400
8	8	21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	399	0	running	142	$36,500
9	22	28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	398	0	running	138	$37,000
10	31	7	Geoff Bodine	Geoff Bodine Racing	Ford	398	0	running	134	$36,500
11	35	22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac	397	0	running	130	$34,150
12	26	1	Rick Mast	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	397	0	running	127	$29,150
13	28	17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	397	0	running	124	$27,700
14	14	12	Derrike Cope	Bobby Allison Motorsports	Ford	397	0	running	121	$26,450
15	30	10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	396	0	running	118	$30,620
16	21	29	Steve Grissom	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	395	0	running	115	$24,200
17	18	23	Jimmy Spencer	Travis Carter Enterprises	Ford	395	0	running	112	$23,350
18	13	99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	395	0	running	109	$15,490
19	19	15	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Bud Moore Engineering	Ford	393	0	running	106	$21,800
20	9	19	Dick Trickle	TriStar Motorsports	Ford	392	0	running	103	$16,325
21	42	27	Elton Sawyer	David Blair Motorsports	Ford	392	0	running	100	$13,490
22	5	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Chevrolet	391	13	running	102	$26,945
23	32	42	Kyle Petty	Team SABCO	Pontiac	391	0	running	94	$19,485
24	40	11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	389	0	running	91	$19,220
25	33	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Chevrolet	386	0	running	88	$19,210
26	17	77	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	369	0	running	85	$8,680
27	3	37	John Andretti	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	368	0	running	82	$22,170
28	25	8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford	364	0	running	79	$11,510
29	38	75	Morgan Shepherd	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	364	0	running	76	$11,480
30	39	16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	352	0	running	73	$18,465
31	37	43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	342	0	running	70	$15,455
32	16	81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	332	0	engine	67	$8,445
33	29	33	Robert Pressley	Leo Jackson Motorsports	Chevrolet	310	0	running	64	$15,435
34	43	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	300	0	running	61	$23,425
35	10	9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	213	0	handling	58	$15,720
36	12	94	Todd Bodine	Elliott-Hardy Racing	Ford	209	0	accident	55	$15,415
37	2	41	Ricky Craven	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	193	9	accident	57	$21,415
38	11	30	Johnny Benson Jr. (R)	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	192	0	accident	49	$16,400
39	27	90	Mike Wallace	Donlavey Racing	Ford	189	0	oil pump	46	$8,400
40	41	71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	138	3	accident	48	$9,300
41	24	98	Jeremy Mayfield	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	136	0	transmission	40	$8,400
42	34	95	Chuck Bown	Sadler Brothers Racing	Ford	68	0	handling	37	$8,400
43	6	97	Chad Little	Mark Rypien Motorsports	Pontiac	0	0	oil pump	34	$8,400
Failed to qualify
44		78	Randy MacDonald	Triad Motorsports	Ford
45		63	Ed Berrier	Schnell Motorsports	Ford
46		26	Hermie Sadler	Sadler Racing	Chevrolet
47		49	Mark Gibson	Campbell Racing	Ford
48		02	Robbie Faggart	Miles Motorsports	Chevrolet
49		0	Delma Cowart	H. L. Waters Racing	Ford
50		57	Steve Seligman	Seligman Racing	Ford
Official race results

References

^ Macenka, Joe (May 27, 1996). "Jarrett dominates Charlotte race". The Daily News Leader. p. 7. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Higgins, Tom (May 27, 1996). "Jarrett feels like a million". That's Racin'. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
^ "600 Week schedule". The Charlotte Observer. May 22, 1994. p. 86. Retrieved December 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Macenka, Joe (May 23, 1996). "Gordon paces Chevrolets in Coca-Cola 600 trials". The Stuart News. p. 22. Retrieved December 28, 2022.