1996 Winston Cup Series

1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Duration	February 18, 1996 through November 10, 1996
TV	CBS/TNN/TBS; ESPN/ABC
Season Statistics
No. of races	31
First race	1996 Daytona 500
Last race	1996 NAPA 500
Drivers' champion	Terry Labonte
Manufacturers' champion	Chevrolet
Rookie of the Year	Johnny Benson, Jr
Most popular driver	Bill Elliott
Previous	1995
Next	1997

The 1996 Winston Cup Series was the 48th season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 and ended with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 10.

Terry Labonte won his second NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship in his 18th full time season. It came 12 years after his first championship in 1984, the longest span between championships in Cup history. Terry Labonte also became NASCAR's "Ironman" by breaking Richard Petty's consecutive start streak in his 514th consecutive race at the First Union 400. He held off teammate Jeff Gordon, who won 10 races to Labonte's 2, but had a more inconsistent season than Labonte. It was the second driver's championship won by Hendrick Motorsports.

The season was notable for being the final season with official races at North Wilkesboro Speedway (as of 2023), as well as the first season where NASCAR ran an exhibition race in Japan. Petty Enterprises returned to victory lane for the first time since 1984 with Bobby Hamilton's first career win at Phoenix, and they posted their best points finish since 1987.

Ernie Irvan returned to full time Cup competition driving the #28 Robert Yates Racing Ford, which led to the creation of a second Robert Yates Racing team, the #88, driven by Dale Jarrett. Jarrett would win 4 races with his new team, including the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip left Bahari Racing, replacing Morgan Shepherd at Wood Brothers, and he scored a win at the Winston Select All-Star Race. Finally, Jeff Burton joined Roush Racing in a new third team, the #99. He would drive the #99 for the next 9 seasons. Johnny Benson, the 1995 Busch Grand National Series Champion, moved up to the Cup Series, replacing Waltrip at Bahari. He would win the Rookie of the Year award by default.

1996 Winston Cup Team Chart

No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Team/Owner
1	Rick Mast	Hooters	Ford	Richard Jackson
2	Rusty Wallace	Miller	Ford	Penske Racing
3	Dale Earnhardt	GM Goodwrench	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing
4	Sterling Marlin	Kodak Max	Chevrolet	Morgan-McClure Motorsports
5	Terry Labonte	Kellogg's Corn Flakes	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports
6	Mark Martin	Valvoline	Ford	Roush Racing
7	Geoffery Bodine	QVC	Ford	himself
8	Hut Stricklin	Circuit City	Ford	Stavola Brothers
9	Lake Speed	Spam	Ford	Harry Melling
10	Ricky Rudd	Tide	Ford	himself
11	Brett Bodine	Lowe's	Ford	Junior Johnson
12	Derrike Cope	Badcock/Mane N' Tail	Ford	Bobby Allison
15	Wally Dallenbach, Jr	Hayes Modems	Ford	Bud Moore
16	Ted Musgrave	Family Channel	Ford	Roush Racing
17	Darrell Waltrip	Western Auto	Chevrolet	himself
18	Bobby Labonte	Interstate Batteries	Chevrolet	Joe Gibbs Racing
19	Loy Allen, Jr.	Healthsource	Ford	Tri-Star Motorsports
21	Michael Waltrip	Citgo	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing
22	Ward Burton	MBNA	Pontiac	Bill Davis Racing
23	Jimmy Spencer	Smokin' Joes	Ford	Travis Carter
24	Jeff Gordon (C)	DuPont	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports
25	Ken Schrader	Budweiser	Chdevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports
27	Elton Sawyer		Ford	Junior Johnson
28	Ernie Irvan	Texaco/Havoline	Ford	Robert Yates Racing
29	Steve Grissom	Cartoon Network	Chevrolet	Gary Bechtel
30	Johnny Benson, Jr. (ROTY)	Pennzoil	Pontiac	Chuck Rider
33	Robert Pressley	Skoal Bandit	Chevrolet	Leo Jackson
37	John Andretti	K-Mart/Little Caesars	Ford	Michael Kranefuss
41	Ricky Craven	Kodiak	Chevrolet	Larry Hedrick Motorsports
42	Kyle Petty	Coors Light	Pontiac	Felix Sabates
43	Bobby Hamilton	STP	Pontiac	Petty Enterprises
44	Jeff Purvis	Jackaroo	Chevrolet	James Finch
71	Dave Marcis	Prodigy Internet	Chevrolet	himself
75	Morgan Shepherd	Remington Arms	Ford	Butch Mock
77	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	Jasper Engines	Ford	Jasper Racing
81	Kenny Wallace	Square D	Ford	Fil Martocci
87	Joe Nemechek	Burger King	Chevrolet	himself
88	Dale Jarrett	Quality Care/Red Carpet Lease	Ford	Robert Yates Racing
90	Mike Wallace Dick Trickle	Heilig Meyers	Ford	Junie Donlavey
94	Bill Elliott	McDonalds	Ford	himself
98	Jeremy Mayfield	RCA	Ford	Cale Yarborough
99	Jeff Burton	Exide Batteries	Ford	Roush Racing

• (C)=Champion
• (ROTY)=Rookie of the Year

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 11, 1996	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
	February 15, 1996	Gatorade Twin 125s	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
1	February 18, 1996	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
2	February 25, 1996	Goodwrench Service 400	North Carolina Speedway	TNN
3	March 3, 1996	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway	ESPN
4	March 10, 1996	Purolator 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ABC
5	March 24, 1996	TranSouth Financial 400	Darlington Raceway	ESPN
6	March 31, 1996	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
7	April 14, 1996	First Union 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	ESPN
8	April 21, 1996	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN
9	April 28, 1996	Winston Select 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ESPN
10	May 5, 1996	Save Mart Supermarkets 300	Sears Point Raceway	ESPN
	May 18, 1996	Winston Select	Charlotte Motor Speedway	TNN
11	May 26, 1996	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	TBS
12	June 2, 1996	Miller 500	Dover Downs International Speedway	TNN
13	June 16, 1996	UAW-GM Teamwork 500	Pocono Raceway	TNN
14	June 23, 1996	Miller 400	Michigan Speedway	CBS
15	July 6, 1996	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway	ESPN
16	July 14, 1996	Jiffy Lube 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNN
17	July 21, 1996	Miller 500	Pocono Raceway	TBS
18	July 28, 1996	DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway	CBS
19	August 3, 1996	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ABC
20	August 11, 1996	The Bud At The Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN
21	August 18, 1996	GM Goodwrench Dealer 400	Michigan Speedway	ESPN
22	August 24, 1996	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
23	September 1, 1996	Mountain Dew Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	ESPN
24	September 7, 1996	Miller 400	Richmond International Raceway	ESPN
25	September 15, 1996	MBNA 500	Dover Downs International Speedway	TNN
26	September 22, 1996	Hanes 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN
27	September 29, 1996	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	ESPN
28	October 6, 1996	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway	TBS
29	October 20, 1996	AC-Delco 400	North Carolina Speedway	TNN
30	October 27, 1996	Dura Lube 500	Phoenix International Raceway	TNN
31	November 10, 1996	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN
	November 24, 1996	NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special	Suzuka Circuit	TBS

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	1996 Busch Clash	Rick Mast	Dale Jarrett	Ford	1	0	184.995	3
	1996 Gatorade Twin 125 (Race #1)	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	3	10	143.039	2
	1996 Gatorade Twin 125 (Race #2)	Ernie Irvan	Ernie Irvan	Ford	0	0	186.027	0
1	1996 Daytona 500	Dale Earnhardt	Dale Jarrett	Ford	6	26	154.308	32
2	1996 Goodwrench Service 400	Terry Labonte	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	10	66	113.959	22
3	1996 Pontiac Excitement 400	Terry Labonte	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	8	36	102.750	25
4	1996 Purolator 500	Johnny Benson, Jr	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	3	13	161.298	30
5	1996 TranSouth Financial 400	Ward Burton	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	11	56	124.792	15
6	1996 Food City 500	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	5	37	91.308	7
7	1996 First Union 400	Terry Labonte	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	3	25	96.370	17
8	1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500	Ricky Craven	Rusty Wallace	Ford	6	36	81.410	18
9	1996 Winston Select 500	Ernie Irvan	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	6	31	149.999	24
10	1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300	Terry Labonte	Rusty Wallace	Ford	5	10	77.673	9
	1996 Winston Select	Jeff Gordon	Michael Waltrip	Ford	1	3	162.721	6
11	1996 Coca-Cola 600	Jeff Gordon	Dale Jarrett	Ford	6	35	147.581	20
12	1996 Miller 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	5	38	122.741	19
13	1996 UAW-GM Teamwork 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	4	23	139.104	26
14	1996 Miller 400	Bobby Hamilton	Rusty Wallace	Ford	2	8	166.033	17
15	1996 Pepsi 400	Jeff Gordon	Sterling Marlin	Chevrolet	3	11	161.602	9
16	1996 Jiffy Lube 300	Ricky Craven	Ernie Irvan	Ford	8	49	98.930	23
17	1996 Miller 500	Mark Martin	Rusty Wallace	Ford	4	17	144.892	23
18	1996 DieHard 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	5	35	133.387	24
19	1996 Brickyard 400	Jeff Gordon	Dale Jarrett	Ford	5	21	139.508	18
20	1996 The Bud At The Glen	Dale Earnhardt	Geoffrey Bodine	Ford	4	11	92.334	8
21	1996 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400	Jeff Burton	Dale Jarrett	Ford	8	36	139.792	13
22	1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500	Mark Martin	Rusty Wallace	Ford	8	67	91.267	8
23	1996 Mountain Dew Southern 500	Dale Jarrett	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	6	37	135.757	29
24	1996 Miller 400	Mark Martin	Ernie Irvan	Ford	4	24	105.469	16
25	1996 MBNA 500	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	14	91	105.646	28
26	1996 Hanes 500	Bobby Hamilton	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	7	35	82.223	11
27	1996 Tyson Holly Farms 400	Ted Musgrave	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	4	29	96.837	18
28	1996 UAW-GM Quality 500	Bobby Labonte	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	5	37	143.143	21
29	1996 AC-Delco 400	Dale Jarrett	Ricky Rudd	Ford	7	46	122.320	21
30	1996 Dura Lube 500	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Hamilton	Pontiac	5	25	109.709	19
31	1996 NAPA 500	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Labonte	Chevrolet	8	47	134.661	27
	1996 NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Ford	5	10	71.897	4

Final Point Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Terry Labonte	31	2	21	24	4	4657
2	Jeff Gordon	31	10	21	24	5	4620	-37
3	Dale Jarrett	31	4	17	21	2	4568	-89
4	Dale Earnhardt	31	2	13	17	2	4327	-330
5	Mark Martin	31	0	14	23	4	4278	-379
6	Ricky Rudd	31	1	5	16	0	3845	-812
7	Rusty Wallace	31	5	8	18	0	3717	-940
8	Sterling Marlin	31	2	5	10	0	3682	-975
9	Bobby Hamilton	31	1	3	11	2	3639	-1,018
10	Ernie Irvan	31	2	12	16	1	3632	-1,025
11	Bobby Labonte	31	1	5	14	4	3590	-1,067
12	Ken Schrader	31	0	3	10	0	3540	-1,117
13	Jeff Burton	30	0	6	12	1	3538	-1,119
14	Michael Waltrip	31	0	1	11	0	3535	-1,122
15	Jimmy Spencer	31	0	2	9	0	3476	-1,181
16	Ted Musgrave	31	0	2	7	1	3466	-1,191
17	Geoffrey Bodine	31	1	2	6	0	3218	-1,439
18	Rick Mast	31	0	1	5	0	3190	-1,467
19	Morgan Shepherd	31	0	1	5	0	3133	-1,524
20	Ricky Craven	31	0	3	5	2	3078	-1,579
21	Johnny Benson, Jr.	30	0	1	6	1	3004	-1,653
22	Hut Stricklin	31	0	1	1	0	2854	-1,803
23	Lake Speed	31	0	0	2	0	2834	-1,823
24	Brett Bodine	30	0	0	1	0	2814	-1,843
25	Wally Dallenbach, Jr.	30	0	1	3	0	2786	-1,871
26	Jeremy Mayfield	30	0	2	2	1	2721	-1,936
27	Kyle Petty	28	0	0	2	0	2696	-1,961
28	Kenny Wallace	30	0	0	2	0	2694	-1,963
29	Darrell Waltrip	31	0	0	2	0	2657	-2,000
30	Bill Elliott	24	0	0	6	0	2627	-2,030
31	John Andretti	30	0	2	3	0	2621	-2,036
32	Robert Pressley	30	0	2	3	0	2485	-2,172
33	Ward Burton	27	0	0	4	1	2411	-2,246
34	Joe Nemechek	29	0	0	2	0	2391	-2,266
35	Derrike Cope	29	0	0	3	0	2374	-2,283
36	Dick Trickle	26	0	0	1	0	2131	-2,526
37	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	26	0	0	0	0	2128	-2,529
38	Dave Marcis	27	0	0	0	0	2047	-2,610
39	Steve Grissom	13	0	1	2	0	1188	-3,469
40	Todd Bodine	10	0	0	1	0	991	-3,666
41	Mike Wallace	11	0	0	0	0	799	-3,858
42	Greg Sacks	9	0	0	0	0	710	-3,947
43	Elton Sawyer	9	0	0	0	0	705	-3,952
44	Chad Little	9	0	0	0	0	627	-4,030
45	Loy Allen, Jr.	9	0	0	0	0	603	-4,054
46	Gary Bradberry	9	0	0	0	0	591	-4,066
47	Mike Skinner	5	0	0	0	0	529	-4,128
48	Jeff Purvis	4	0	0	0	0	328	-4,329
49	Jeff Green	4	0	0	0	0	247	-4,410
50	Randy MacDonald	3	0	0	0	0	228	-4,429

Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

Johnny Benson, Jr. won the Rookie of the Year award for 1996. He was the only eligible competitor for the award, as Randy MacDonald and Stacy Compton both declared for the Rookie of the Year award, but did not run the minimum required 7 races to be eligible. Gary Bradberry did not declare for the award, but ran 9 races, making him ineligible from competing for the Rookie of the Year award in future seasons.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Points	Race Wins
1	Johnny Benson, Jr	216	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 17 wins, Chevrolet won the 1996 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1	Chevrolet	233	17
2	Ford	223	13
3	Pontiac	133	1

External Links

|}