|| *Comments on the 1996 Pontiac Excitement 400:* View the most recent comment <#24> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Djrfan posted: 09.08.2005 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon wins the 10th race of his career. 2. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.20.2005 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) This race marked the final time Richmond would have an early season race date. It was for the best too as fans and crew members were well bundled for this race. 3. Jeff posted: 01.10.2006 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The last time they ran Richmond early in the season was 1997,not '96. 4. Anonymous posted: 06.17.2007 - 7:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Hamilton went from last car on the lead lap(14th) to 6th in the last 28 laps. And there were two yellow flags in there, too. He pitted under the yellow with 28 to go and was flying through the field when the checkered flag fell. 5. Anonymous posted: 08.19.2007 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ernie Irvan failed to finish the race because he crashed, not because he overheated. 6. ORLY posted: 09.14.2007 - 2:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well to me, it LOOKED like Ernie Irvan caused both accidents he was in. And he was running after the last crash, but pulled into the garage with overheating.. 7. Anonymous posted: 10.21.2007 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He did cause both accidents. I don't recall him driving away from the second crash. 8. RaceFanX posted: 01.25.2008 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the first time ever, Roush Racing has three cars in the top 5. It would be far from the the last time that would occur... 9. most posted: 03.25.2008 - 10:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember this race being very dull, Richmond races early in the season were for some reason, alot better since they moved them to May! 10. GJinVA posted: 08.25.2008 - 3:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race holds a special place for me because it was the first NASCAR race I ever attended. It was painfully cold in the stands that day. Thankfully after one more year they would move this race to June and run it at night, then a few years later to its current May date. So this was the 2nd to last day race at Richmond, not counting a handful of rain postponements that have happened since (spring '02 and '07). Bobby Hamilton probably had the best car that day, followed by Gordon or Burton. Very boring middle 200 or so laps. Earnhardt ran decent all day but spun out late in the race and the crowd was really letting him have it. I also seem to recall Kyle Petty having an altercation with someone on the cool down lap but can't remember who it was. Michael Waltrip ran into a tow truck in the infield following his late race crash. 11. 18fan posted: 06.13.2009 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When did they first run the Richmond fall race at night? The first nighttime spring race was in '98 12. SoxFan24 posted: 11.18.2009 - 3:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10th win for Jeff Gordon and first at Richmond 13. Schroeder51 posted: 12.29.2010 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan: First nighttime fall Richmond race was held in 1991. 14. 18fan posted: 07.09.2011 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamilton had by far the fastest car on the short run and, combined with fresh tires, that also allowed him to fly up through the field at the end. 15. Schroeder51 posted: 12.09.2012 - 2:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dick Trickle also failed to qualify for this race in the #19 Healthsource car, substituting for Loy Allen. 16. myself posted: 05.28.2013 - 2:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I miss the good ole' days when Richmond was the 2nd or 3rd race of the year & it was run during the day. 17. Nascar24NBC posted: 09.09.2013 - 12:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10 Wins+10 Wins=20 wins :D 18. jp posted: 02.08.2014 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first of several in '96 that got away from Bobby Hamilton...... 19. dalesrforever posted: 04.18.2016 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) isnt this the race where Terry labonte ran over his batman cup or was that the previous year 20. Smiff_2 posted: 09.30.2016 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) After coming into this race 43rd (yes, I said *43RD*) in points due to a wreck at Daytona and a blown engine at The Rock, Jeff Gordon rebounds by leading 124 laps en route to the victory. 21. Bramblegrunt posted: 02.22.2017 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To poster #10, the driver that Kyle Petty got into an altercation with was Bobby Hamilton, which actually was misleading. Hamilton was actually spun in the cool down lap by John Andretti after they had spent the last 5 laps pretty much locking fenders the entire way and Andretti took exception to it afterwards. A sign of things to come in Richmond for after race confrontations. Kyle Petty just stopped aftwards to check on Bobby and see what was up. Hamilton was looking to rebound after disappointment in Rockingham. He was the dominant car early but once Jeff Gordon got by him in the first 100 miles, the race seemed to be over. Hamilton faded and Gordon pushed forward. Wally Dallenbach was taken out after caution had already flown for Hut Stricklin, he was the first of the people to get upset on this day. Geoffrey Bodine earlier in the race came down a very little bit on Dave Marcis, fighting to stay on the lead lap, curiously the 2nd to last caution involved the same 2, but no replay was given to show what happened or if it was related. But nobody had a worse day on this day than Johnny Benson Jr. He started the day with the flu (David Green was tabbed to sub if needed). His car didnt start, lost a lap, then while fighting to get his lap back, Michael Waltrip drove into him, hitting the car Mikey drove for almost 10 years prior to 1996. Benson would never recover on the day and finish 37th 22. RaceFanX posted: 02.08.2018 - 8:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dallenbach's early retirement following that caution crash dropped him and the Bud Moore team from ninth in points coming into this race all the way back to 21st. The #15 squad would come nowhere close to regaining that lost ground through the rest of the season. 23. RaceFanX posted: 02.08.2018 - 8:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With Loy Allen, Jr. left on the sidelines for the next several months after being injured in the prior race at Rockingham Dick Trickle, who had started 1996 without a full-time Cup ride, was tapped to take over Tri-Star Motorsports's #19 Healthsource Ford in the interim. The first race for the new partnership ended before it began with a DNQ although Trickle would turn in a few solid runs later in the season. 24. Jimnsimforever posted: 03.17.2019 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @20 Even after winning this race, Jeff Gordon was still outside of the top 20 in points. And teammate and eventual Cup Champion Terry Labonte was 30th in points heading into this race and moved up to a tie for 16th. Pretty crazy the poor starts those two had and they would end up being 1 and 2 at the end of the year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: