|| *Comments on the 1996 Purolator 500:* View the most recent comment <#35> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Biffle16fan posted: 12.04.2005 - 2:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Earnhardt's last victory before the long winless drought, a stretch that lasted until his Daytona 500 victory. 2. J. Kircher posted: 04.04.2006 - 6:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnny Benson's first career Cup pole in his fourth career start. Benson did not lead any laps, nor did he even start up front. During a Saturday practice session, Benson had a firey crash destroying the pole-winning Pontiac and forcing Benson to the rear of the field in a back-up car. 3. Steve posted: 05.13.2006 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) Jeff Burton was second in Winston Cup points after Richmond, but because the 99 car had no points from 1995, and Jeff's qualifying time was not enough to escape a provisional, he DNQ'd. Johnny Benson's first pole came just one day after his daughter Katelyn was born. Great job by Jeremy Mayfield, finishing in the Top 5 for the first time. Ernie Irvan got his first Top 5 since Watkins Glen in 1994. And, of course, another dominant performance by Earnhardt (his 70th win). 4. biffle16 posted: 12.26.2006 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Another Biffle fan? It's about time!!! 5. myself posted: 02.19.2007 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First top 5 for Cale's car since Dick Trickle was at the helm in 90'. 6. myself posted: 05.18.2007 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The Squeal's" first career top 5. 7. Anonymous posted: 06.17.2007 - 7:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dale Jarrett came into this race with an 86 point lead and almost DNQ for this race. If he had qualified 37th, he would have needed a Provisional, and the 88 car didn't have any. But, he qualified 36th, so he was safe. 8. BurtonRuddFan posted: 12.12.2007 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jeff Burton's last DNQ to date. Dominating run for the Intimadator. Good run for Mayfield.Great run for DIck Trickle for a third-class team. 9. Nuck Chorris posted: 12.21.2007 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Atlanta had a way of doing things like that to new teams back in the late 90s, and Burton was just a victim. 10. Nuck Chorris posted: 12.21.2007 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Also I forgot to mention, if Jarrett would have missed this race, he still would have been third in points at the end of the season. 11. stricklinfan82 posted: 04.24.2008 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) After first round qualifying Ford officials "strongly encouraged" Jimmy Spencer and Mike Wallace's teams to stand on their times and take provisionals based on their 1995 owner's points to ensure that DJ would not get bumped out of the top 38 and miss the race. There was talk of Jack Roush trying to work out a deal with David Blair (owner of the unsponsored #27 Ford) to put Jeff Burton in that car after he failed to qualify, but Blair declined. 12. Steve posted: 12.02.2009 - 12:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Despite his DNQ, Jeff Burton was still ahead of Jeff Gordon in the points (how often can someone make that claim?). I think I would have passed on the offer from David Blair; his cars were pretty bad. And who is "the squeal"? 13. Spen posted: 12.25.2009 - 4:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeremy Mayfield. He picked up that nickname after ratting out on Ray Evernham & Erin Crocker. 14. 18fan posted: 02.10.2010 - 12:23 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Steve, a bad car is better than missing the race. At least you get points in a bad car. 15. Dave in OKC posted: 06.17.2010 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As of June 2010, this was the last Cup race Jeff Burton missed. The Infineon race (6/20/10) marks his 500th consecutive start since missing this race. 16. 18fan posted: 12.09.2012 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Earnhardt's 2nd and final win of 1996. In both races he started 18th. 17. Zackary Shawn posted: 07.19.2013 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race is a good example as to why NASCAR should award provisionals based on the current points immediately after Daytona rather than wait 3-5 races. 18. Ultimate Warrior #18 posted: 06.16.2016 - 7:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) How interesting would it have been if Jarrett missed the race with Burton? There were 1-2 in points at the time driving for new teams I wonder if this provisional system stayed in place what nascar would do in present times if they had this situation arise again? 19. SK posted: 12.05.2016 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was probably Terry Labonte's best race, front to back, in his regular colors all season. His 2 wins came in the Ironman and Honey Crunch Corn Flakes regalia (respectively), and of his 7 runner-up finishes, this was the only one in which he led an appreciable portion of the event. 20. RaceFanX posted: 05.11.2017 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Nemechek posted a solid qualifying time with a first lap that had him in the top-10 only to lose it and crash hard on his second lap. He spun in Turn 3, hit the outside wall then came down the track still at a good click and hit the inside wall. The crash forced Nemechek to his backup #87 but he still rallied back in the race itself to a solid top-20. 21. Anthony posted: 05.26.2017 - 2:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) A top car DNQ'd would never happen in today's NASCAR - not enough cars to start with, then the stupid charter system guarantees starting spots 22. Steve posted: 03.25.2018 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) A DNQ may never happen again in Cup if such little incentive is on offer for non-charter entries to even show up. 23. Joshua posted: 04.02.2019 - 9:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR definitely lost the plot with the charter system. As famous University of Michigan athletic director Don Canham once said: "Which restaurant is the most popular? The one with the line out the door." NASCAR's "line" was definitely "out the door" at this time. 24. A.J. posted: 04.02.2019 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR's corpse was already getting quite cold before charters came around just a few seasons ago; you probably mean the "Chase". That was the idiotic change which was implemented when interest in NASCAR was at its peak in the early 2000s, and was a gross overreaction to a boring driver winning a very easy and boring championship in 2003. Or maybe it's just a complete coincidence that TV ratings, attendance and interest among long-time fans began plummeting right at that point. NASCAR was apparently looking for any excuse to try to suck in casual fans with short attention spans by suddenly deciding to imitate the stick-and-ball sports and their playoff system. Because it failed so miserably, NASCAR has been constantly making changes to all aspects of the sport in a desperate attempt just to get back where they were when their fiddling around began. 25. Joshua posted: 04.02.2019 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (4) (1) 24 A.J. I'm not disagreeing that NASCAR was already short of breath before the charter system was implemented, but I do have to disagree with you that the Chase caused NASCAR to "start plummeting right at that point". I take no issue with your final paragraph. All of that is true. However, I can't let your second paragraph go. Brian France's first major change to the series was the Chase implementation in 2004. Remember he took over from Bill Jr in September of 2003 and it didn't take long for him to put his stamp on the tour. With Winston leaving as corporate sponsor and NEXTEL coming in, the line of thinking probably was to take that opportunity to give the sport a new identity with the 10-race "Chase". I agree that it was an overreaction to Matt Kenseth winning the 2003 title in a runaway. No other sanctioning body makes such a sweeping change to its postseason and determination of a champion after one unpopular or uninteresting result, except NASCAR. "Or maybe it's just a complete coincidence that TV ratings, attendance and interest among long-time fans began plummeting right at that point." I have to disagree with you here. NASCAR's TV ratings, attendance, and pop culture coverage continued to climb through 2006 and into 2007. If I have it right the peak of both ratings and attendance was somewhere in 2006. Remember the cars then were still Gen 4 and looked much like they did all the way back to 1990 or so when the cars started to round out and become sleeker, so the racing itself was still very good. In my opinion, the three biggest factors that caused the sport to turn (again, not overnight, but over several years as we see now), were these: 1. Toyota (2007). The announcement and then introduction of Toyota turned away many of the older fans immediately. The ones who still think it's 1941 couldn't get past that and they're not coming back. 2. Car of Tomorrow (2008). What a colossal disaster this turned out to be. This tried to fix something that wasn't broken. If someone had tried to describe a "splitter" in 1994, they would have been talking about network cables instead of a flat plate under the front air dam of a race car. The COT accomplished one thing, keeping Michael McDowell and Ryan Newman on this earth probably longer than they rightfully should have, but it came at a great expense of racing competition and the fans' varying prides in the auto makers that helped build NASCAR to its peak. 3. The economy fell out and the television experience was enhanced 10-fold. Long-time fans that made several treks to several tracks a year all of a sudden couldn't afford to due to the market collapsing in (late 2008 and 2009). The fan who used to take the camper or simply drive to the track and attend in the stands several times all of a sudden starts going once or twice, or perhaps not at all. They may be disappointed at first, but then they start to realize that their own fridge, own bathroom, and a 65 inch High Definition flat screen isn't the worst way to go. Some of these fans of course then stopped watching NASCAR altogether, as we know by the ratings plunge into the 3s. In addition to that, the flighting fans NASCAR gained either organically or because of the manufactured Chase didn't stay long and moved on to other interests by the time 2010 came around. Your final paragraph goes here. 26. 1995-Subaru-WRX-Sti posted: 04.02.2019 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "1. Toyota (2007). The announcement and then introduction of Toyota turned away many of the older fans immediately. The ones who still think it's 1941 couldn't get past that and they're not coming back." That is a big BS excuse. Toyota was already in the Goodies Dash Series and in the Trucks before coming too Cup. Also other foreign Auto Manufacters have raced in NASCARs past. Jaguar, Austin-Haley and Alfa Romeo have raced in NASCAR. Anyone of those "fans" who leave because of Toyota coming too Cup is lame. It is just another excuse by a fan base built on excuses. "2. Car of Tomorrow (2008)" Yet the post spoiler 2010-2012 COT races are viewed "fondly" by the mindless masses as "criminally underrated" in terms of racing quality. Fans where so eager too get rid of the Gen 5 that Gen 6 sucks too. It is called buyers remorse. You got what you asked for. Your 3rd point is factual and correct. 27. Joshua posted: 04.03.2019 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 26 Subaru Toyota in the Dash or Trucks series wasn't going to move the needle like it did in the Cup Series. Once it entered the top tier and most popular form of racing at the Cup level, that was it. Who said that the post-wing era of the 2010-2012 COT is remembered fondly? You are the first person I've heard that from. While the Gen 6 may not have had the exposed splitter and wing, the COT set the table for what we have today, high-downforce, low-HP cars that are glued to the track that are wildly dependent on aero. 28. nohbody posted: 07.13.2019 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) The Chase killed NASCAR. Jr. being a a failure and only collecting a paycheck buried it. 29. Chase9Fan posted: 06.22.2020 - 8:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty with another top 5 car but blows up. NOt sure if anyone blew more engines in the 80s and 90s than Rusty Wallace. 30. SweetRich posted: 07.06.2020 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Up to this point, the best of Jeremy Mayfield's young career in Winston Cup with a fantastic 5th place finish in the RCA Ford. Things, however, would not improve after this event as Jeremy would struggle in the car for the rest of his time with Cale Yarborough Motorsports before leaving after The Southern 500 in early September. A tale of what could have been had he stayed. 31. GoRC10 posted: 07.06.2020 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) @30 LOL. What makes you think things would have been better? Cale's cars rarely ran near the front. Stick to using words you know and quit regurgitating previously posted information. 32. SweetRich posted: 07.06.2020 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It would have been a great thing to see, but as history showed us, it did not happen. 33. Anonymous posted: 07.15.2020 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jarrett, Hall of Famer couldn't do shizz in the Yarborough car. It was the Front Row equivalent of its day. 34. SweetRich21/43 posted: 08.03.2020 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators consisted of Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons. The pit road reporters were Dr. Jerry Punch, Jack Arute and Bill Weber. The studio host was Paul Page. 35. Anonymous posted: 09.20.2020 - 2:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 14. I'm sure Jack would have provided a car. It'd probably be restickered to 27, but everything else on the car would stay the same (sponsors, design, what not), just so the team knew what they'd be working with still. Just the owners points and what not would go to Blair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: