|| *Comments on the 1996 NAPA 500:* View the most recent comment <#42> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. anonimous posted: 07.03.2004 - 1:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Labonte brothers ruled the day ! 2. je24go posted: 05.11.2005 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby wins the race as Terry takes the championship. After the race Bobby and Terry took a side-by-side victory lap around the track. 3. Darrell posted: 07.16.2006 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) One of my favorite NASCAR races ever. The Labonte drivers will always be high on my list of favorite drivers. Both are class acts and REAL racers. 4. XAC33 posted: 08.01.2006 - 3:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A good race to the end of a great season, close championship battle throughout. Bobby Labonte finishes the season with a win at a track he had great sucess at in the mid to late 90's. Jeff Gordon fights back to finish 3rd despite having to rethread a wheel stud and almost losing a lap as a result. 5. Kevin posted: 08.14.2006 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) If this race was not script by Hollywood, I do not know what race was! Great was for Terry to Clinch is last championship, having his little brother(Bobby) win the race! 6. Thomas posted: 08.25.2006 - 10:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That was the neatest thing I have ever done." - Bobby Labonte on the side-by-side victory lap after the race. 7. myself posted: 02.19.2007 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Much is made of the point battle between Gordon & Labonte, but one can easily forget that Dale Jarrett had a slim chance to win the championship that day too. He finished less than a hundred points back! Final race for Rusty in the traditional black & gold paint scheme (except for his running of retro paint schemes in his final season). 8. biffle16 posted: 05.17.2007 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last Cup start for Elton Sawyer. 9. Destiny posted: 06.24.2007 - 2:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or Even Randy Baker, biffle16. 10. RaceFanX posted: 11.29.2007 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for Elmo Langley in the pace car. 11. RaceFanX posted: 01.20.2008 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ken Schrader makes his final start in the Hendrick #25 Chevy that brought him his four career Cup victories and many other great runs. He finished 30th, 9 laps down 12. Clayton posted: 03.08.2008 - 11:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin ends the year with 15 consecutive top 10 finishes! Mr. Consistantcy! 13. Haywood posted: 03.30.2008 - 2:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the 2007 Chase system was used... Gordon 6,677 Jarrett 6,608 Martin 6,576 T. Labonte 6,520 Earnhardt 6,344 Wallace 6,254 Rudd 6,222 Marlin 6,172 J. Burton 6,138 Irvan 6,061 Musgrave 6,050 Schrader 5,993 Gordon wouldn't have won his first Championship in 95, as Earnhardt would have dominated the Chase. However, Gordon would have rode to victory in 96 by a decent margin over Dale Jarrett. 14. RaceFanX posted: 08.11.2008 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kyle Petty's last ride with Felix Sabates ends before it even began thanks to a DNQ 15. Unser1 posted: 06.19.2009 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Barfield's only non-Brickyard 400 Cup attempt 16. SoxFan24 posted: 10.24.2009 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You gotta love this race. The season should still end here I think. The Labonte share a special moment in this race and I was in attendance for this race. I remember how cold it was at this race!! Milestones Last season finale at Atlanta with the old (and better configuration in my opinion) Last race for Rick Mast driving for Richard Jackson. He drove from 1991-1996 and would move over to Butch Mock racing for 1997 Speaking of Butch Mock racing its the last race for Morgan Shepherd in the 75 car as he basically switched rides with Rick Mast in 1997 Last Race for Burger King as primary sponsor of Joe Nemechek and Burger King's last full time Cup effort. Also last race for Nemco Motorsports as a full time effort until 2009 Last race for Ricky Craven driving for Larry Hedrick as he would move on to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 1997 First and only race for car owner Jim Miles (Car 02) Last cup race for Ken Schrader as an owner Last races for drivers Elton Sawyer and Randy Baker Last race for Kyle Petty with Sabates Racing. They never got to run it because he DNQ'd Last race for Bobby Allison Racing as they also DNQ'd this race with Derrike Cope Last race for legendary car owner Bud Moore as a full-time Cup Car Owner 17. Anonymous posted: 05.19.2010 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon actually lost two laps when he had to pit on lap 10 because of a loose left rear wheel. Shortly after the first restart, Jack Sprague and Todd Bodine made contact, spinning Bodine out. Sprague's car hit Bodine's in the left front straightening it out, but both cars were heavily damaged. Despite this, NASCAR decided not to throw the yellow flag, which shocked even the commentators. 18. ii posted: 09.12.2010 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Last race ever for Elmo Langley in the pace car." He drove in the exhibition race in Japan 11 days later only to have a heart attack and die. Buddy Baker was able to stop the car. 19. Schroeder51 posted: 03.24.2011 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Loy Allen was injured and went to the hospital after a vicious crash where he clipped the apron in turn 4 (similar to the Mickey Hudspeth crash in the ARCA race that weekend), slid and slammed the wall hard on the right side, and spun back down the track and was hit by Wally Dallenbach extremely hard on the driver's side. This was the third time Allen had been injured in 3 years, the second time that season (he missed a good chunk of the season after a vicious crash at Rockingham) and second time at Atlanta (he was injured in an accident in this race in '94). 20. Evan posted: 01.20.2012 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * Last time Rusty Wallace ran a black and yellow Miller or Miller Genuine Draft car with the yellow numbers, Rusty would switch to a blue and white color and be sponsored by Miller Lite in 1997. * Last time the Chevy Monte Carlo ran without fake headlights as the Monte Carlo would receive a revamp in 1997 with new fake headlights. * last time Jeff Gordon has Coke as an associate sponsor as Gordon and the entire Hendrick team would sign a deal and endorse Pepsi products in 1997 and onwards 21. Christian posted: 02.11.2012 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I always see 1996 as one of the greatest point battles in the series. Teammates fighting it out for the championship, it was a great season. Seeing Terry Labonte win the championship again was a thrill. I will never forget the victory lap the brothers took. Too cool. 22. RaceFanX posted: 03.23.2012 - 9:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #43 Bobby Hamilton- STP 25th Anniversary (Also run in the 1996 Daytona 500, Hamiliton's silver paintjob bookended the season in tribute to the length of STP's sponsorship of the Petty team) #21 Michael Waltrip- Citgo / Star Trek First Contact Michael Waltrip had a silver-and-gold paint scheme in this race to promote the release of the then-new Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. While the movie was a hit Waltrip's shiny paint job, which featured the Enterprise on the quarter panels, was not. The car reflected too much which made it very hard to read any of its logos and the paint scheme was later held up by Stock Car Racing magazine as why those colors should be avoided in designing a paint job. It was the only NASCAR tie-in with a Star Trek movie until David Stremme drove another one at Richmond in the spring of 2009. Bobby Hillin Jr and the Jasper team ran their new blue 1997 Jasper Engines paint job on the #77 Ford for this race as opposed to the red, white and yellow one they ran for most of 1996. "(Elmo Langley) drove in the exhibition race in Japan 11 days later only to have a heart attack and die. Buddy Baker was able to stop the car." Actually Elmo went to Japan for the race but passed away while driving the pace car around the track with Buddy during practice. This was his last race at the wheel during the actual race. 23. 83andJoe posted: 10.08.2013 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #40 crew chief: Brad Noffsinger 24. 23andJoe posted: 04.06.2014 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #52 owner: Rick Hendrick 25. 23andJoe posted: 04.06.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Note to the webmaster: According to the 1997 Preview & Press Guide, the correct 1996 final Winston Cup points positions for Hermie Sadler and Rich Woodland Jr. are Woodland, 63rd and Sadler, 64th. 26. 23andJoe posted: 12.06.2014 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #20 sponsor: LaFayette Ford 27. Anthony posted: 02.03.2016 - 6:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Second time in 4 seasons that a driver wins 10 races but doesn't win the championship. 28. James W. McLaughlin posted: 10.05.2016 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, evidently, I was wrong to think that David Stremme was the first to drive a NASCAR stock car painted to promote a Star Trek movie. It was actually Michael Waltrip who earned that distinction. Oopsie me! 29. Anthony posted: 12.05.2016 - 1:19 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Tony Stewart was scheduled to make his Cup debut in this race for Harry Ranier in the #20, but was still recovering from shoulder and neck injuries sustained in an IndyCar wreck earlier in the year. He tested the car the week before the race and told Harry he wouldn't be able to last for 500 miles, so the team elected to put Elton Sawyer in the car instead. 30. binkerbo posted: 02.09.2017 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Billy Standridge's sponsor was Healthsource/Hanes. 31. kup posted: 11.16.2017 - 1:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 1996 UPS _ Driver = Miles / AF 1405 _ Terry Labonte 11523 / 8.2 1271 _ Dale Jarrett 11181 / 8.8 1107 _ Jeff Gordon 10518 / 9.5 1087 _ Dale Earnhardt 11524 / 10.6 979 _ Mark Martin 11067 / 11.3 781 _ Ricky Rudd 11401 / 14.6 669 _ Ken Schrader 11499 / 17.2 661 _ Michael Waltrip 11166 / 16.9 660 _ Bobby Hamilton 10897 / 16.5 655 _ Jeff Burton 10552 / 16.1 649 _ Sterling Marlin 10583 / 16.3 612 _ Rusty Wallace 10160 / 16.6 608 _ Bobby Labonte 10571 / 17.4 & TOTAL: UPS! 48 years 1949-1996: Dale Earnhardt 8 in: '80, '86, '87, '89, '91, '93, '94, '95. Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Bobby Allison 3 in: '81, '82, '83. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Terry Labonte 2 in: '84, '96. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. Darrell Waltrip 1 in: '85. Bill Elliott 1 in: '88. Mark Martin 1 in: '90. Alan Kulwicki 1 in: '92. 32. RaceFanX posted: 01.21.2018 - 1:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #52 Jack Sprague- Pedigree / Kal Kan Pet Care (same for Phoenix) 33. Brad24 posted: 03.07.2019 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jack Sprague drove a Hendrick-owned Pontiac in this race. 34. Jimnsimforever posted: 04.03.2019 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's pretty cool that Terry Labonte won the championship driving the last couple of races with a broken hand that apparently caused him a lot of pain. His brother Bobby's Joe Gibbs team let him borrow a modified steering wheel to use that they had from when Dale Jarrett drove for them and suffered a similar injury. Jerry Punch, "This tough Texan won the title singlehandedly." 35. Jimnsimforever posted: 04.03.2019 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @4 Jeff Gordon didn't almost lose a lap when that happened at the beginning of the race, he lost 2 laps. Not long after the 1st caution he passed Bobby Labonte and was able to quickly get to only 1 lap down when the debris caution came out. Jeff Gordon had an absolute rocket ship under him in this race and likely would've won the race had that not happened and put him in a 2 lap hole early. At least he could take solace in knowing that even had he won, Terry Labonte had a top 5 run and he only needed to finish 8th to clinch the title. 36. Altracing posted: 11.25.2019 - 8:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for JGR in Chevrolets as they would switch to Pontiac in 1997. They would switch back to Chevrolet in 2003 37. ShinyMew151 posted: 03.27.2020 - 1:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not really the last race then, is it 38. Timothy_Eklund posted: 03.27.2020 - 9:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for the JGR chevys for 7 years* 39. RaceFanX posted: 04.24.2020 - 8:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Western Auto/Parts America apparently initially wanted this to be their last race sponsoring Darrell Waltrip but while DW's performance had dropped off the prior year he convinced the company to stay on board noting that 1997 would be his 25th anniversary in the Cup series and they would make it special. Waltrip was right, he ran a number of special throwback paint schemes that year plus his iconic all-chrome #17 Chevy and got the auto parts brand a lot of exposure even if he wasn't contending for wins. 40. Anonymous posted: 12.22.2020 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 6 part-time cars were among the 25 fastest in first round qualifying virtually assuring a few full-time cars would miss the race, something which had only happened that season at tracks with small field sizes: Martinsville, North Wilkesboro, and the spring Bristol race. Then Randy Baker, in what would be his final Cup Series start, posted the second fastest time in second round qualifying. Loy Allen Jr. was fourth fastest in a car which had been full-time up until the season's midway point. The result was 5 full-time cars missed the season finale including Kyle Petty, ruining the swan song of one of the most iconic driver/car pairings of the decade. 41. Anonymous posted: 12.22.2020 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correction: Allen was third fastest in second round qualifying. Rudd was one of nine who kept their time from first round qualifying. Also, not only was Petty the slowest qualifier in the first round (177.789 mph), his time in the second of 179.552 mph was still the slowest of the weekend. He was the only one unable to top the 180mph mark. 42. Rich posted: 12.27.2020 - 7:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons were the commentators. Dr. Jerry Punch, John Kernan and Bill Weber were the pit road reporters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: