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| 1996 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse) | |||
| Previous: | 1995 | Next: | 1997 |
The 1996 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 48th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 25th modern era NASCAR Cup series. The season had been started on January 28 at Sears Point Raceway, and ended on November 17 at Ontario Motor Speedway. The season would be remembered as Shawna Robinson becoming the first female driver to win a major motorsports championship. Starting this year, the field was increased to 46 cars per race due to the amount of entries each race was receiving.
This is the first season with title sponsorship from RCA after NASCAR terminated its contract with R.J. Reynolds at the conclusion of the 1995 season.
Teams, drivers, and manufacturers[]
Manufacturers[]
| Company | Marquee | Model | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors | Chevrolet | Monte Carlo Z34 | Full factory support |
| Cavalier | Full factory support | ||
| Camaro Z28 | Full factory support | ||
| Caprice | FINAL YEAR, full factory support | ||
| Beretta Z34 | FINAL YEAR, full factory support | ||
| Pontiac | Grand Prix | Full factory support | |
| Bonneville | Full factory support | ||
| Firebird | Full factory support | ||
| Ford Motor Company | Ford | Thunderbird | Full factory support |
| Probe | Full factory support | ||
| Escort | Full factory support | ||
| Crown Victoria | Full factory support | ||
| Contour | Full factory support | ||
| Mustang SVT Cobra | NEW VARIANT, full factory support | ||
| Mercury | Cougar | Full factory support | |
| Sable | Full factory support | ||
| Grand Marquis | Full factory support | ||
| Chrysler Corporation | Dodge | Intrepid | Full factory support |
| Stratus | Full factory support | ||
| Avenger | Full factory support |
Manufacturer notes[]
1996 saw a major escalation in the Third Aero Wars that had commenced in 1995, when Mercury introduced the new-generation Sable. Nobody knew what to make of the new car, with its unorthodox body design and a front-end that Jeff Gordon described as "a dying fish gasping for air". Despite these criticisms, the car managed to finish in the top-ten of every race in 1996, and even managed to get three wins with Clifford Allison. The car's unexpected success not only saw Ford scrambling to get the Sable's badge-engineering template, the Ford Taurus, into NASCAR competition (the Taurus ran in the Busch Series starting in 1997, and then the RCA Cup Series in 1998 as a replacement for the discontinued Ford Thunderbird), Dodge began developing a new generation of Intrepid to homologate for NASCAR competition, doing so by 1999. General Motors responded to the Sable by bringing back Oldsmobile in 1997.
Complete schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model | Primary Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Darrell Waltrip Racing | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Pete Peterson | 1996 Beretta | Parts America |
| Diamond Ridge Motorsports | 29 | Steve Grissom | Bill Ingle | 1996 Caprice | Cartoon Network | |
| Greg Sacks | ||||||
| Butch Leitzinger | ||||||
| Chad Little | ||||||
| Jeff Green | ||||||
| Robert Pressley | ||||||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | Terry Labonte | Gary DeHart | 1996 Monte Carlo | Kellogg's | |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Ray Evernham | DuPont | |||
| 25 | Tim Richmond | Phil Hammer | Lowe's | |||
| 52 | Ricky Craven | Tim Brewer | Skittles | |||
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Dale Jarrett | Jimmy Makar | 1996 Beretta | Interstate Batteries | |
| Larry Hedrick Motorsports | 41 | Ricky Craven | Charley Pressley | 1996 Cavalier | Kodiak/Circle K | |
| Leo Jackson Motorsports | 33 | Robert Pressley | Andy Petree | 1996 Camaro | Skoal Bandit | |
| Greg Sacks | ||||||
| Todd Bodine | ||||||
| Marcis Auto Racing | 71 | Dave Marcis | Terry Fisher | 1996 Camaro | Prodigy | |
| Morgan-McClure Motorsports | 4 | Kenny Wallace | Tony Glover | 1996 Caprice | Kodak Film | |
| NEMCO Motorsports | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Jeff Buice | 1996 Cavalier | Burger King | |
| Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Andy Petree | 1996 Monte Carlo | GM Goodwrench | |
| 31 | Neil Bonnett | Mom N Pop Country Ham | ||||
| Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | Paul Andrews | 1996 Avenger | Zerex |
| Bahari Racing | 30 | Johnny Benson (R) | Doug Hewitt | 1996 Intrepid | Pennzoil | |
| Bill Davis Racing | 22 | Bobby Labonte | Chris Hussey | 1996 Intrepid | MBNA America | |
| 23 | Ward Burton | New Holland Tractors | ||||
| Donlavey Racing | 90 | Ken Schrader | Bob Johnson | 1996 Stratus | Heilig-Meyers | |
| Elliott-Melling Racing | 9 | Bill Elliott | 1996 Intrepid | Coors Light | ||
| 94 | Casey Elliott (R) | Super 8 Motels | ||||
| Petty Enterprises | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Robbie Loomis | 1996 Intrepid | STP | |
| Richard Petty | ||||||
| Precision Products Racing | 1 | Rick Mast | Kevin Hamlin | 1996 Avenger | Hooters | |
| SABCO Racing | 40 | Shawna Robinson | 1996 Intrepid | Kmart | ||
| 42 | Kyle Petty | William Woodruff | Mello Yello | |||
| 45 | Patty Moise | Barbie | ||||
| Ford | Bobby Allison Motorsports | 12 | Derrike Cope | Jimmy Fennig | 1996 Mustang | Mane 'N Tail |
| Bud Moore Engineering | 15 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Jimmy Means | 1996 Escort | Hayes Modems | |
| FILMAR Racing | 82 | Kenny Wallace | Gil Martin | 1996 Mustang | Square D | |
| Junior Johnson & Associates | 11 | Ernie Irvan | Donnie Richeson | 1996 Thunderbird | Budweiser | |
| 27 | Ted Musgrave | McDonald's | ||||
| Penske Racing South | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Robin Pemberton | 1996 Thunderbird | Miller | |
| Robert Yates Racing | 28 | Davey Allison | Larry McReynolds | 1996 Thunderbird | Texaco/Havoline | |
| 88 | Sterling Marlin | Todd Parrott | Ford Quality Care | |||
| Roush Racing | 6 | Mark Martin | Steve Hmiel
Jimmy Fennig |
1996 Probe | Valvoline | |
| 16 | Tammy Jo Kirk | Howard Comstock | Family Channel/PrimeStar | |||
| 99 | Jeff Burton | Buddy Parrott | Exide Batteries | |||
| Travis Carter Enterprises | 32 | Jimmy Spencer | Donnie Wingo | 1996 Contour | Camel Cigarettes | |
| Mercury | Jasper Motorsports | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Michael McSwain | 1996 Cougar | Jasper/Federal Mogul |
| Orr Motorsports | 74 | Rodney Orr | 1996 Cougar | Craftsman | ||
| Rudd Performance Racing | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Richard Broome | 1996 Grand Marquis | Tide | |
| Stavola Brothers Racing | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Phillipe Lopez | 1996 Sable | Circuit City | |
| 84 | Clifford Allison (R) | Circuit City | ||||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Leonard Wood | 1996 Cougar | Citgo | |
| Pontiac | Butch Mock Motorsports | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | Troy Selberg | 1996 Sunfire | Remington Arms |
| Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Tony Furr | 1996 Bonneville | RCA | |
| John Andretti | ||||||
| Kranefuss-Haas Racing | 37 | John Andretti | 1996 Firebird | Little Caesars | ||
| Jeremy Mayfield | ||||||
| Moroso Racing | 20 | Rob Moroso | Mark Cutter | 1996 Grand Prix | Fina Lube |
Limited schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Active Motorsports | 32 | Jimmy Hensley | 1995 Monte Carlo | |
| Bradberry Racing | Gary Bradberry | 1995 Beretta | |||
| Cicci-Welliver Racing | 34 | Mike McLaughlin | 1996 Caprice | ||
| Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 38 | Kelley Earnhardt | Dave Charpentier | 1994 Lumina | |
| JTC Racing | 46 | Chad Little | 1995 Monte Carlo | ||
| Marcis Auto Racing | 71 | Dave Marcis | 1996 Camaro | ||
| Phoenix Racing | 44 | Jeff Purvis | Marc Reno | 1993 Caprice | |
| Sadler Racing | 26 | Hermie Sadler | 1995 Cavalier | ||
| Dodge | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 50 | A.J. Foyt | 1996 Intrepid | |
| Barkdoll Racing | 73 | Tracy Leslie | 1996 Intrepid | ||
| Phil Barkdoll | |||||
| Miles Motorsports | 02 | Robbie Faggart | 1994 Avenger | ||
| Randy Baker | |||||
| Petty Enterprises | 44 | Bobby Hamilton | 1996 Intrepid | ||
| Seligman Racing | 57 | Steve Seligman | 1995 Stratus | ||
| Ford | Campbell Racing | 49 | Mark Gibson | 1995 Escort | |
| Eric Smith | |||||
| David Blair Motorsports | 27 | Elton Sawyer | Mike Hill | 1996 Probe | |
| Jason Keller | |||||
| Todd Bodine | |||||
| Ron Barfield | |||||
| Geoff Bodine Racing | 07 | Geoff Bodine | 1996 Crown Victoria | ||
| O'Neil Racing | 65 | Steve Seligman | 1994 Mustang | ||
| Sadler Brothers Racing | 95 | Chuck Bown | 1995 Escort | ||
| Gary Bradberry | |||||
| Schnell Motorsports | 63 | Dick Trickle | 1995 Crown Victoria | ||
| Ed Berrier | |||||
| Mike Wallace | |||||
| Mercury | Balough Racing | 57 | Jim Bown | 1994 Grand Marquis | |
| Byers Racing | 82 | Terry Byers | 1994 Sable | ||
| Monroe Motorsports | 46 | Stacy Compton (R) | 1995 Cougar | ||
| H.L. Waters Racing | 0 | Delma Cowart | 1996 Cougar | ||
| Triad Motorsports | 78 | Randy MacDonald (R) | 1995 Sable | ||
| Billy Standridge | |||||
| TriStar Motorsports | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. | Peter Sospenzo | 1996 Cougar | |
| Dick Trickle | |||||
| Mike Wallace | |||||
| Pontiac | Hendrick Motorsports | 48 | Jack Sprague | 1996 Grand Prix | |
| Mark Rypien Motorsports | 97 | Chad Little | Harold Holly | 1995 Sunfire | |
| T.R.I.X. Racing | 79 | Norm Benning | 1994 Bonneville |
Schedule[]
| No. | Race title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Save Mart Supermarket 300 | Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma | January 28 | WBC |
| Busch Clash | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 11 | WBC | |
| Gatorade Twin 125s | February 15 | WBC | ||
| 2 | Daytona 500 | February 18 | WBC | |
| 3 | Goodwrench Service 400 | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham | February 25 | TNN |
| 4 | Pontiac Excitement 400 | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond | March 3 | ESPN |
| 5 | Purolator 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | March 10 | WBC |
| 6 | Coors 400 | Pikes Peak International Speedway, Fountain | March 17 | WBC |
| 7 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | March 24 | ESPN |
| 8 | Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | March 31 | ESPN |
| 9 | First Union 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | April 14 | ESPN |
| 10 | Goody's Headache Powder 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | April 21 | ESPN |
| 11 | Dodge 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | April 28 | ESPN |
| 12 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside International Raceway, Riverside | May 5 | WBC |
| 13 | Diet Coke 500 | Denver International Speedway, Denver | May 12 | WBC |
| RCA Open | Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem | May 20 | TNN | |
| RCA All-Star Challenge XII | TNN | |||
| 14 | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord | May 26 | WBC |
| 15 | Miller 500 | Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover | June 2 | TNN |
| 16 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis | June 9 | TNN |
| 17 | San Jose 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | June 16 | WBC |
| 18 | Chrysler 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | June 23 | WBC |
| 19 | Music City USA 420 | Nashville Speedway USA, Nashville | June 30 | TNN |
| 20 | Pepsi 400 | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | July 6 | ESPN |
| 21 | Jiffy Lube 300 | New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon | July 14 | TNN |
| 22 | Miller 500 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | July 21 | WBC |
| 23 | DieHard 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | July 28 | WBC |
| 24 | Brickyard 400 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | August 3 | WBC |
| 25 | The Bud at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 11 | ESPN |
| 26 | GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 | Michigan Speedway, Brooklyn | August 18 | ESPN |
| 27 | Goody's Headache Powder 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 24 | ESPN |
| 28 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | September 1 | ESPN |
| 29 | Miller 400 | Richmond International Raceway, Richmond | September 7 | ESPN |
| 30 | MBNA 500 | Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover | September 15 | TNN |
| 31 | Hanes 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | September 22 | ESPN |
| 32 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | September 29 | ESPN |
| 33 | UAW-GM Quality 500 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord | October 6 | WBC |
| 34 | Cisco Systems 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | October 13 | WBC |
| 35 | AC Delco 400 | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham | October 20 | TNN |
| 36 | Dura Lube 500 | Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale | October 27 | TNN |
| 37 | Sprite 500 | Denver International Speedway, Denver | November 2 | WBC |
| 38 | NAPA 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | November 10 | ESPN |
| 39 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario | November 17 | WBC |
| NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka | November 24 | WBC |
Season summary[]
Results[]
| No. | Race | Pole Position | Winner | Make/Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Budweiser 400 | Jeff Gordon | Alan Kulwicki | Dodge Avenger |
| Busch Clash | Rick Mast | Ernie Irvan | Ford Thunderbird | |
| Gatorade Twin 125s Race 1 | Dale Earnhardt | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | |
| Gatorade Twin 125s Race 2 | Davey Allison | Davey Allison | Ford Thunderbird | |
| 2 | Daytona 500 | Dale Earnhardt | Dale Jarrett | Chevrolet Beretta |
| 3 | Goodwrench Service 400 | Terry Labonte | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 4 | Pontiac Excitement 400 | Terry Labonte | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 5 | Purolator 500 | Johnny Benson | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 6 | Coors 400 | Mark Martin | Clifford Allison | Mercury Sable |
| 7 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Ward Burton | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 8 | Food City 500 | Mark Martin | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 9 | First Union 400 | Terry Labonte | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 10 | Goody's Headache Powder 500 | Ricky Craven | Davey Allison | Ford Thunderbird |
| 11 | Dodge 500 | Ernie Irvan | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet Caprice |
| 12 | Save Mart Supermarket 300 | Terry Labonte | Rusty Wallace | Ford Thunderbird |
| 13 | Diet Coke 500 | Bobby Labonte | Kyle Petty | Dodge Intrepid |
| RCA Open | ??? | Jimmy Spencer | Ford Contour | |
| RCA All-Star Challenge XII | Jeff Gordon | Michael Waltrip | Mercury Cougar | |
| 14 | Coca-Cola 600 | Jeff Gordon | Ernie Irvan | Ford Thunderbird |
| 15 | Miller 500 | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 16 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | Jeff Gordon | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 17 | San Jose 500 | Bobby Hamilton | Alan Kulwicki | Dodge Avenger |
| 18 | Chrysler 400 | Bobby Hamilton | Rusty Wallace | Ford Thunderbird |
| 19 | Music City USA 420 | Jeff Burton | Rick Mast | Dodge Avenger |
| 20 | Pepsi 400 | Jeff Gordon | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet Caprice |
| 21 | Jiffy Lube 300 | Ricky Craven | Ernie Irvan | Ford Thunderbird |
| 22 | Miller 500 | Mark Martin | Rusty Wallace | Ford Thunderbird |
| 23 | DieHard 500 | Jeremy Mayfield | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 24 | Brickyard 400 | Jeff Gordon | Dale Jarrett | Chevrolet Beretta |
| 25 | The Bud at The Glen | Dale Earnhardt | Geoff Bodine | Ford Crown Victoria |
| 26 | GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 | Jeff Burton | Dale Jarrett | Chevrolet Beretta |
| 27 | Goody's Headache Powder 500 | Mark Martin | Rusty Wallace | Ford Thunderbird |
| 28 | Southern 500 | Dale Jarrett | Kyle Petty | Dodge Intrepid |
| 29 | Miller 400 | Mark Martin | Clifford Allison | Mercury Sable |
| 30 | MBNA 500 | Bobby Labonte | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 31 | Hanes 500 | Bobby Hamilton | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 32 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Ted Musgrave | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 33 | UAW-GM Quality 500 | Dale Jarrett | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 34 | Cisco Systems 500 | Sterling Marlin | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Monte Carlo |
| 35 | AC Delco 400 | Ernie Irvan | Ricky Rudd | Mercury Grand Marquis |
| 36 | Dura Lube 500 | Bobby Labonte | Bobby Hamilton | Dodge Intrepid |
| 37 | Sprite 500 | Kyle Petty | Ken Schrader | Dodge Stratus |
| 38 | NAPA 500 | Bobby Labonte | Bobby Labonte | Dodge Intrepid |
| 39 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Shawna Robinson | Clifford Allison | Mercury Sable |
| NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special | Rusty Wallace | Rusty Wallace | Ford Thunderbird |
Cars used in 1996 (incomplete)[]
Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34
Chevrolet Beretta Z26
Ford Thunderbird
Ford Mustang
Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Sunfire
Mercury Cougar