# 1996 North American Touring Car Championship

The 1996 North American Touring Car Championship was the first season of the North American Touring Car Championship. The series was organized by CART, and ran to Super Touring regulations. 16 rounds at 8 race meetings were organized, all but two (Lime Rock and Trois-Rivières) supporting the CART IndyCar World Series.

## Teams and drivers

| Team | Car | No. | Drivers | Class | Rounds |
| Rod Millen Motorsports | Toyota Carina E | 2 | Rod Millen | C | 1–2, 4, 8 |
| Archer Petty Motorsports | BMW 318is | 3 | Steve Petty | I | All |
| Leitzinger Racing | Ford Mondeo Ghia | 5 | Jeff Andretti | C | 2–8 |
| Ecurie Atlanta | Mercedes-Benz 190E | 6 | Martin Stretton | I | 1 |
| PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge Stratus | 7 | Dominic Dobson | C | All |
| PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge Stratus | 8 | David Donohue | C | All |
| Mirko Racing | Honda Accord | 9 | Albert Mirko | I | 5–8 |
| Delong Motorsports | BMW 318is | 10 | Ed Delong | I | 1–2, 4 |
| Delong Motorsports | BMW 318is | 20 | Jim Kenzie | I | 4 |
| TC Kline Racing | Honda Accord | 12 | Randy Pobst | C | All |
| TC Kline Racing | Honda Accord | 21 | Peter Hardman | C | 1–7 |
| Hartong Motorsports | BMW 318is | 18 | Darren Law | I | 1–2, 4, 6–8 |
| Motorsport Team Schemes | Vauxhall Cavalier | 25 | Nigel Smith | I | 4, 6 |
| Fastech Group Racing | Ford Mondeo | 27 | Víctor González | C | 3 |
| Fastech Group Racing | Ford Mondeo | 27 | David Welch | C | 5, 8 |
| Fastech Group Racing | Ford Mondeo | 27 | Paul Charsley | C | 6 |
| Honda American Racing Team | Honda Accord | 62 | Forrest Granlund | C | 1, 3–4 |
| Honda American Racing Team | Honda Accord | 62 | Peter Cunningham | C | 5–8 |
| Metalcraft | Pontiac Sunfire | 81 | Dave Jolly | I | 8 |
| Team Contour Racing | Ford Contour | 86 | Chris Reinke | I | 6–8 |
| Icon | Class |
| C | Constructor |
| I | Independent |

## Calendar

The calendar initially included an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20, as a support race for NASCAR's The Winston. By December 14, 1995, Charlotte was dropped from the calendar, replaced with a doubleheader at the Molson Indy Vancouver. The Portland event was added to the schedule on April 15.
| Round | Round | Date | Circuit | Location | Pole position | Winning driver | Winning team | Winning Constructor | Winning Independent | Winning Independent Team |
| 1 | 1 | May 27 | Lime Rock Park | Lakeville, Connecticut | Dominic Dobson | David Donohue | PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 1 | 2 | May 27 | Lime Rock Park | Lakeville, Connecticut | Dominic Dobson | Dominic Dobson | PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 2 | 3 | June 8 | Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | Randy Pobst | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports | Dodge | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports |
| 2 | 4 | June 8 | Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | Darren Law | Dominic Dobson | PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge | Ed Delong | Delong Motorsports |
| 3 | 5 | June 22 | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | Randy Pobst | Randy Pobst | TC Kline Racing | Honda | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 3 | 6 | June 22 | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | Dominic Dobson | Randy Pobst | TC Kline Racing | Honda | None | |
| 4 | 7 | July 13 | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario | Dominic Dobson | Randy Pobst | TC Kline Racing | Honda | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 4 | 8 | July 13 | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario | Dominic Dobson | Peter Hardman | TC Kline Racing | Honda | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 5 | 9 | August 3 | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec | David Donohue | Dominic Dobson | PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 5 | 10 | August 4 | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec | Randy Pobst | Randy Pobst | TC Kline Racing | Honda | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 6 | 11 | August 10 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | Peter Cunningham | Peter Cunningham | Honda American Racing Team | Honda | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports |
| 6 | 12 | August 10 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | Randy Pobst | Peter Cunningham | Honda American Racing Team | Honda | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports |
| 7 | 13 | August 31 | Concord Pacific Place | Vancouver, British Columbia | Dominic Dobson | Dominic Dobson | PacWest Touring Car Group | Dodge | None | |
| 7 | 14 | September 1 | Concord Pacific Place | Vancouver, British Columbia | Dominic Dobson | Peter Cunningham | Honda American Racing Team | Honda | Steve Petty | Archer Petty Motorsports |
| 8 | 15 | September 8 | Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California | Randy Pobst | Randy Pobst | TC Kline Racing | Honda | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports |
| 8 | 16 | September 8 | Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California | Peter Cunningham | Peter Cunningham | Honda American Racing Team | Honda | Darren Law | Hartong Motorsports |

## Championship standings
### Drivers' Championship

| Pos | Driver | Class | LRP | LRP | DET | DET | POR | POR | TOR | TOR | TRV | TRV | MDO | MDO | VAN | VAN | LAG | LAG | Pts |
| 1 | Randy Pobst | C | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1* | 1* | 1 | 2* | 3 | 1* | 10 | 3* | 2* | 4 | 1* | 2 | 282 |
| 2 | Dominic Dobson | C | 3 | 1* | 4 | 1* | 4 | 5 | 2* | 3 | 1* | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 241 |
| 3 | David Donohue | C | 1* | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 221 |
| 4 | Peter Hardman | C | 10 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | | | 176 |
| 5 | Peter Cunningham | C | | | | | | | | | 4 | 6 | 1* | 1 | 3 | 1* | 2 | 1* | 145 |
| 6 | Steve Petty | I | 5 | 6 | DNS | DNS | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 | DNS | 139 |
| 7 | Jeff Andretti | C | | | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | DNS | DNS | 9 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 106 |
| 8 | Darren Law | I | 9 | 8 | 1* | 8 | | | 9 | 8 | | | 4 | 5 | 8 | DNS | 7 | 6 | 95 |
| 9 | Forrest Granlund | C | 4 | 4 | | | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 78 |
| 10 | Rod Millen | C | 8 | 5 | 8 | 5 | | | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | 4 | 10 | 63 |
| 11 | David Welch | C | | | | | | | | | 5 | 7 | | | | | 6 | 3 | 48 |
| 12 | Ed Delong | I | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | | | 8 | 9 | | | | | | | | | 47 |
| 13 | Nigel Smith | I | | | | | | | 10 | DNS | | | 9 | 9 | | | | | 23 |
| 14 | Víctor González | C | | | | | 7 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 15 | Paul Charsley | C | | | | | | | | | | | 7 | 8 | | | | | 19 |
| 16 | Albert Mirko | I | | | | | | | | | 8 | DNS | 11 | 11 | | | 10 | 7 | 17 |
| 17 | Martin Stretton | I | 6 | DNS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 |
| 18 | Dave Jolly | I | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| NC | Jim Kenzie | I | | | | | | | 11 | DNS | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| NC | Chris Reinke | I | | | | | | | | | | | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | Class | LRP | LRP | DET | DET | POR | POR | TOR | TOR | TRV | TRV | MDO | MDO | VAN | VAN | LAG | LAG | Pts |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th & 5th place |
| Light Blue | 6th-10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps |

### Manufacturers' Championship

| Pos | Manufacturer | LRP | LRP | DET | DET | POR | POR | TOR | TOR | TRV | TRV | MDO | MDO | VAN | VAN | LAG | LAG | Pts |
| 1 | Honda | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 298 |
| 2 | Dodge | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 271 |
| 3 | Ford | | | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | | | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 136 |
| 4 | Toyota | 8 | 5 | 8 | 5 | | | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | 4 | 10 | 63 |
| Pos | Manufacturer | LRP | LRP | DET | DET | POR | POR | TOR | TOR | TRV | TRV | MDO | MDO | VAN | VAN | LAG | LAG | Pts |