# 1996 DieHard 500

The 1996 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1996, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 188 laps to 129 laps due to darkness caused by rain delays and lengthy crash cleanups. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to avoid numerous crashes and stay in front when the race was eventually called to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his sixth victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
On lap 117, a major crash involving 13 drivers, including the drivers of Dale Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin, would occur on the track's frontstretch. Marlin would be spun by hitting Ernie Irvan's front bumper, sending him into Earnhardt. Earnhardt would proceed to crash violently into the outside wall, sending Earnhardt into a flip before landing on all four wheels. In the midst of the chaos, others would be involved in the accident, with many placing blame on Irvan and Marlin for the crash. In the process, Earnhardt would be transported to the Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama where he was diagnosed with a broken sternum and a broken left collarbone.

## Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) tri-oval.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | Hooters |
| 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | Miller |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus |
| 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodak |
| 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Frosted Flakes |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | Valvoline |
| 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | QVC |
| 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | Circuit City |
| 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | Spam |
| 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | Tide |
| 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | Lowe's |
| 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | Badcock Home Furniture |
| 15 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | Hayes Modems |
| 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | PrimeStar, The Family Channel |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | Parts America |
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | Interstate Batteries, Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| 19 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | HealthSource RI |
| 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | Citgo |
| 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | MBNA |
| 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | Camel Cigarettes |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | DuPont |
| 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Budweiser, 1996 Summer Olympics |
| 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Texaco, Havoline |
| 29 | Greg Sacks | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | Cartoon Network, The Flintstones |
| 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. (R) | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | Pennzoil |
| 33 | Robert Pressley | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | Skoal |
| 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | Kmart, Little Caesars |
| 41 | Ricky Craven | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Kodiak |
| 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | Coors Light |
| 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | STP |
| 44 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | David Lee Murphy |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Prodigy |
| 75 | Morgan Shepherd | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | Remington Arms |
| 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | Jasper Engines & Transmissions |
| 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | Square D, TIC Financial Systems |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | Burger King |
| 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Quality Care Service, Ford Credit |
| 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Heilig-Meyers |
| 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | McDonald's |
| 95 | Gary Bradberry | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | Shoney's |
| 97 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Pontiac | Sterling Cowboy |
| 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | RCA |
| 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | Exide |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was originally scheduled split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 26, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. However, on Saturday, July 27, rain would eventually force the cancellation of second-round qualifying, and the decision was made that positions 26-38 would be determined by their first round qualifying speeds and depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to four provisionals were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.
Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.779 and an average speed of 192.370 miles per hour (309.590 km/h) in the first round.
Chad Little was the only driver to fail to qualify.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 49.779 | 192.370 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.027 | 191.417 |
| 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 50.113 | 191.088 |
| 4 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 50.187 | 190.806 |
| 5 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 50.262 | 190.522 |
| 6 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 50.291 | 190.412 |
| 7 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 50.315 | 190.321 |
| 8 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 50.411 | 189.959 |
| 9 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.423 | 189.913 |
| 10 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. (R) | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 50.467 | 189.748 |
| 11 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 50.472 | 189.729 |
| 12 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 50.514 | 189.571 |
| 13 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 50.546 | 189.451 |
| 14 | 33 | Robert Pressley | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.598 | 189.256 |
| 15 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 50.603 | 189.238 |
| 16 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.620 | 189.174 |
| 17 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 50.645 | 189.081 |
| 18 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 50.654 | 189.047 |
| 19 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 50.654 | 189.047 |
| 20 | 44 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 50.661 | 189.021 |
| 21 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 50.709 | 188.842 |
| 22 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 50.723 | 188.790 |
| 23 | 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 50.735 | 188.745 |
| 24 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 50.736 | 188.742 |
| 25 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 50.737 | 188.738 |
| 26 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.769 | 188.619 |
| 27 | 41 | Ricky Craven | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.779 | 188.582 |
| 28 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 50.809 | 188.471 |
| 29 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.847 | 188.330 |
| 30 | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 50.866 | 188.259 |
| 31 | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 50.877 | 188.219 |
| 32 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 50.902 | 188.126 |
| 33 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 50.908 | 188.104 |
| 34 | 29 | Greg Sacks | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.925 | 188.041 |
| 35 | 15 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 50.949 | 187.953 |
| 36 | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 50.957 | 187.923 |
| 37 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 50.982 | 187.831 |
| 38 | 95 | Gary Bradberry | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | 51.008 | 187.735 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 39 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 51.447 | 186.133 |
| 40 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 51.055 | 187.562 |
| 41 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 51.064 | 187.529 |
| 42 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.104 | 187.383 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 43 | 97 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Pontiac | 51.155 | 187.196 |
| Official first round qualifying results |||||||
| Official starting lineup |||||||

## Race
### Rain Delay

The race was due to start at 12:15pm CST but rain delayed the start time to 3:35pm and ran eleven laps before rain red flagged the race at 4:09pm with the race restarting at 4:32pm and the race starting at 4:36pm on lap thirteen.

### The Big One

On lap 116, Earnhardt was leading with Marlin on his outside and Irvan behind him, the big one happened when Irvan got into Marlin which led him to turn into Earnhardt. Earnhardt was hit in the roof by Derrike Cope and on the side by Robert Pressley. The accident also collected Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Lake Speed, Brett Bodine, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Ward Burton, Ken Schrader, Greg Sacks and Ricky Craven. Martin had a puncture and Irvan had right front fender damage but both stayed on the lead lap, Craven fell a lap down and Bodine fell three laps down. The race was red flagged on lap 118 to clear up the cars of Earnhardt, Marlin, Pressley, Labonte, Speed, Burton, Schrader, Craven, and Dallenbach, Jr did not restart the race. Earnhardt was then sent to hospital with a broken collarbone and sternum.

### Finish

With light fading, NASCAR elected to shorten the race with a five lap shootout from the green flag on lap 125. Gordon would win from Jarrett. The race would be completed by 7:05pm

### Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 129 | 37 | running | 180 | $272,550 |
| 2 | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 129 | 5 | running | 175 | $55,070 |
| 3 | 8 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 129 | 7 | running | 170 | $53,980 |
| 4 | 6 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 129 | 1 | running | 165 | $44,455 |
| 5 | 15 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 155 | $50,025 |
| 6 | 40 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 150 | $40,175 |
| 7 | 7 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 146 | $23,475 |
| 8 | 24 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 129 | 0 | running | 142 | $33,425 |
| 9 | 9 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 129 | 0 | running | 138 | $27,795 |
| 10 | 32 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 134 | $31,925 |
| 11 | 21 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 129 | 3 | running | 135 | $19,955 |
| 12 | 18 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 129 | 0 | running | 127 | $26,575 |
| 13 | 39 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 124 | $26,255 |
| 14 | 36 | 75 | Morgan Shepherd | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 129 | 0 | running | 121 | $18,985 |
| 15 | 42 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 129 | 0 | running | 118 | $26,710 |
| 16 | 1 | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 129 | 12 | running | 120 | $24,375 |
| 17 | 37 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 128 | 0 | running | 112 | $25,110 |
| 18 | 10 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. (R) | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 128 | 0 | running | 109 | $25,905 |
| 19 | 27 | 41 | Ricky Craven | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 128 | 0 | running | 106 | $24,625 |
| 20 | 12 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 127 | 0 | running | 103 | $19,085 |
| 21 | 31 | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 126 | 0 | running | 100 | $17,005 |
| 22 | 41 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 126 | 0 | running | 97 | $23,595 |
| 23 | 38 | 95 | Gary Bradberry | Sadler Brothers Racing | Ford | 121 | 0 | running | 94 | $13,495 |
| 24 | 29 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | crash | 91 | $29,715 |
| 25 | 34 | 29 | Greg Sacks | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 119 | 0 | crash | 88 | $23,335 |
| 26 | 26 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 119 | 0 | crash | 85 | $23,060 |
| 27 | 23 | 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 117 | 0 | crash | 82 | $22,490 |
| 28 | 4 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 117 | 40 | crash | 89 | $31,020 |
| 29 | 16 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 117 | 19 | crash | 81 | $29,450 |
| 30 | 5 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 117 | 0 | crash | 73 | $19,830 |
| 31 | 14 | 33 | Robert Pressley | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 117 | 1 | crash | 75 | $19,690 |
| 32 | 35 | 15 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 117 | 0 | crash | 67 | $19,620 |
| 33 | 33 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 117 | 0 | crash | 64 | $27,540 |
| 34 | 25 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 114 | 0 | running | 61 | $12,495 |
| 35 | 30 | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 113 | 0 | running | 58 | $12,465 |
| 36 | 17 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 113 | 0 | running | 55 | $19,420 |
| 37 | 28 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 113 | 0 | running | 52 | $27,406 |
| 38 | 11 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 109 | 0 | crash | 49 | $12,250 |
| 39 | 19 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 102 | 4 | crash | 51 | $19,250 |
| 40 | 20 | 44 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 86 | 0 | engine | 43 | $12,250 |
| 41 | 13 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 85 | 0 | running | 40 | $19,250 |
| 42 | 22 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 16 | 0 | engine | 37 | $19,250 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 43 | | 97 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Pontiac | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Media
### Television

The Diehard 500 was covered by CBS in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1975 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, David Hobbs and Dick Berggren handled pit road for the television side. Due to the rain delay, CBS aired Golf instead but aired the race as an abridge broadcast on August 4, the day after the 1996 Brickyard 400. This would be the last race David Hobbs would work with CBS as he would leave for Speedvision to cover their Formula One races.
CBS :
| Booth announcers | Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | Pit reporters |
| Ken Squier | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker | Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren |