1996 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 31 in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
Track map of Daytona International Speedway
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| Date | February 18, 1996 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds approaching 13 miles per hour (21 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 154.308 miles per hour (248.335 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 44 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 9.2/24 (13.9 million viewers) |
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The 1996 Daytona 500, the 38th running of the event, was run on February 18, 1996, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, as the first race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup season. Dale Jarrett won this race for the second time after winning it in 1993 and for the first (and only) time in all of Daytona 500 history, Dale Earnhardt won the pole position, allowing many to believe that he would finally win the race. Ernie Irvan returned to race full-time alongside Earnhardt (both drivers won their respective Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races).
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
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