In 1996 in NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) sanctioned three national touring series, eight regional touring series, and the Winston Racing Series for local competition. NASCAR champions in 1996 were Terry Labonte, Randy LaJoie, Ron Hornaday Jr., Lance Hooper, Dave Dion, Tony Hirschman, Lyndon Amick, Mike Cope, Kelly Tanner, Chris Raudman, Joe Kosiski, and Larry Phillips.
Off-track activities During 1996, NASCAR expanded its brand into several new entertainment areas. The NASCAR Online website went live during the year,Kelly 1997, p.22. while the first four NASCAR Thunder stores, operated in conjunction with Gaylord Entertainment, were opened. In addition, the NASCAR Racing Online Series, based on Papyrus's NASCAR Racing 2 game, was formed using the Total Entertainment Network system.
National touring series Winston Cup Series
The 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series consisted of 31 events, run at 18 race tracks in 15 states. Terry Labonte won his second series championship, beating Jeff Gordon by 37 points; the Rick Hendrick-owned No. 5 Kellogg's Corn Flakes Chevrolet team won the series' owner's championship.Kelly 1997, p.52. Labonte's team, led by crew chief Gary DeHart, also won the series' Pit Crew Championship, held in October at North Carolina Motor Speedway.
Eleven drivers won races over the course of the 31-race season; Jeff Gordon won the most events, with ten victories.Kelly 1997, p.48. Bobby Hamilton was the season's only first-time winner, winning at Phoenix International Raceway in October.
The Busch Pole Award was won by Jeff Gordon, who won five pole positions during the season.Kelly 1997, p.18. Johnny Benson Jr. won the series' Rookie of the Year title over Randy MacDonald and Stacy Compton,Kelly 1997, p.16. while Bill Elliott won his eleventh Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p.53. The series' Manufacturers' Championship was won by Chevrolet, whose teams won 17 of the series' races; Ford won 13 events while Pontiac drivers scored a single win.Kelly 1997, p. 34.
In addition to the 31-race regular season, three exhibition races were run during the year. The Busch Clash, an event for the previous year's pole-winning drivers at Daytona International Speedway in February, was won by Dale Jarrett, while The Winston, the series' all-star race for race winners at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, was won by Michael Waltrip, who had advanced into the event as a wild card from the last chance race for non-winning drivers. Following the regular season, the Winston Cup Series ran the first NASCAR exhibition race in Japan, and the first overseas exhibition race since the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 in Australia, the Suzuka Thunder Special run on November 24 at Suzuka Circuit; competed in by invited drivers from the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series and Winston West Series, the event was won by Rusty Wallace.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Owner Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings 1 Terry Labonte 5 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 4657 31 2 21 24 $4,030,648 2 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 4620 31 10 21 24 $3,428,485 3 Dale Jarrett 88 Ford Robert Yates Racing 4568 31 4 17 21 $2,985,418 4 Dale Earnhardt 3 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 4327 31 2 13 17 $2,285,926 5 Mark Martin 6 Ford Roush Racing 4278 31 0 14 23 $1,887,396 6 Ricky Rudd 10 Ford Rudd Performance Motorsports 3845 31 1 5 16 $1,503,025 7 Rusty Wallace 2 Ford Penske Racing South 3717 31 5 8 18 $1,665,315 8 Sterling Marlin 4 Chevrolet Morgan-McClure Motorsports 3682 31 2 5 10 $1,588,425 9 Bobby Hamilton 43 Pontiac Petty Enterprises 3639 31 1 3 11 $1,151,235 10 Ernie Irvan 28 Ford Robert Yates Racing 3632 31 2 12 16 $1,683,313
Busch Series
The 1996 NASCAR Busch Series consisted of 26 events, run at 20 race tracks in 14 states. Randy LaJoie won his first series championship, beating David Green by 29 points.
Thirteen drivers won races over the course of the 26-race season; Mark Martin won the most events, with six victories.Kelly 1997, p.282. Randy LaJoie, Buckshot Jones, Greg Sacks, Jeff Fuller, and Kevin Lepage were first-time winners during the season.
The series' Busch Pole Award was won by David Green for the third consecutive season, winning four pole positions during the season.Kelly 1997, p.281. Glenn Allen Jr. won the series' Rookie of the Year title over Mike Dillon and Shane Hall, while David Green won the series' Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p.284. The series' Manufacturers' Championship, the Bill France Performance Cup, was won by Chevrolet.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Owner Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings 1 Randy LaJoie 74 Chevrolet BACE Motorsports 3714 26 5 11 20 $532,823 2 David Green 96 Chevrolet American Equipment Racing 3685 26 2 13 18 $469,118 3 Todd Bodine 8182 Chevrolet Pro Tech Motorsports 3064 26 1 3 9 $281,616 4 Jeff Green 3 Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 3059 26 0 5 13 $269,285 5 Chad Little 23 Pontiac Mark Rypien Motorsports 2984 26 0 2 7 $317,394 6 Jason Keller 57 Chevrolet KEL Racing 2900 26 0 3 10 $281,902 7 Jeff Purvis 4 Chevrolet Phoenix Racing 2894 26 2 4 7 $266,026 8 Kevin Lepage 7188 Chevrolet Lepage RacingRidling Motorsports 2870 26 1 3 10 $254,925 9 Phil Parsons 10 Chevrolet Phil Parsons Racing 2854 26 0 5 6 $215,023 10 Mike McLaughlin 34 Chevrolet Team 34 2853 26 0 7 10 $290,701
Craftsman Truck Series
The 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, renamed from the SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman, consisted of 24 events, run at 23 race tracks in 19 states. Ron Hornaday Jr. won his first series championship, beating Jack Sprague by 53 points.
Seven drivers won races over the course of the 26-race season; Mike Skinner won the most events, with eight victories.Kelly 1997, p. 300. Dave Rezendes, Jack Sprague, Rick Carelli, and Mark Martin were first-time winners during the season.
The series' Busch Pole Award was won by Mike Skinner, winning five pole positions during the season.Kelly 1997, p.298. Bryan Reffner won the series' Rookie of the Year title over Doug George and Lance Norick, while Jimmy Hensley won the series' Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p. 302. The series' Manufacturers' Championship was won by Chevrolet, followed by Ford and Dodge.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Owner Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings 1 Ron Hornaday Jr. 16 Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 3831 24 4 18 23 $614,084 2 Jack Sprague 24 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 3778 24 5 18 21 $580,112 3 Mike Skinner 3 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 3771 24 8 17 20 $590,995 4 Joe Ruttman 80 Ford Roush Racing 3275 24 0 7 16 $276,012 5 Mike Bliss 2 Ford Ultra Motorsports 3190 24 2 9 11 $345,322 6 Dave Rezendes 7 Ford Geoff Bodine Racing 3179 24 3 8 13 $335,840 7 Butch Miller 982819 FordFordDodge Liberty RacingIrvan-Simo RacingWalker Evans Racing 3126 24 0 7 11 $258,333 8 Jimmy Hensley 30 Dodge Grandaddy Racing 3029 24 0 5 14 $228,936 9 Bryan Reffner 44 Ford Irvan-Simo Racing 2961 24 0 3 9 $200,898 10 Rick Carelli 6 Chevrolet Chesrown Racing 2953 24 1 2 9 $216,625
Regional touring series Winston West Series
The 1996 NASCAR Winston West Series consisted of 15 events, run at 11 race tracks in 6 states; two races, at Sears Point Raceway in May and at Phoenix International Raceway in October, were combination events with the Winston Cup Series. Lance Hooper won his first series championship, beating Jeff Krogh by 30 points; Hooper was the first driver to win the championship during his rookie year in the series.
Eight drivers won races over the course of the 15-race season; Hooper won the most events, with four victories, in addition to finishing first among Winston West competitors in the Phoenix combination race;Kelly 1997, p. 394. the four overall wins were a series record for a rookie driver.Kelly 1997, p. 393.
The series' Busch Pole Award was tied for by Mark Krogh and Butch Gilliland, who each won three pole positions during the season. Hooper won the series' Rookie of the Year title, while Larry Gunselman won the series' Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p. 396. The series' Manufacturers' Championship was won by Chevrolet, followed by Ford, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Owner Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings 1 Lance Hooper 07 Pontiac Golden West Motorsports 2185 15 5 11 14 $63,395 2 Jeff Krogh 1 Chevrolet Excel Motorsports 2155 14 1 12 13 $55,805 3 Larry Gunselman 37 Ford Olson Technology Racing 2070 15 1 10 12 $58,300 4 Mark Krogh 24 Chevrolet Excel Motorsports 1907 14 1 3 10 $23,625 5 Scott Gaylord 2 Chevrolet Oliver Racing 1883 15 0 7 8 $43,170 6 Rich Woodland Jr. 86 Chevrolet Woodland Racing 1841 15 0 1 11 $34,195 7 Joe Bean 3 Chevrolet Bean & Krebs Motorsports 1789 15 1 2 8 $24,300 8 Butch Gilliland 38 Ford Bill Stroppe Motorsports 1675 11 3 5 7 $45,325 9 Bill McAnally 202 Chevrolet Bill McAnally Racing 1623 15 0 0 4 $17,225 10 Pete Graham 59 Chevrolet 1404 12 0 0 2 $14,975
Manufacturer's standings Pos Manufacturer Wins Points 1Chevrolet 5 87 2Ford 4 81 3Pontiac 4 78 4Oldsmobile 0 14 5Buick 0 10
Busch North Series The 1996 NASCAR Busch North Series consisted of 21 events, run at 14 race tracks in 8 states; two races, at Daytona International Speedway in February and at Nazareth Speedway in May, were combination events with the Busch Series. Dave Dion won his first series championship, beating Andy Santerre by 116 points.
Eight drivers won races over the course of the 21-race season; Andy Santerre won the most events, with four victories.Kelly 1997, p.404. The series' Busch Pole Award was won by Santerre, who won eight pole positions during the season. Brad Leighton won the series' Rookie of the Year title, while Brandon Butler won the series' Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p.406.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Owner Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Winnings 1 Dave Dion 29 Ford Dion Racing Enterprises 2803 19 2 10 12 $74,060 2 Andy Santerre 44 Chevrolet Andy Santerre Motorsports 2687 20 4 8 13 $100,700 3 Dale Shaw 60 Pontiac Shaw Racing 2654 20 2 9 12 $76,900 4 Kelly Moore 24 Pontiac Moore Racing 2637 20 0 6 13 $67,675 5 Brad Leighton 55 Chevrolet Grizco Racing 2596 19 2 8 10 $73,150 6 Mike Stefanik 51 Chevrolet Greci Racing 2523 20 0 8 9 $54,920 7 Robbie Crouch 6 Pontiac Ling Racing 2415 19 0 7 10 $42,495 8 Tom Bolles 76 Chevrolet Bolles Motorsports 2380 21 0 2 7 $45,590 9 Brandon Butler 7 Pontiac Shaw Racing 2321 19 0 3 10 $31,675 10 Stub Fadden 16 Chevrolet Fadden Racing 2243 19 0 1 7 $28,055
Featherlite Modified Tour
The 1996 NASCAR Featherlite Modified Tour consisted of 20 events, run at 11 race tracks in 7 states. Tony Hirschman won the series championship for the second consecutive year, beating Steve Park by 12 points.Kelly 1997, p. 398.
Eight drivers won races over the course of the 20-race season; Steve Park won the most events, with five victories;Kelly 1997, p.400. Park also won the series' Busch Pole Award, winning won four pole positions during the season, and the series' Most Popular Driver award.Kelly 1997, p.402.
Top ten drivers standings Driver Car Manufacturer Pts Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 1 Tony Hirschman 3 Chevrolet 2919 20 3 12 14 2 Steve Park 8 Chevrolet 2907 20 5 13 13 3 Rick Fuller 17 Chevrolet 2698 20 2 9 12 4 Jan Leaty 25 Chevrolet 2689 20 3 7 11 5 Mike Stefanik 6 Chevrolet 2669 19 3 10 11 6 Tim Connolly 4 Dodge 2664 20 0 8 11 7 Jerry Marquis 21 Chevrolet 2649 20 2 9 13 8 Ed Flemke Jr. 11 Chevrolet 2568 20 1 4 11 9 Tom Baldwin 7 Pontiac 2501 20 1 3 9 10 Tony Ferrante Jr. 31 Chevrolet 2387 20 0 0 6
Goody's Dash Series
The 1996 NASCAR Goody's Dash Series consisted of 21 events, run at 18 race tracks in 5 states. Lyndon Amick won his first series championship, beating Robert Huffman by 34 points.Kelly 1997, p.409.