The 1996 Jiffy Lube 300 was the 16th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the fourth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 14, 1996, in Loudon, New Hampshire, at New Hampshire International Speedway, a permanent, oval-shaped, low-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. In an emotional victory, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan, who had recently came back from a near-fatal crash at the 1994 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400, would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 13th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his first victory in over two years. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Rudd Performance Motorsports driver Ricky Rudd would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval. The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.

#DriverTeamMake1Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord8Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord9Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord10Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord12Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord15Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord16Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord17Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet19Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord21Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac23Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord29Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet30Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac33Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet37Jeremy MayfieldKranefuss-Haas RacingFord41Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet42Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac43Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet75Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord77Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord78Randy MacDonaldTriad MotorsportsFord81Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord90Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord94Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord98Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord

Qualifying Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 12, at 5:00 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. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, July 13, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 26-38 would be decided on time, 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.

Ricky Craven, driving for Larry Hedrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.439 and an average speed of .

Loy Allen Jr. was the only driver to fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed141Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.439129.379243Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac29.570128.806318Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet29.612128.624442Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac29.637128.51553Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.668128.381628Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord29.682128.32077Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord29.683128.316825Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.686128.303990Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord29.700128.2421088Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord29.705128.2211187Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet29.712128.1911233Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet29.730128.113138Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord29.732128.104144Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet29.740128.0701581Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord29.753128.0141624Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.759127.988172Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord29.777127.911189Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord29.779127.9021917Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet29.784127.8812010Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord29.804127.7952116Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord29.819127.731226Mark MartinRoush RacingFord29.848127.607235Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.852127.5892499Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord29.951127.1682512Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord29.952127.1632611Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord29.983127.0322737John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord29.984127.0282875Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord30.005126.9392923Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord30.030126.8333022Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac30.057126.7193121Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord30.124126.437321Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac30.169126.2493377Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord30.178126.2113471Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet30.204126.1033529Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet30.304125.6863678Randy MacDonaldTriad MotorsportsFord30.352125.4883794Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord30.655124.2473830Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac35.372107.678Provisionals3998Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord -* -*4015Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord -* -*Failed to qualify4119Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord -* -*Official first round qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup

Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings1628Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord30038running180$112,62521088Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord3002running175$59,72532010Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord3006running170$49,82542499Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord3000running160$31,60051233Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet30048running160$34,8256235Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30054running155$42,7337172Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord3000running146$30,7258825Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet3001running147$27,02593830Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac30017running143$27,825103121Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord3000running134$30,025112116Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord3002running135$26,4251253Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30012running132$32,22513321Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac2990running124$26,125143794Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord2990running121$28,3251577Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord29914running123$26,725162611Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord2990running115$25,125172923Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord2990running112$24,925184015Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord2990running109$24,725191581Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord2990running106$17,52520243Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac29941running108$28,625213377Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord2990running100$14,000222875Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord2990running97$17,00023138Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord2990running94$16,80024189Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord2990running91$23,700253022Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac2990running88$28,80026141Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet2991running90$29,50027990Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord2980running82$13,37528442Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac2970running79$20,27529144Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet2970running76$29,775303529Greg SacksDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet2950running73$20,07531318Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet2890running70$30,475323678Randy MacDonaldTriad MotorsportsFord2880running67$12,87533226Mark MartinRoush RacingFord2844running69$29,575341624Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25359ignition71$35,875351187Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet1970crash58$19,575363998Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord1870crash55$12,475371917Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet1591crash57$19,375382512Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord680engine49$19,125393471Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet540engine46$12,125402737John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord260crash43$19,125Official race results

References