1995 Daytona 500

1995 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
Date February 19, 1995 (1995-02-19)
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching as high as 66.9 °F (19.4 °C); wind speeds approaching 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)[1]
Average speed 141.710 miles per hour (228.060 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Duel 2 Winner Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Laps 105
Winner
No. 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett
Nielsen Ratings 7.8/20
(11.4 million viewers)

The 1995 Daytona 500, the 37th running of the event, was held on February 19 at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Florida. Dale Jarrett won his first career Winston Cup pole. Sterling Marlin won the race for the second straight year, his second Daytona 500 win.

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race will be held.

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.[2] 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.[3] 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.

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[4] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,[5] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.[6]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[7] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[8]

Race summary

Opening laps

Outside polesitter Dale Earnhardt led the opening lap for the first time in his Daytona 500 career. Lap 3 saw Sterling Marlin in the Morgan-McClure Motorsports No. 4 car take the lead. The first yellow flag came out on lap 10 when Joe Nemechek (in his first race for his own team) crashed and collected Brett Bodine. Two laps after the restart, IMSA and IndyCar veteran Davy Jones touched with fellow rookie Randy LaJoie exiting turn 4, clipping the wall and spinning the Jasper Motorsports No. 77 car into the pits. Before 30 laps were put on the board, sprint car king Steve Kinser crashed with Phil Parsons. Jeff Gordon took the lead from Marlin during the yellow flag pit stops. After the restart, Mark Martin and 1985 and 1987 winner Bill Elliott stopped for flat tires. On lap 43, John Andretti and 1990 winner Derrike Cope collided exiting turn 2. Both drivers continued with minimal damage, but as Cope came through the tri-oval to catch up to the field, both rear tires suddenly blew out, sending him into a harmless spin but rendering his car disabled as he could get no traction with both rear tires flat. On lap 58, Mike Wallace got loose in turn 2 and tagged Jeff Purvis, sending both cars into the wall and the 1994 and 1993 ARCA 200 winners respectively were finished for the day. Caution flag pit stops resulted in Dave Marcis staying out to lead one lap (a regular practice for Dave), and Mark Martin's Roush Racing crew placed his car in front. On lap 68, Gordon retook the lead.

Mid-race events

On lap 70, rain interrupted the race for 2 hours. Jeff Gordon led Marlin, Todd Bodine, Earnhardt and Ken Schrader when the red flag was withdrawn. On lap 97, Todd Bodine spun exiting turn 4 (whether or not contact with Robert Pressley caused it was unclear), and engine failure soon took him out after the restart. He joined Purvis, Mike Wallace, Kinser Parsons, and Nemechek as the 6 cars out of the race. During the pit stops, Gordon dropped from the lead to 20th after a very long pit stop. Earnhardt was the new leader, and at halfway he led Michael Waltrip, Morgan Shepherd, Marlin and Ken Schrader to the restart. With help from Marlin, the younger Waltrip took the lead from Earnhardt for 2 laps before the defending 500 winner retook the lead. Meanwhile, Gordon was reclaiming lost ground quickly and passed Michael Waltrip in turn 2 on lap 109 to reenter the top 10.

On lap 131, Dave Marcis hit the turn 3 wall and slowed to a stop in the middle of turns 3 and 4. After the restart, a small dispute developed in his pits centering on the status of his unused tires. The Penske team showed up to make an offer for the tires, but Marcis wanted the tires to go to Richard Childress Racing and Earnhardt, for whom Marcis and his team had done many miles of testing and from whom he had received an engine for the race. "I may not have been in the Daytona 500 if it wasn't for Richard Childress," said Marcis of the former owner-driver.

Going through all of this, Marlin retained the lead until, with 40 laps to go, rookie Randy LaJoie spun on the backstretch and lost his windshield. As the yellow flag was being waved, Bobby Hamilton made contact with Rusty Wallace, resulting in Wallace's fifth straight Daytona 500 crash (4 of which resulted in a DNF, with the 1992 running as the exception). Rick Mast led a lap during the caution. 1989 winner Darrell Waltrip had a transmission failure that would cost him 20 laps to repair. Meanwhile, Gordon suffered an aerodynamic setback that would cost him the race. The jack was let down too soon on the driver's side during the tire change, and the fender was bent by the left front tire. Earnhardt would lead the field to the restart, and afterwards Gordon would brush the wall in his now ill-handling car. He brought the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 car in for a correctional pit stop and lost a lap.

Finish

With 20 laps to go, Marlin passed Earnhardt for the lead on the backstraightaway. With 15 laps to go, Bobby Labonte (in his first race for Joe Gibbs Racing) crashed in turn 1, nearly collecting his older brother Terry. Earnhardt came in for 4 new tires, gambling that maneuverability would be more valuable than track position. Just before the restart, rookie Robert Pressley spun in the shortchute before turn 1 after contact from Dick Trickle. When the green was waved Earnhardt quickly re-entered the top 10, and with 10 to go he was side by side with Ricky Rudd for 9th. He passed Mark Martin for second position with 4 laps to go, but Sterling Marlin's Chevrolet was not to be denied. This was Sterling Marlin's second Winston Cup win, both of which were in the Daytona 500. Marlin also joined Richard Petty (in the 1974 race) and Cale Yarborough (in 1984 race) as the only drivers who have won back-to-back Daytona 500's; this has not been done since. Martin went to third while his teammate Ted Musgrave finished fourth and 1993 winner Dale Jarrett (who started on the Pole) finished 5th.

This was Richard Petty's only Daytona 500 as a broadcaster, and the first Daytona 500 to be broadcast with a reduction in availability; parts of major markets (Atlanta, Milwaukee, Detroit) that had been able to receive the race were unable as CBS, the host broadcaster, lost affiliates because of the Fox affiliate switches of 1994.

Results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Status Led Points
1 3 4 Sterling Marlin (W) Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 200 Running 105 185
2 2 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 Running 23 175
3 6 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 Running 7 170
4 12 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 200 Running 0 160
5 1 28 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 Running 0 155
6 15 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 200 Running 2 155
7 35 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 200 Running 0 146
8 11 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 Running 0 142
9 9 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 Running 0 138
10 30 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 Running 0 134
11 17 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 200 Running 0 130
12 13 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Chevrolet 200 Running 0 127
13 18 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 200 Running 0 124
14 16 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 200 Running 0 121
15 21 31 Ward Burton Dilliard Racing Ford 200 Running 0 118
16 14 41 Ricky Craven # Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 Running 0 115
17 37 27 Loy Allen, Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 200 Running 0 112
18 25 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 200 Running 0 109
19 27 80 Joe Ruttman Hover Motorsports Ford 200 Running 0 106
20 40 7 Geoff Bodine (W) Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 200 Running 0 103
21 41 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 200 Running 1 105
22 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 Running 61 102
23 10 94 Bill Elliott (W) Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 199 Running 0 94
24 28 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 199 Running 0 91
25 39 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 199 Running 0 88
26 31 33 Robert Pressley # Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 199 Running 0 85
27 38 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 197 Running 0 82
28 26 66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford 196 Running 0 79
29 24 22 Randy LaJoie # Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 195 Running 0 76
30 20 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 185 Accident 0 73
31 22 12 Derrike Cope (W) Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 184 Running 0 70
32 5 17 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 180 Running 0 67
33 33 77 Davy Jones # Jasper Motorsports Ford 166 Running 0 64
34 7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 158 Accident 0 61
35 29 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 155 Engine 0 58
36 19 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 129 Engine 1 60
37 8 75 Todd Bodine RahMoc Enterprises Ford 105 Engine 0 52
38 34 44 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 57 Accident 0 49
39 36 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 57 Accident 0 46
40 42 26 Steve Kinser # King Racing Ford 27 Accident 0 43
41 32 19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford 27 Accident 0 40
42 23 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Ford 8 Accident 0 37
Failed to qualify
44 20 Bobby Hillin, Jr. Moroso Racing Ford
45 40 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac
46 14 Randy MacDonald Hagan Racing Pontiac
47 95 Doug Heveron Sadler Brothers Racing Ford
48 82 Terry Byers # Byers Racing Ford
49 52 Gary Bradberry # Means Racing Ford
50 62 Ronnie Sanders Henley Gray Racing Ford
51 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford
52 73 Phil Barkdoll Barkdoll Racing Ford
53 99 Shawna Robinson CPR Motorsports Ford
54 72 Jim Sauter Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
55 51 Kerry Teague Phoenix Racing Chevrolet
56 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Ford
57 68 Bob Strait Strait Racing Ford
58 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford
59 0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
60 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Racing Ford
61 67 Ken Bouchard Cunningham Racing Ford
62 48 James Hylton Hylton Racing Pontiac
63 53 Ritchie Petty Petty Brothers Racing Ford
64 32 Mike Chase # Active Motorsports Chevrolet
65 65 Steve Seligman O'Neil Racing Ford

References

  1. "Weather of the 1995 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  3. "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. "Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations". Roadracing World. Lake Elsinore, California: Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. March 24, 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. "Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona International Speedway. April 24, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  7. What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube.
  8. "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  9. "1995 Daytona 500". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 2014-04-13.

External links

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