The 1996 Miller 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 23, 1996, in Cambridge Township, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. Depending on fuel mileage, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to drive a conservative race for the last 52 laps of the race to take his 44th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Cambridge Township, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. MIS is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
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 RacingFord29Steve GrissomDiamond 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 MotorsportsFord81Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord90Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord94Todd BodineBill Elliott RacingFord98Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord
Qualifying Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 21, at 3:30 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, June 22, at 10:30 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.
Bobby Hamilton, driving for Petty Enterprises, would win the pole, setting a time of 38.884 and an average speed of .
No drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed143Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac38.884185.166212Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord39.098184.153375Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord39.213183.61346Mark MartinRoush RacingFord39.214183.608518Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet39.220183.58065Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.260183.393724Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.263183.37984Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet39.278183.30999Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord39.279183.3041011Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord39.338183.029113Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet39.345182.9971216Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord39.360182.9271398Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord39.382182.8251410Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord39.391182.7831541Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.410182.6951681Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord39.440182.556171Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac39.473182.403182Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord39.477182.3851990Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord39.482182.3622021Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord39.487182.338217Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord39.508182.2422229Steve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet39.520182.1862337John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord39.547182.0622487Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet39.577181.9242599Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord39.592181.855Failed to lock in Round 12617Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet39.649181.5932725Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet39.680181.4522877Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord39.732181.2142942Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac39.735181.2003088Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord39.762181.0773115Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord39.770181.0413228Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord39.790180.950338Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord39.852180.6683422Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac39.885180.5193533Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet39.917180.3743671Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet40.053179.7623730Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac40.103179.5383819Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord40.225178.993Provisionals3994Todd BodineBill Elliott RacingFord -* -*4023Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord -* -*Official first round qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup *Time not available.
Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings1182Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord20010running180$71,380265Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2006running175$59,730384Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet20078running175$55,93044023Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord2000running160$43,77553228Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord2000running155$40,5256724Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet20042running155$41,650746Mark MartinRoush RacingFord2000running146$35,35081216Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord2000running142$29,2009113Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2000running138$33,350103088Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord2003running139$27,85011375Morgan ShepherdButch Mock MotorsportsFord20044running135$19,90012518Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingChevrolet2007running132$30,425133115Wally Dallenbach Jr.Bud Moore EngineeringFord1990running124$25,375142877Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord1990running121$13,52515143Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac1995running123$26,025162725Ken SchraderHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet1990running115$23,950172599Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord1990running112$16,62518171Rick MastPrecision Products RacingPontiac1990running109$23,2901999Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord1990running106$22,875203994Todd BodineBill Elliott RacingFord1990running103$24,36021217Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord1990running100$22,240221011Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord1990running97$22,025233533Robert PressleyLeo Jackson MotorsportsChevrolet1990running94$21,790242337John AndrettiKranefuss-Haas RacingFord1980running91$21,580252617Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet1980running88$21,545263671Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet1980running85$14,08527338Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord1970running82$13,925283819Loy Allen Jr.TriStar MotorsportsFord1970running79$13,865291541Ricky CravenLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet1970running76$20,255301398Jeremy MayfieldCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord1960out of gas73$17,690311410Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord1955running75$35,540322021Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord1920running67$17,490331681Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord1920running64$10,385342229Steve GrissomDiamond Ridge MotorsportsChevrolet1660engine61$10,315353422Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac1560engine58$25,245362487Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet1370engine55$17,165373730Johnny Benson Jr. (R)Bahari RacingPontiac1300engine52$16,165382942Kyle PettyTeam SABCOPontiac1250engine49$17,080391990Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord1190engine46$10,08040212Derrike CopeBobby Allison MotorsportsFord530piston43$24,080Official race results
Media Television The Daytona 500 was covered by CBS with Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1979 race winner Buddy Baker in commentary. Mike Joy, David Hobbs and Dick Berggren handled pit road for the television side.
CBS Booth announcers Pit reporters Lap-by-lap Color-commentators Ken Squier Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker Mike Joy David Hobbs Dick Berggren
References