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IROC marked its 20th anniversary with a new car, the Pontiac Firebird
Trans Am. Dale Earnhardt debuted the Firebird with a victory at Daytona.
At Talladega, Indy Car drivers scored their first-ever 1-2-3 sweep,
with Al Unser Jr. leading Robby Gordon and Scott Pruett to the checkered
flag. Charlotte was the series' first night event, with Mark Martin
earning the win. In the finale, at Michigan, Martin again finished first,
to move past Gordon and Unser Jr. to take his second championship in
three years. (from IROC Website)
The 1996 IROC Drivers
(Top) Scott Pruett, Sterling Marlin, Johnny Benson, Rusty Wallace, Terry
Labonte, Jeff Gordon
(Bottom) Robby Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Tommy Kendall, Al Unser Jr, Steve
Kinser
(Not pictured) Mark Martin
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Final Points
|
IROC 20 Champion
Mark Martin
 |
| Position |
Driver/Residence/Sanction
|
Points |
Money Earned |
| 1 |
Mark Martin/Daytona Beach,
FL/NASCAR |
61 |
225,000 |
| 2 |
Robby Gordon/Cornelius, NC/INDY
CAR |
54 |
100,000 |
| 3 |
Johnny Benson/Harrisburg,
NC/NASCAR |
50 |
60,000 |
| 4 |
Terry Labonte/Thomasville,
NC/NASCAR |
48 |
50,000 |
| 5 |
Al Unser Jr./Albuquerque,
NM/INDY CAR |
48 |
45,000 |
| 6 |
Sterling Marlin/Columbia,
TN/NASCAR |
40 |
40,000 |
| 7 |
Scott Pruett/Loomis, CA/INDY
CAR |
40 |
40,000 |
| 8 |
Dale Earnhardt/Mooresville,
NC/NASCAR |
39 |
40,000 |
| 9 |
Tom Kendall/Santa Monica,
CA/SCCA |
36 |
40,000 |
| 10 |
Jeff Gordon/Davidson, NC/NASCAR
|
30 |
40,000 |
| 11 |
Rusty Wallace/Concord, NC/NASCAR
|
26 |
40,000 |
| 12 |
Steve Kinser/Bloomington,
IN/WoO |
25 |
40,000 |
Race One |
| |
| February 16, 1996 |
| Daytona International Speedway |
| Daytona Beach, Florida |
| 2.5-mile high-banked oval, 40 laps, 100 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
| 1 |
6 |
Dale Earnhardt |
40 |
Running |
| 2 |
10 |
Robby Gordon |
40 |
Running |
| 3 |
2 |
Tom Kendall |
40 |
Running |
| 4 |
5 |
Sterling Marlin |
40 |
Running |
| 5 |
7 |
Al Unser Jr. |
40 |
Running |
| 6 |
12 |
Jeff Gordon |
40 |
Running |
| 7 |
4 |
Terry Labonte |
40 |
Running |
| 8 |
3 |
Mark Martin |
40 |
Running |
| 9 |
11 |
Johnny Benson |
40 |
Running |
| 10 |
9 |
Scott Pruett |
40 |
Running |
| 11 |
1 |
Steve Kinser |
30 |
Accident |
| 12 |
8 |
Rusty Wallace |
21 |
Mechanical |
| Time
of Race: 31
minutes, 57 seconds |
| Average
Speed: 187.793
MPH |
| Margin
of Victory: 2 car lengths |
| Caution
Flags : 1 (Kinser hit wall on Lap 30) |
| Lead
Changes: 3 among 4 drivers |
Lap
Leaders: Kinser, 1; Kendall, 2-10; Labonte,
11-37; Earnhardt, 38-40. |
Race Two |
| |
| April 27, 1996 |
| Talladega Superspeedway |
| Talladega, Alabama |
| 2.66-mile high-banked tri-oval, 38 laps, 101.08 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
| 1 |
8 |
Al Unser Jr. |
38 |
Running |
| 2 |
11 |
Robby Gordon |
38 |
Running |
| 3 |
3 |
Scott Pruett |
38 |
Running |
| 4 |
9 |
Sterling Marlin |
38 |
Running |
| 5 |
6 |
Terry Labonte |
38 |
Running |
| 6 |
2 |
Steve Kinser |
38 |
Running |
| 7 |
7 |
Jeff Gordon |
6 |
Accident |
| 8 |
10 |
Tom Kendall |
6 |
Accident |
| 9 |
12 |
Dale Earnhardt |
5 |
Accident |
| 10 |
4 |
Johnny Benson |
5 |
Accident |
| 11 |
5 |
Mark Martin |
5 |
Accident |
| 12 |
1 |
Rusty Wallace |
5 |
Accident |
| Time
of Race: 32
minutes, 31 seconds |
| Average
Speed: 186.513
MPH |
| Margin
of Victory: .093
second |
Caution Flags: 1 (Multi car crash on Lap 5;
Kinser -- flat tire after Lap 5) |
| Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers |
| Lap Leaders:
Kinser, 1; Benson, 2; J. Gordon, 3-4; Labonte, 5-8; R. Gordon,
9-27; Marlin, 28-35; Unser Jr., 36-38. |
Race Three |
| |
| May 17, 1996 |
| Charlotte Motor Speedway |
| Concord, North Carolina |
| 1.5-mile oval, 67 laps, 100.5 miles |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
| 1 |
2 |
Mark Martin |
67 |
Running |
| 2 |
3 |
Johnny Benson |
67 |
Running |
| 3 |
6 |
Scott Pruett |
67 |
Running |
| 4 |
1 |
Rusty Wallace |
67 |
Running |
| 5 |
5 |
Jeff Gordon |
67 |
Running |
| 6 |
8 |
Terry Labonte |
66 |
Running |
| 7 |
7 |
Tom Kendall |
66 |
Running |
| 8 |
11 |
Al Unser Jr. |
66 |
Running |
| 9 |
4 |
Steve Kinser |
8 |
Accident |
| 10 |
10 |
Dale Earnhardt |
8 |
Accident |
| 11 |
9 |
Sterling Marlin |
8 |
Accident |
| 12 |
12 |
Robby Gordon |
8 |
Accident |
| Time
of Race: 37
minutes, 3 seconds |
| Average
Speed: 162.753
MPH |
| Margin
of Victory: . 2.722
seconds |
| Caution Flags:
1 (Multi car crash on Lap 8) |
| Lead Changes:
0 |
| Lap Leaders:
Martin, 1-67. |
Race Four |
| |
| August 17, 1996 |
| Michigan International Speedway |
| Brooklyn, Michigan |
| Two-mile superspeedway, 50 laps, 100 miles. |
Finish |
Start |
Driver |
Laps |
Status |
| 1 |
10 |
Mark Martin |
50 |
Running |
| 2 |
4 |
Johnny Benson
|
50 |
Running |
| 3 |
9 |
Terry Labonte
|
50 |
Running |
| 4 |
12 |
Robby Gordon |
50 |
Running |
| 5 |
11 |
Al Unser Jr. |
50 |
Running |
| 6 |
5 |
Sterling Marlin
|
50 |
Running |
| 7 |
1 |
Rusty Wallace
|
50 |
Running |
| 8 |
7 |
Scott Pruett |
50 |
Running |
| 9 |
2* |
Dale Jarrett |
50 |
Running |
| 10 |
8** |
Ricky Rudd |
50 |
Running |
| 11 |
6*** |
Geoff Bodine |
47 |
Running |
| 12 |
3 |
Jeff Gordon |
39 |
Mechanical |
| * - Jarrett drive for
Steve Kinser |
| ** - Rudd drove for
Dale Earnhardt |
| *** - Bodine drive for
Tom Kendall |
| Time
of Race: 35
minutes, 44 seconds |
| Average
Speed: 176.910
MPH |
| Margin
of Victory: . 757
second |
| Caution Flags:
None |
| Lead Changes:
4 among 2 drivers |
Lap Leaders:
Benson, 1-30; Martin, 31;
Benson, 32; Martin, 33-50. |
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