The 1995 Goodwrench 500 was the second stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 26, 1995, in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Motor Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to dominate a majority of the race to take his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.

1995 Goodwrench 500
Race details
Race 2 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1995 Goodwrench 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
The 1995 Goodwrench 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date February 26, 1995
Official name 30th Annual Goodwrench 500
Location Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.637 km)
Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Scheduled Distance 492 laps, 500.364 mi (805.257 km)
Average speed 125.305 miles per hour (201.659 km/h)
Attendance 59,000
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 23.228
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 329
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

edit
 
The layout of North Carolina Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[3]

Entry list

edit
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Pontiac Skoal
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Genuine Draft
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford Exide
8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Raybestos
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Spam
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Lowe's
12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford Mane 'n Tail
15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford Ford Quality Care
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford The Family Channel
17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Western Auto
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet Interstate Batteries
19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford TriStar Motorsports
21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Smokin' Joe's
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford Quaker State
27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford Hooters
28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Meineke
30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil
31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet Hardee's
32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet Active Trucking
33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet Skoal Bandit
37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford Little Caesars, Kmart
40 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac Kendall
41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac Coors Light Silver Bullet
43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
47 Billy Standridge Standridge Motorsports Ford World Championship Wrestling
48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac Rumple Furniture
52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford Jimmy Means Racing
66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford DuraGloss
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Terramite
75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Factory Stores of America
77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford US Airways, Jasper Engines & Transmissions
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford TIC Financial Systems
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Burger King
90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford McDonald's
98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA

Qualifying

edit

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 24, at 2:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 20 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, February 25, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. For this specific race, positions 21-38 would be decided on time,[4] 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; up to four provisionals were given. If needed, a past champion who did not qualify on either time or provisionals could use a champion's provisional, adding one more spot to the field.

Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.228 and an average speed of 157.620 miles per hour (253.665 km/h) in the first round.[5]

Five drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

edit
Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.228 157.620
2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 23.312 157.052
3 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 23.444 156.168
4 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 23.454 156.101
5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.520 155.663
6 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 23.528 155.610
7 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 23.554 155.439
8 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.604 155.109
9 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 23.613 155.050
10 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 23.630 154.939
11 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 23.643 154.853
12 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 23.652 154.795
13 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 23.653 154.788
14 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 23.665 154.709
15 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 23.678 154.625
16 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 23.683 154.592
17 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 23.694 154.520
18 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 23.695 154.514
19 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 23.696 154.507
20 22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 23.739 154.227
Failed to lock in Round 1
21 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 23.552 155.452
22 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 23.648 154.821
23 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.740 154.221
24 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 23.746 154.182
25 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 23.772 154.013
26 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 23.776 153.987
27 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 23.776 153.987
28 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 23.785 153.929
29 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 23.821 153.696
30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.823 153.683
31 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 23.826 153.664
32 32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet 23.851 153.503
33 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 23.866 153.407
34 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 23.886 153.278
35 40 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac 23.940 152.932
36 77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford 23.953 152.849
37 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 23.959 152.811
38 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 24.031 152.353
Provisionals
39 26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford -* -*
40 27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford -* -*
41 31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
43 66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford -* -*
44 52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford -* -*
45 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
46 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford -* -*
47 19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford -* -*
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

edit
Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 492 329 running 185 $167,600
2 15 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 492 62 running 175 $61,350
3 23 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 492 72 running 170 $40,740
4 2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 492 3 running 165 $33,480
5 26 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 491 0 running 155 $34,075
6 21 29 Steve Grissom Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 491 0 running 150 $20,300
7 19 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 490 0 running 146 $28,325
8 6 12 Derrike Cope Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 489 0 running 142 $18,425
9 41 31 Ward Burton A.G. Dillard Motorsports Chevrolet 489 0 running 138 $15,725
10 27 42 Kyle Petty Team SABCO Pontiac 489 0 running 134 $26,250
11 24 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Hardy Racing Ford 489 0 running 130 $13,025
12 22 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 488 0 running 127 $25,775
13 7 37 John Andretti Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 488 0 running 124 $12,525
14 3 11 Brett Bodine Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 487 0 running 121 $25,425
15 31 90 Mike Wallace Donlavey Racing Ford 486 0 running 118 $12,625
16 8 41 Ricky Craven (R) Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 486 0 running 115 $17,225
17 11 30 Michael Waltrip Bahari Racing Pontiac 485 0 running 112 $20,925
18 34 98 Jeremy Mayfield Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 483 0 running 109 $11,525
19 18 8 Jeff Burton Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 483 0 running 106 $21,275
20 29 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 477 0 running 103 $12,375
21 4 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 474 0 running 100 $25,475
22 14 15 Dick Trickle Bud Moore Engineering Ford 471 0 running 97 $19,775
23 42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 462 0 running 94 $10,625
24 16 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 451 0 engine 91 $25,725
25 20 22 Randy LaJoie (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 438 0 running 88 $19,925
26 30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 436 5 running 90 $30,115
27 39 26 Steve Kinser King Racing Ford 436 0 running 82 $18,915
28 40 27 Loy Allen Jr. Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 433 0 running 79 $18,165
29 13 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 417 0 engine 76 $9,990
30 28 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 417 0 running 73 $13,540
31 10 75 Todd Bodine Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 415 0 running 70 $18,240
32 33 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 376 0 running 67 $9,690
33 25 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 364 0 running 64 $17,940
34 12 21 Morgan Shepherd Wood Brothers Racing Ford 298 7 engine 66 $17,790
35 9 1 Rick Mast Precision Products Racing Ford 264 0 handling 58 $17,590
36 17 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 259 0 engine 55 $9,315
37 36 77 Davy Jones (R) Jasper Motorsports Ford 222 0 crash 52 $9,275
38 37 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 219 0 engine 49 $17,305
39 5 25 Ken Schrader Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 217 14 crash 51 $17,205
40 32 32 Jimmy Hensley Active Motorsports Chevrolet 177 0 crash 43 $9,205
41 35 40 Greg Sacks Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac 177 0 crash 40 $18,205
42 38 33 Robert Pressley (R) Leo Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet 38 0 engine 37 $17,205
Failed to qualify
43 66 Ben Hess RaDiUs Motorsports Ford
44 52 Gary Bradberry Jimmy Means Racing Ford
45 48 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac
46 47 Billy Standridge Johnson Standridge Racing Ford
47 19 Phil Parsons TriStar Motorsports Ford
Official race results

References

edit
  1. ^ Harris, Mike (February 27, 1995). "Gordon's star grows brighter with Goodwrench 500 win". The Park City Daily News. p. 10. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Higgins, Tom (February 27, 1995). "Gordon simply unsinkable at Rockingham". The Bradenton Herald. p. 22. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  4. ^ "Nuts and Bolts". The Charlotte Observer. February 24, 1995. p. 23. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Harris, Mike (February 25, 1995). "Gordon wins Goodwrench 500 pole". The Daily News-Journal. p. 10. Retrieved December 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
Previous race:
1995 Daytona 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1995 season
Next race:
1995 Pontiac Excitement 400