1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 (July)

The 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on July 16, 1995, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500
Race details[1]
Race 17 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held.
Date July 16, 1995 (1995-July-16)
Official name Van Scoy Diamond Mine 500
Location Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Course Permanent racing facility
2.500 mi (3.400 km)
Distance 200 laps, 501.0 mi (804 km)
Weather Temperatures of 99.9 °F (37.7 °C); wind speeds of 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)
Average speed 134.038 miles per hour (215.713 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Melling Racing
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Penske Racing
Laps 74
Winner
No. 28 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Mike Wallace

Background

Pocono Raceway is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races; the others are Daytona International Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[2] The standard track at Pocono Raceway is a three-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked differently; the first is banked at 14°, the second turn at 8° and the final turn with 6°. However, each of the three straightaways are banked at 2°.[3]

Race report

Randy MacDonald and Terry Byers were the only two drivers not to qualify for this event. Nearly 13% of the race was held under a caution flag and the average green flag run was slightly more than 29 laps. Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Morgan Shepherd's good attempts at qualifying made this the first race of 1995 where Fords started 1-2-3. Elliott's pole was his first of the season, earning him a spot in the 1996 Busch Clash. Ted Musgrave was on a roll heading into this race as he had a very solid 1995 and looked to be heading to his first career win. He also traditionally ran very well at Pocono so he was a very popular sleeper pick heading into the race after a strong qualifying run, but his race was almost over before it began. Ted had some valve issues that got repaired before the green even waved, but they sorted it out and he got running in time for the green and still managed to finish in fourth place.[4]

41 drivers were a part of this race; all of them were born in the United States of America. Dale Jarrett managed to defeat Jeff Gordon almost two-tenths of a second after a duel over the last 20 laps; Jarrett really did need to get this win. At this time Yates was a stronger team than Gibbs and that's why Jarrett left Gibbs for Yates. It had to be tough for him watching Bobby Labonte go to victory lane a couple of times in the team he helped build while he struggled in one of the very top cars of the time. Ricky Craven led two laps just before the halfway point of the race. Notably, those two laps were a part of the six leads that he would lead in the 1995 Winston Cup Series season.[4] Jarrett, however, ran out of gas coming to the checkered flag; needing Michael Waltrip's help to be pushed to victory lane. Formal attendance records were never kept for this three-hour-and-forty-nine-minute racing event.

This was the first top ten finish for Cale Yarborough Motorsports since May of 1993 when Derrike Cope drove the #98 Ford. Not only the first top ten finish for Cale but also the first career top ten finish for Jeremy Mayfield, who took over the ride one year earlier at this very event as a young rookie.[4]

Speeds during this race reached up to 134.038 miles per hour (215.713 km/h) and 37 changes were made to the leader's position. Five cautions slowed the race for 25 laps; primarily for debris and accidents.[4] Three drivers were considered the odds-on favorite going into the actual race: Ted Musgrave, Derrike Cope and Steve Grissom.[5] This race was the most competitive (37 lead changes among 13 drivers) since 1983 and once again the lead changed twice a lap on several laps.

Top 10 finishers
Pos[4] Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Points Time/Status
1 1528Dale JarrettFord200261803:43:49
2 1124Jeff GordonChevrolet20018175+0.19 seconds
3 1310Ricky RuddFord2000165Lead lap under green flag
4 716Ted MusgraveFord2001165Lead lap under green flag
5 194Bill ElliottFord20015160Lead lap under green flag
6 277Geoffrey BodineFord2001155Lead lap under green flag
7 26Mark MartinFord20041151Lead lap under green flag
8 3898Jeremy MayfieldFord2000142Lead lap under green flag
9 987Joe NemechekChevrolet2000138Lead lap under green flag
10 2515Dick TrickleFord2000134Lead lap under green flag

Timeline

Section reference: [4]

  • Start of race: Bill Elliott started the race with the pole position.
  • Lap 22: Caution for debris, ended on lap 25.
  • Lap 38: Hut Stricklin had engine problems.
  • Lap 76: Caution for debris, ended on lap 83.
  • Lap 93: Ken Schrader's engine started acting up.
  • Lap 97: Caution due to Bobby Labonte's accident, green flag racing resumed on lap 100.
  • Lap 108: Derrike Cope just could not keep his engine working properly.
  • Lap 136: John Andretti had an engine that suddenly quit on him.
  • Lap 144: Jimmy Helmsey went off the track while attempting to make a turn, causing a caution that ended on lap 147.
  • Lap 149: Kenny Wallace had a terminal crash, forcing him to end his race weekend early.
  • Lap 156: Darrell Waltrip's engine stopped functioning properly.
  • Lap 159: Caution due to a three-car collision, ended on lap 163.
  • Lap 186: Dave Marcis realized that his engine stopped while he was still racing.
  • Finish: Dale Jarrett was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points[4] Differential
1 Jeff Gordon 2553 0
2 Sterling Marlin 2447 -106
3 Ted Musgrave 2397 -156
4 Dale Earnhardt 2389 -164
5 Mark Martin 2380 -173
6 Terry Labonte 2141 -412
7 Rusty Wallace 2139 -414
8 Michael Waltrip 2069 -484
9 Morgan Shepherd 2060 -493
10 Bobby Labonte 2024 -529

References
  1. Weather information for the 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 1, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  3. "Pocono Raceway". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  4. Race information regarding the 1995 Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Racing Reference
  5. Remember When: The Season of 1995 Part II at Popular Speed
Preceded by
1995 Slick 50 300		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1995		 Succeeded by
1995 DieHard 500
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