1995 Dura Lube 500
The 1995 Dura Lube 500 was the 30th and penultimate stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the 15th and final race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the eighth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 29, 1995, in Avondale, Arizona at Phoenix International Raceway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent low-banked tri-oval race track. The race took the scheduled 312 laps to complete. On the final restart with six to go, Ricky Rudd, driving for his own Rudd Performance Motorsports team, would manage to defend the field to take his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, his only victory of the season, and with the win, maintaining a streak of 13 straight seasons with a victory.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Bobby Allison Motorsports driver Derrike Cope and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 31 in the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1995 Dura Lube 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | October 29, 1995 | ||
| Official name | 8th Annual Dura Lube 500 | ||
| Location | Avondale, Arizona, Phoenix International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1 mi (1.6 km) | ||
| Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km) | ||
| Average speed | 102.128 miles per hour (164.359 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Elliott-Hardy Racing | ||
| Time | 27.688 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 111 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Heading into the final race of the season, the 1995 NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon was the heavy favorite to win the championship, only needing a finish of 41st or better to clinch his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship. The second-place driver, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt, was 147 points behind Gordon.[3]
Background
Phoenix International Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 27, at 4:00 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, October 28, at 3:00 PM EST.[4] 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 four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while two more additional provisionals would be given to teams in the Winston West Series.
Bill Elliott, driving for Elliott-Hardy Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 27.688 and an average speed of 130.020 miles per hour (209.247 km/h) in the first round.[5]
Eight drivers would fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 63 | running | 180 | $78,260 |
| 2 | 18 | 12 | Derrike Cope | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 34 | running | 175 | $52,205 |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 71 | running | 170 | $49,105 |
| 4 | 6 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 312 | 22 | running | 165 | $36,118 |
| 5 | 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 155 | $33,580 |
| 6 | 12 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 150 | $25,420 |
| 7 | 9 | 21 | Morgan Shepherd | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 146 | $23,670 |
| 8 | 5 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 142 | $28,670 |
| 9 | 4 | 1 | Rick Mast | Precision Products Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 138 | $22,270 |
| 10 | 15 | 25 | Ken Schrader | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 134 | $24,270 |
| 11 | 26 | 28 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 130 | $26,070 |
| 12 | 20 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 127 | $24,170 |
| 13 | 16 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 | running | 124 | $25,670 |
| 14 | 1 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Elliott-Hardy Racing | Ford | 312 | 9 | running | 126 | $19,870 |
| 15 | 13 | 37 | John Andretti | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 118 | $15,370 |
| 16 | 39 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 115 | $24,570 |
| 17 | 7 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 112 | $22,870 |
| 18 | 35 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 109 | $13,745 |
| 19 | 11 | 33 | Robert Pressley (R) | Leo Jackson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 0 | running | 106 | $19,445 |
| 20 | 17 | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 103 | $11,110 |
| 21 | 38 | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 100 | $9,335 |
| 22 | 31 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 97 | $13,010 |
| 23 | 25 | 8 | Jeff Burton | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 94 | $17,885 |
| 24 | 40 | 41 | Ricky Craven (R) | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 1 | running | 96 | $13,235 |
| 25 | 41 | 75 | Todd Bodine | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 88 | $17,810 |
| 26 | 27 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 309 | 0 | running | 85 | $9,185 |
| 27 | 36 | 45 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | JTC Racing | Chevrolet | 307 | 0 | running | 82 | $9,660 |
| 28 | 30 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 306 | 0 | running | 79 | $12,435 |
| 29 | 32 | 15 | Dick Trickle | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 304 | 0 | running | 76 | $17,310 |
| 30 | 24 | 27 | Elton Sawyer | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 298 | 0 | crash | 73 | $17,085 |
| 31 | 8 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 293 | 0 | running | 70 | $12,160 |
| 32 | 33 | 29 | Steve Grissom | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 289 | 0 | running | 67 | $11,785 |
| 33 | 28 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 288 | 0 | running | 64 | $11,760 |
| 34 | 37 | 30 | Michael Waltrip | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 277 | 0 | running | 61 | $16,235 |
| 35 | 19 | 26 | Hut Stricklin | King Racing | Ford | 243 | 0 | spoiler | 58 | $13,710 |
| 36 | 42 | 90 | Mike Wallace | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 240 | 1 | engine | 60 | $8,685 |
| 37 | 23 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chevrolet | 235 | 0 | running | 52 | $21,665 |
| 38 | 21 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 231 | 0 | oil belt | 49 | $13,605 |
| 39 | 10 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Team SABCO | Pontiac | 230 | 0 | crash | 46 | $14,605 |
| 40 | 14 | 88 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 197 | 111 | engine | 53 | $20,605 |
| 41 | 43 | 07 | Doug George | Olson Technology Racing | Ford | 178 | 0 | crash | 40 | $8,605 |
| 42 | 34 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 116 | 0 | engine | 37 | $13,605 |
| 43 | 22 | 32 | Greg Sacks | Active Motorsports | Chevrolet | 38 | 0 | brakes | 34 | $8,605 |
| 44 | 44 | 19 | Ernie Cope | Lew Miller Racing | Chevrolet | 19 | 0 | engine | 31 | $8,605 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 45 | 50 | A. J. Foyt | A. J. Foyt Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 46 | 97 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports | Ford | ||||||
| 47 | 08 | Mike Bliss | Ultra Motorsports | Ford | ||||||
| 48 | 40 | Shane Hall | Dick Brooks Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 49 | 00W | Scott Gaylord | Oliver Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 50 | 58W | Wayne Jacks | Jacks Motorsports | Pontiac | ||||||
| 51 | 7W | L. J. Pryor | Red Eagle Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 52 | 36W | Rich Woodland Jr. | Gilliland Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
- Harris, Mike (October 30, 1995). "Rudd takes Dura-Lube victory; Earnhardt stays alive in points battle". The Times and Democrat. p. 13. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Armijo, Mark (October 30, 1995). "Rudd captures Dura-Lube 500". Arizona Republic. p. 24. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Higgins, Tom (October 30, 1995). "Rudd wins race; Gordon closes in on Winston title". Sun-News. p. 9. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Dura-Lube 500". The Charlotte Observer. October 27, 1995. p. 31. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harris, Mike (October 28, 1995). "Elliott claims pole, despite hardships". Wausau Daily Herald. p. 12. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.