1995 MBNA 500
{{Short description|25th race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Scheduled_km=804.672|Official_name=27th Annual MBNA 500|Caption=The 1995 Miller 500 program cover.|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Network=TNN|First_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|Most_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|First_Driver=Jeff Gordon|Most_Driver=Jeff Gordon|Pole_Team=Precision Products Racing|Pole_Driver=Rick Mast|Most_laps=400|Car=24|Distance_km=804.672|Location=Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway|Scheduled_laps=500|Scheduled_mi=500|Distance_laps=500|Avg={{convert|124.74|mph|km/h}}|Date=September 17|Pole_Time=23.461|Course_km=1.6|Course_mi=1|Race_Name=MBNA 500|Year=1995|Season_No=31|Race_No=25|Distance_mi=500|Announcers=Mike Joy, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker|Image=1995_MBNA_500.jpeg}}
The 1995 MBNA 500 was the 25th stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 17, 1995, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to dominate the race to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his seventh and final victory of the season.{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Kent |date=September 18, 1995 |title=Gordon wins MBNA 500 to strengthen points lead |pages=38 |work=The Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112997803/gordon-wins-mbna-500-to-strengthen/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{Cite news |last=Schnatz |first=Pete |date=September 18, 1995 |title=Jeff Gordon cruises to victory at Dover |pages=17 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112997988/jeff-gordon-cruises-to-victory-at-dover/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton and Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
File:Dover_International_Speedway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
= Entry list =
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!# !Driver !Team !Make !Sponsor |
1 |
2
|Ford |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6
|Ford |
7
|Ford |
8
|Ford |
9
|Ford |Spam |
10
|Ford |Tide |
11
|Ford |
12
|Ford |
15
|Ford |
16
|Ford |
17 |
18 |
21
|Ford |
22
|MBNA |
23
|Ford |
24 |
25 |
26
|Ford |
27
|Ford |
28
|Ford |
29 |
30 |
31 |
32 |
33
|Robert Pressley (R) |
37
|Ford |
40 |
41
|Ricky Craven (R) |
42 |
43
|STP |
66
|Ford |
67
|Ford |
71 |
75
|Ford |
77
|Ford |
87 |
90
|Ford |
94
|Ford |
98
|Ford |RCA |
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 15, at 3:00 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, September 16, at 11:45 AM EST.{{Cite news |date=September 15, 1995 |title=MBNA 500 |pages=30 |work=The Charlotte Observer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112998376/mbna-500/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} 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; which was usually four. 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.
Rick Mast, driving for Precision Products Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.461 and an average speed of {{Convert|153.446|mph|km/h}} in the first round.{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Mike |date=September 16, 1995 |title=Rick Mast gains third pole of his career |pages=148 |work=The Morning Call |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112998630/rick-mast-gains-third-pole-of-his-career/ |access-date=November 13, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}
Three drivers would fail to qualify.
= Full qualifying results =
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Pos. !# !Driver !Team !Make !Time !Speed |
1
|1 |Ford |23.461 |153.446 |
---|
2
|24 |23.502 |153.178 |
3
|42 |23.555 |152.834 |
4
|18 |23.558 |152.814 |
5
|22 |23.559 |152.808 |
6
|10 |Ford |23.576 |152.698 |
7
|2 |Ford |23.587 |152.626 |
8
|26 |Ford |23.631 |152.342 |
9
|37 |Ford |23.690 |151.963 |
10
|98 |Ford |23.690 |151.963 |
11
|75 |Ford |23.698 |151.912 |
12
|33 |Robert Pressley (R) |23.703 |151.880 |
13
|16 |Ford |23.717 |151.790 |
14
|29 |23.725 |151.739 |
15
|15 |Ford |23.729 |151.713 |
16
|6 |Ford |23.734 |151.681 |
17
|94 |Ford |23.735 |151.675 |
18
|12 |Ford |23.749 |151.585 |
19
|17 |23.755 |151.547 |
20
|5 |23.757 |151.534 |
21
|40 |23.767 |151.471 |
22
|41 |Ricky Craven (R) |23.777 |151.407 |
23
|77 |Ford |23.778 |151.400 |
24
|87 |23.784 |151.362 |
25
|8 |Ford |23.788 |151.337 |
colspan="7" |Failed to lock in Round 1 |
26
|28 |Ford |23.571 |152.730 |
27
|9 |Ford |23.592 |152.594 |
28
|3 |23.648 |152.233 |
29
|4 |23.657 |152.175 |
30
|30 |23.677 |152.046 |
31
|21 |Ford |23.727 |151.726 |
32
|43 |23.729 |151.713 |
33
|27 |Ford |23.730 |151.707 |
34
|23 |Ford |23.760 |151.515 |
35
|71 |23.788 |151.337 |
36
|25 |23.806 |151.222 |
37
|11 |Ford |23.826 |151.095 |
38
|90 |Ford |23.836 |151.032 |
colspan="7" |Provisionals |
39
|7 |Ford | -* | -* |
40
|32 | -* | -* |
colspan="7" |Failed to qualify |
41
|66 |Ford | -* | -* |
42
|67 |Ford | -* | -* |
43
|31 | -* | -* |
colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112973393/nascar/ Official first round qualifying results] |
colspan="7" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112973502/nascar-lineup/ Official starting lineup] |
Race results
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
!Fin !St !# !Driver !Team !Make !Laps !Led !Status !Pts !Winnings |
1
|2 |24 |500 |400 |running |185 |$74,655 |
---|
2
|32 |43 |500 |83 |running |175 |$62,505 |
3
|7 |2 |Ford |500 |0 |running |165 |$46,905 |
4
|24 |87 |500 |0 |running |160 |$34,465 |
5
|28 |3 |500 |0 |running |155 |$40,970 |
6
|29 |4 |500 |0 |running |150 |$31,515 |
7
|18 |12 |Ford |499 |1 |running |151 |$22,155 |
8
|16 |6 |Ford |499 |0 |running |142 |$31,065 |
9
|4 |18 |498 |0 |running |138 |$29,415 |
10
|6 |10 |Ford |498 |0 |running |134 |$33,665 |
11
|13 |16 |Ford |498 |0 |running |130 |$24,665 |
12
|36 |25 |498 |0 |running |127 |$24,065 |
13
|23 |77 |Ford |497 |0 |running |124 |$14,465 |
14
|12 |33 |Robert Pressley (R) |495 |11 |running |126 |$24,365 |
15
|20 |5 |495 |0 |running |118 |$29,865 |
16
|34 |23 |Ford |495 |0 |running |115 |$17,815 |
17
|37 |11 |Ford |494 |0 |running |112 |$26,615 |
18
|17 |94 |Ford |494 |0 |running |109 |$17,500 |
19
|10 |98 |Ford |493 |0 |running |106 |$17,215 |
20
|25 |8 |Ford |493 |0 |running |103 |$23,815 |
21
|5 |22 |493 |0 |running |100 |$21,915 |
22
|22 |41 |Ricky Craven (R) |492 |0 |running |97 |$17,265 |
23
|15 |15 |Ford |492 |0 |running |94 |$21,615 |
24
|39 |7 |Ford |491 |0 |running |91 |$27,765 |
25
|14 |29 |491 |0 |running |88 |$16,615 |
26
|3 |42 |490 |0 |running |85 |$21,365 |
27
|35 |71 |482 |0 |running |82 |$16,115 |
28
|1 |1 |Ford |439 |3 |engine |84 |$26,965 |
29
|30 |30 |425 |1 |running |81 |$20,915 |
30
|26 |28 |Ford |410 |1 |crash |78 |$29,765 |
31
|38 |90 |Ford |403 |0 |crash |70 |$12,815 |
32
|27 |9 |Ford |267 |0 |handling |67 |$15,255 |
33
|31 |21 |Ford |262 |0 |engine |64 |$17,705 |
34
|40 |32 |226 |0 |engine |61 |$12,655 |
35
|21 |40 |218 |0 |engine |58 |$17,605 |
36
|19 |17 |148 |0 |handling |55 |$17,430 |
37
|11 |75 |Ford |53 |0 |crash |52 |$17,430 |
38
|8 |26 |Ford |48 |0 |crash |49 |$17,430 |
39
|9 |37 |Ford |39 |0 |crash |46 |$12,430 |
40
|33 |27 |Ford |10 |0 |crash |43 |$20,430 |
colspan="11" |Failed to qualify |
41
! rowspan="3" | |66 |Ford ! colspan="5" rowspan="3" | |
42
|67 |Ford |
43
|31 |
colspan="11" |[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112957398/sundays-results/ Official race results] |
References
{{Reflist}}{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1995 Miller Genuine Draft 400 (Richmond)|Next_race=1995 Goody's 500 (Martinsville)|Monsteryear=1995|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}
{{NASCAR on TNN}}{{1995 Winston Cup}}
Category:1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Category:NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway