1996 AC Delco 400

{{Short description|29th race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Official_name=32nd Annual AC Delco 400|Date=October 20|Pole_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Pole_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Announcers=Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren|Most_Driver=Dale Jarrett|First_Driver=Ricky Rudd|Most_laps=207|Most_Team=Robert Yates Racing|First_Team=Rudd Performance Motorsports|Car=10|Network=TNN|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Avg={{convert|121.73|mph|km/h}}|Attendance=|Location=Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway|Distance_km=643.224|Scheduled_km=643.224|Scheduled_mi=399.681|Scheduled_laps=393|Distance_laps=393|Course_km=1.636|Course_mi=1.017|Season_No=31|Race_No=29|Race_Name=AC Delco 400|Year=1996|Pole_Time=23.291|Distance_mi=399.681|Caption=The 1996 AC Delco 400 program cover.|Image=1996_AC_Delco_400.jpeg}}

The 1996 AC Delco 400 was the 29th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 20, 1996, in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a {{Convert|1.017|mi|km}} permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. At race's end, Ricky Rudd, driving for his own Rudd Performance Motorsports team, would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 17th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. Meanwhile, third-place finisher, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte, would manage to overtake the points lead from teammate Jeff Gordon, leading Gordon by 32 points.{{Cite web |last=Green Jr. |first=Ron |date=October 21, 1996 |title=Rudd's Rockingham victory extends streak |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/96/docs/10_20del.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815213649/http://www.thatsracin.com/96/docs/10_20del.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |access-date=October 25, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |last=Strubin |first=John |date=October 21, 1996 |title=Rudd gamble works despite pit(iful) crew |pages=73 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111997235/rudd-gamble-works-despite-pitiful-crew/ |access-date=October 25, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second.

Background

File:Rockingham_Speedway.svg, 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.{{cite web |date= |title=Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc |url=http://www.fasttrackracing.com/ |accessdate=July 16, 2012 |publisher=Fasttrackracing.com}}

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Rick Mast

|Precision Products Racing

1996 AC Delco 400

Background

= Entry list =

Qualifying

= Full qualifying results =

Race results

References