NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race memories: 1996, Michael Waltrip

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

To call Michael Waltrip’s win in the 1996 all-star race a surprise would be a major understatement. Before joining Wood Brothers Racing to start the 1996 season, Waltrip had suffered through 10 years of futility in the Sprint Cup Series, and he arrived at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that May with no wins to show for his 309 Cup starts to that point.

Waltrip had to race his way into the main event, and he did so in the Open by claiming the last of five transfer positions into the all-star race. Accordingly, he started last (20th) in the first 30-lap segment, after which there was a full inversion of the field before the second segment of 30 laps. In the final 10-lap run to the finish, Waltrip took the lead for the first time after Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte made contact ahead of him and slid up the track in Turn 2 before regaining control.

Waltrip held off Rusty Wallace for the final seven laps and finished 1.052 seconds ahead of the No. 2. It took Waltrip five more years to win his first points race in the series, the 2001 Daytona 500.

The 1996 All-Star Race also was noteworthy for starting a trend in Cup racing. Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 Chevrolet featured a special red-white-and-blue-flag paint scheme that spiked souvenir sales for his merchandise. Today, special paint schemes are commonplace in the series.