Opening Laps
Reigning Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon was eliminated on Lap 8 after getting a light tap from Jeremy Mayfield. Goody's 300 winner Steve Grissom, with Rick Mast, Joe Nemechek, & Rusty Wallace were involved in a chain reaction incident after Gordon hit the wall. Mast and Wallace's car were relatively undamaged, but former Busch Series champions Grissom and Nemechek lost several laps after repairs. On Lap 29, Earnhardt's ignition failed, triggering a wreck for Ernie Irvan. Wally Dallenbach, Jr., who couldn't see Earnhardt, tagged Irvan and sent him into the wall.
Due to a new rules package, the lead changed hands early and often. At Lap 50, no one besides Dale Earnhardt and present leader Terry Labonte had spent more than 4 consecutive laps in the lead. Lap 54 saw 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope clip the Turn 4 wall in the Bobby Allison car, ending his day.
Read more about this topic: 1996 Daytona 500
Famous quotes containing the words opening and/or laps:
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—David Webb Peoples, U.S. screenwriter, and Ridley Scott. Rick Deckard, Blade Runner, reading the newspaper—his opening lines (1982)
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)