1996 Winchester 400

The twenty-seventh annual Winchester 400 was held under All-Pro Series sanction on September 29, 1996, at the Winchester Speedway.

Scoring the biggest victory of his racing career, Scot Walters of Louisville, Kentucky, won the 1996 running of the “Winchester 400.” The 1993 All-Pro Series Rookie of the Year took the lead from three-time defending winner Mike Cope on lap 358 and drove on for the win.

Five years after a life threatening crash in the 1991 running of the “400,” Dave Jackson used his outside front-row starting position to jump into the early lead. Jackson’s lead was to be short-lived, as pole sitter Wayne Anderson took the lead on lap 12. Staying in front for the next 96 circuits, Anderson led ahead of Hal Goodson, Ray Skillman, and Walters. Starting 12th, Cope was utilizing the lower groove as he marched through the field. Advancing to fifth by lap 35, disaster struck as a broken wheel caused him to pit under green and lose three laps to the leaders. Walters worked his way to second on the 89th circuit, with former Winchester Mini-Stock driver Jeff Fultz moving to third on lap 100. Walters then drove into the lead on lap 107 with Fultz following him through for second.

The final round of pit stops occurred with about 40 laps remaining. While Cope, Ron Barfield Jr., and Steven Christian all took on four fresh tires, Walters took on only right-side tires and grabbed the lead exiting the pits. Having made up all three laps, Cope was hopeful of a fourth-consecutive win when he moved to second with 20 laps to go. Walters proved too strong over he closing laps as he snapped the winning streak by leading Cope across the line by 0.33 seconds. Christian took third-place honors ahead of Barfield Jr. and Brian Rievley, all on the lead lap. The win was worth $12,775 for Walters.

External links

* [http://www.winchesterspeedway.com/ Winchester Speedway website]
* [http://www.craracing.net/ Official CRA Website]