#5 of Terry Labonte won the pole. Top ten results 3-Dale Earnhardt 88-Dale Jarrett 41-Ricky Craven 10-Ricky Rudd 29-Steve Grissom 4-Sterling Marlin 81-Kenny Wallace 12-Derrike Cope, 1 lap down 87-Joe Nemechek, 1 lap down 1-Rick Mast, 2 laps down On lap 343 Earnhardt and Bobby Hamilton had traded the lead three times in the previous three laps when Earnhardt punted Hamilton in Turn Four; Hamilton scraped the wall and later crashed because of damage from the earlier scrape. Failed to qualify: 27-Elton Sawyer, 78-Randy MacDonald, 93-Gary Bradberry, 63-Dick Trickle Pontiac Excitement 400 The Pontiac Excitement 400 was run on March 3 at Richmond International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole. Top ten results 24-Jeff Gordon 88-Dale Jarrett 16-Ted Musgrave 99-Jeff Burton 6-Mark Martin 43-Bobby Hamilton 2-Rusty Wallace 5-Terry Labonte 10-Ricky Rudd 94-Bill Elliott Failed to qualify: 78-Randy MacDonald, 02-Robbie Faggart, 19-Dick Trickle Coming into this race, Terry Labonte had led the most laps at Daytona and Rockingham but was 30th in the points standings, while Jeff Gordon was 43rd. After this race they were 17th and 27th, respectively. Purolator 500 The Purolator 500 was run on March 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 30 of Johnny Benson won the pole, but crashed in Happy Hour, forcing him to a backup car (and to the back of the field for the start). Top ten results 3-Dale Earnhardt 5-Terry Labonte 24-Jeff Gordon 28-Ernie Irvan 98-Jeremy Mayfield 25-Ken Schrader 23-Jimmy Spencer, 1 lap down 10-Ricky Rudd, 1 lap down 21-Michael Waltrip, 1 lap down 94-Bill Elliott, 1 lap down Failed to qualify: 65-Steve Seligman, 78-Randy MacDonald, 99-Jeff Burton Jeff Burton failing to qualify sparked a lot of controversy, as he was 2nd in the points standings going into this race. Provisionals for the first 4 races defaulted from 1995 driver and owner points, and he missed the field due to the 99 car being a new team. As a result, he fell from 2nd to 14th in the standings and never found his way back into the top 10 in points the rest of the season. This race would be the last victory for Dale Earnhardt until the 1998 Daytona 500. TranSouth Financial 400 The TranSouth Financial 400 was run on March 24 at Darlington Raceway. Ward Burton won the pole. Top ten results 24-Jeff Gordon 18-Bobby Labonte 41-Ricky Craven 2-Rusty Wallace 5-Terry Labonte 6-Mark Martin 16-Ted Musgrave 75-Morgan Shepherd, 1 lap