The Winston was open to winning drivers and team owners from last season through the 1996 Winston Select 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and all previous All-Star race winners and NASCAR Winston Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 1996 were eligible to compete in the All-Star Race. In addition, the top five finishers of The Winston Select Open qualified for this race.
Bill Elliott suffered a broken femur in a crash during the Winston Select 500. Harry Gant, who had retired in 1994, substituted for Elliott for this race.
Jeff Gordon won the pole for the all-star event with a lap time of 142.001 mph (228.528 km/h). Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, and Michael Waltrip served as onboard camera cars throughout the race. Just as the green flag dropped, Jeff Burton limped back to the garage area when his engine expired. As Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett battled for second place, Terry Labonte lost momentum and slid out of the top 10 while Ward Burton charged within the top five. On lap 12, Jarrett took the lead from Gordon and led Bobby Labonte and Ward Burton on lap 30 to win the caution-free Segment 1 and collect the $50,000 bonus.
During the 10-minute break between segments, the fan balloting on whether or not to invert the field for the second 30-lap segment was unveiled. The fans had spoken and the result flashed on the Winston Cup scoreboard — INVERT!
Jarrett was sent to the rear of the field, while Harry Gant and Darrell Waltrip assumed the front row. By lap 32, Terry Labonte overtook Gant and held the lead until lap 53. On lap 36, Ward Burton got loose and crashed on the turn four wall, triggering the first caution in the race. Earnhardt took the lead from Terry Labonte by lap 54 and won Segment 2 to collect his $50,000 bonus. Terry Labonte crossed the line second and Rusty Wallace finished third. Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip, who started the race 20th, finished fourth.
For the final 10-lap shootout, Earnhardt led the field, but the caution flag waved after Wallace, Bobby Labonte, and Jarrett jumped the restart. The green flag finally dropped with Earnhardt and Terry Labonte battling for the lead. As they both made contact on lap 62, Michael Waltrip blasted past them while Wallace took the second spot away from Earnhardt and Martin overtook Terry Labonte for fourth. With over a one second lead over Wallace, Michael Waltrip took the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford Thunderbird to Victory Lane, earning the team $211,000. Following the race, he took home roughly $100,000 and used it to build half of a house for his parents.[4]
Being winless at the time, this victory was a huge achievement for Michael Waltrip. He would not win his first points race in the NASCAR Cup Series until the 2001 Daytona 500.
