The 1996 Hanes 500 was the 26th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 48th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 22, 1996, in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. In a one-lap shootout to the finish, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to defend the field to take his 18th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his ninth victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton would finish second and third, respectively.