1997 Pepsi 400
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race 16 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||||
 The 1997 Pepsi 400 program cover, featuring Jeff Gordon. | |||||
| Date | July 5, 1997 | ||||
| Official name | 39th Annual Pepsi 400 | ||||
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway | ||||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.0 km) | ||||
| Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||||
| Scheduled Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||||
| Average speed | 157.791 miles per hour (253.940 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||||
| Time | 47.424 | ||||
| Most laps led | |||||
| Driver | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | |||
| Laps | 113 | ||||
| Winner | |||||
| No. 98 | John Andretti |
Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett | ||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||||
The 1997 Pepsi 400 was the 16th
NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin
would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[3] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[4]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Thursday, July 3, at 3:00 PM
NASCAR Winston West Series
, four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while the final two spots would be given to teams in the Winston West Series, leaving the field at 44 cars.
Mike Skinner, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 47.424 and an average speed of 189.777 miles per hour (305.416 km/h).[5]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Loy Allen Jr., Geoff Bodine, and Jeff Green.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin[6] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 160 | 113 | running | 185 | $109,525 |
| 2 | 35 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 170 | $74,975 |
| 3 | 30 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 165 | $53,775 |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 7 | running | 165 | $52,475 |
| 5 | 16 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 155 | $45,975 |
| 6 | 6 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 150 | $40,850 |
| 7 | 38 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 160 | 2 | running | 151 | $30,550 |
| 8 | 23 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 142 | $36,500 |
| 9 | 24 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 138 | $35,500 |
| 10 | 20 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | running | 134 | $40,000 |
| 11 | 27 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 130 | $30,565 |
| 12 | 22 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 127 | $29,975 |
| 13 | 31 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 124 | $22,585 |
| 14 | 34 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 1 | running | 126 | $29,245 |
| 15 | 14 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 118 | $30,455 |
| 16 | 15 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | running | 115 | $28,615 |
| 17 | 37 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 112 | $23,175 |
| 18 | 9 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports
|
Ford | 160 | 0 | running | 109 | $27,860 |
| 19 | 36 | 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 106 | $17,920 |
| 20 | 25 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | running | 103 | $32,655 |
| 21 | 4 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 160 | 1 | running | 105 | $85,135 |
| 22 | 26 | 40 | Robby Gordon | Team SABCO
|
Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 97 | $26,915 |
| 23 | 40 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 160 | 1 | running | 99 | $26,545 |
| 24 | 11 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO
|
Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | running | 91 | $19,325 |
| 25 | 12 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 159 | 0 | crash | 88 | $19,080 |
| 26 | 21 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 159 | 4 | crash | 90 | $25,820 |
| 27 | 18 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing
|
Ford | 159 | 26 | crash | 87 | $30,465 |
| 28 | 28 | 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | crash | 79 | $18,445 |
| 29 | 10 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 159 | 0 | crash | 76 | $18,225 |
| 30 | 41 | 1 | Jerry Nadeau | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 159 | 0 | crash | 73 | $25,130 |
| 31 | 5 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer
|
Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 159 | 0 | running | 70 | $24,575 |
| 32 | 32 | 77 | Morgan Shepherd | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 159 | 0 | running | 67 | $15,045 |
| 33 | 17 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 158 | 2 | running | 69 | $22,015 |
| 34 | 13 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 155 | 0 | crash | 61 | $29,985 |
| 35 | 8 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 155 | 1 | crash | 63 | $21,955 |
| 36 | 19 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 155 | 0 | crash | 55 | $21,925 |
| 37 | 39 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 155 | 0 | running | 52 | $21,896 |
| 38 | 42 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 153 | 0 | running | 49 | $21,850 |
| 39 | 33 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Team SABCO
|
Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | running | 46 | $14,850 |
| 40 | 7 | 78 | Billy Standridge | Triad Motorsports | Ford | 39 | 0 | crash | 43 | $14,850 |
| 41 | 1 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 37 | 2 | crash | 45 | $21,850 |
| 42 | 29 | 97 | Chad Little | Mark Rypien Motorsports
|
Pontiac | 32 | 0 | crash | 37 | $15,350 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 43 | 91 | Loy Allen Jr. | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 44 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 45 | 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
- ^ Green Jr., Ron (July 5, 1997). "Andretti flexes muscle". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NASCAR.COM : Tracks". 2010-08-11. Archived from the original on 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ "Daytona International Speedway: The World Center of Racing". 2010-08-30. Archived from the original on 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1997 Pepsi 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
