1997 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 24 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 program cover, featuring Jeff Burton. | |||
| Date | September 6, 1997 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.75 miles (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 109.047 miles per hour (175.494 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bill Elliott Racing | ||
| Time | 21.648 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Burton | Jeff Burton | |
| Laps | 235 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1997 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 was the 24th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 40th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 6, 1997, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. Within the closing laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to pass the mainly dominant driver of the day, Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton to take his 13th NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fifth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Burton and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. Known as "America's premier short track".
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 5. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, September 6. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. Positions 26-38 would be decided on time, and depending on who needed it, the 39th thru either the 42nd, 43rd, or 44th position would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the field would be limited to 42 cars. If a champion needed it, the field would expand to 43 cars. If the race was a companion race with the 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.
Bill Elliott, driving for Bill Elliott Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 21.648 and an average speed of 124.723 miles per hour (200.722 km/h).[3]
Full qualifying results
*Time not available.
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 39 | running | 180 | $91,490 |
| 2 | 11 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 235 | running | 180 | $70,240 |
| 3 | 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 | running | 165 | $52,355 |
| 4 | 31 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 400 | 0 | running | 160 | $40,005 |
| 5 | 14 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 400 | 2 | running | 160 | $39,050 |
| 6 | 7 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 400 | 23 | running | 155 | $29,325 |
| 7 | 12 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 399 | 0 | running | 146 | $29,325 |
| 8 | 2 | 27 | Kenny Irwin Jr. | David Blair Motorsports | Ford | 399 | 12 | running | 147 | $17,825 |
| 9 | 38 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 138 | $30,725 |
| 10 | 16 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 399 | 0 | running | 134 | $24,125 |
| 11 | 27 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 398 | 0 | running | 130 | $27,625 |
| 12 | 33 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 127 | $27,325 |
| 13 | 37 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 124 | $27,125 |
| 14 | 9 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 121 | $26,825 |
| 15 | 22 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 118 | $33,775 |
| 16 | 19 | 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 398 | 0 | running | 115 | $19,520 |
| 17 | 24 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 398 | 0 | running | 112 | $37,320 |
| 18 | 21 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 397 | 0 | running | 109 | $26,270 |
| 19 | 6 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 106 | $19,145 |
| 20 | 17 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 397 | 0 | running | 103 | $20,870 |
| 21 | 39 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 100 | $25,870 |
| 22 | 32 | 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 97 | $25,745 |
| 23 | 20 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 397 | 0 | running | 94 | $30,470 |
| 24 | 5 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 91 | $25,545 |
| 25 | 13 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 396 | 1 | running | 93 | $30,395 |
| 26 | 30 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 396 | 0 | running | 85 | $25,370 |
| 27 | 15 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 82 | $25,345 |
| 28 | 35 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 395 | 0 | running | 79 | $30,320 |
| 29 | 40 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 395 | 0 | running | 76 | $17,800 |
| 30 | 1 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 395 | 43 | running | 78 | $32,290 |
| 31 | 25 | 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 70 | $15,280 |
| 32 | 18 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 394 | 0 | running | 67 | $22,270 |
| 33 | 41 | 1 | Lance Hooper | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 394 | 0 | running | 64 | $22,260 |
| 34 | 34 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 393 | 0 | running | 61 | $30,225 |
| 35 | 29 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 393 | 0 | running | 58 | $22,215 |
| 36 | 26 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 393 | 3 | running | 60 | $15,205 |
| 37 | 8 | 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 392 | 0 | running | 52 | $15,195 |
| 38 | 3 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 347 | 42 | rear end | 54 | $31,685 |
| 39 | 36 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 335 | 0 | running | 46 | $31,185 |
| 40 | 42 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Pontiac | 309 | 0 | running | 43 | $15,185 |
| 41 | 28 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 224 | 0 | brakes | 40 | $15,185 |
| 42 | 4 | 40 | Robby Gordon (R) | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | engine | 37 | $22,185 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
- ↑ Poole, David (September 6, 1997). "Jarrett runs down a victory". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ↑ Kurz Jr., Hank (September 7, 1997). "Jarrett posts first victory at Richmond in 20 tries". Palladium-Item. p. 19. Retrieved October 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kurz Jr., Hank (September 6, 1997). "Elliott grabs Exide 400 pole; Gordon 10th". Standard-Speaker. p. 14. Retrieved October 2, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.