1997 Daytona 500

1997 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
Date February 16, 1997 (1997-02-16)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures hovering around 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 23 miles per hour (37 km/h)[1]
Average speed 148.295 miles per hour (238.658 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Richard Childress Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Duel 2 Winner Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver Mark Martin Roush Racing
Laps 52
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett
Nielsen Ratings 8.6/23
(12.8 million viewers)

The 1997 Daytona 500, the 39th running of the event, was held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Consisted of 200 laps and 500 miles, it was the first race of the 1997 Winston Cup season. Mike Skinner, driving the #31 car for Richard Childress Racing, won the pole and Jeff Gordon, driving the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race. The race was broadcast on television by CBS.

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[2] The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course.[3] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[4] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,[5] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.[6]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[7] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[8]

Race recap

Notes

  • Joe Nemechek's car owner Felix Sabates bought the #73 entry of Phil Barkdoll, who had qualified 38th. Nemechek went to the #73 for the 500.
  • Remington Arms placed their sponsor logos on the #19 Ford driven by Loy Allen Jr. for Tri-Star Motorsports after Rick Mast failed to qualify the RahMoc car.
  • Robert Pressley's car caught air after he spun on lap 10. The rear of the car lifted so much, the car was temporarily sliding across the track on its nose. The landing was quite hard, so after the crew repaired the car, then Busch Series competitor and future 2-time Camping World Truck Series Champion Todd Bodine hopped in to complete more laps.
  • Dale Earnhardt was involved in a crash in a four-way battle for the lead with 12 laps to go, in which his #3 Chevrolet crashed into the wall by itself, then made contact with Dale Jarrett causing Earnhardt's car to roll over. While his car was on its roof, Earnhardt was contacted by Ernie Irvan in the #28 Ford. The hood of Irvan's car detached and sailed into the backstretch grandstand, injuring a few spectators. Earnhardt famously noticed that his tires were still on the car after the crash, had his car taken off the hook, and drove it back to pit road. The car was repaired and Earnhardt was able to return to the race, 5 laps down in 31st.
  • The race ended under caution after the Big One occurred on lap 196, involving 13 cars.
  • Hendrick Motorsports posted a 1-2-3 finish with Gordon winning the race, Terry Labonte finishing second, and Ricky Craven finishing third. The team used a formation finish as the race ended under the safety car, which was possible at the time.
  • At age 25, Jeff Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner ever. Richard Petty had previously been the youngest winner in 1964, when he won the 500 at age 26. Gordon's record was surpassed when Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 at age 20.

Results

Pos Grid Car Driver Team Make Laps Laps led Status
1 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 40 Running
2 18 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running
3 40 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running
4 8 94 Bill Elliott (W) Bill Elliott Racing Ford 200 30 Running
5 9 4 Sterling Marlin (W) Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 200 8 Running
6 21 37 Jeremy Mayfield MK Racing Ford 200 0 Running
7 11 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 52 Running
8 17 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 200 0 Running
9 13 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 200 0 Running
10 22 17 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running
11 23 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running
12 1 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 1 Running
13 41 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running
14 30 44 Kyle Petty PE2 Motorsports Pontiac 200 0 Running
15 39 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 200 0 Running
16 20 40 Robby Gordon SABCO Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running
17 24 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running
18 37 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 200 0 Running
19 28 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 200 0 Running
20 5 28 Ernie Irvan (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 13 Running
21 15 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 200 0 Running
22 36 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 200 0 Running
23 3 88 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 0 Running
24 35 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged
25 32 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 198 0 Flagged
26 33 19 Loy Allen, Jr. TriStar Motorsports Ford 198 0 Flagged
27 38 73 Joe Nemechek2 Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet 196 0 Contact T4
28 16 30 Johnny Benson Bahari Racing Pontiac 195 0 Contact T4
29 42 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 195 0 Contact T4
30 27 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 195 0 Contact T4
31 4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 195 48 Flagged
32 12 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 188 5 Flagged
33 10 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 173 0 Flagged
34 25 7 Geoff Bodine (W) Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 148 0 Flagged
35 7 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 146 0 Flagged
36 29 36 Derrike Cope (W) MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 124 0 Contact BS
37 34 20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford 120 3 Contact BS
38 31 77 Bobby Hillin, Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford 111 0 Engine
39 19 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 91 0 Contact BS
40 2 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 88 0 Contact BS
41 14 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 47 0 Engine
42 26 46 Wally Dallenbach, Jr. SABCO Racing Chevrolet 32 0 Engine
Failed to Qualify
75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford
97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac
15 Larry Pearson Bud Moore Engineering Ford
42 Joe Nemechek2 SABCO Racing Chevrolet
78 Billy Standridge (R) Triad Motorsports Ford
96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet
95 Gary Bradberry (R) Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet
91 Mike Wallace Pro Tech Motorsports Chevrolet
0 Delma Cowart H. L. Waters Racing Ford
84 Norm Benning (R) Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet
"1997 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info". Retrieved 2012-06-15.
Notes:
  1. After Rick Mast failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, his sponsor Remington Arms signed an agreement to sponsor Loy Allen's entry for the Daytona 500.
  2. After Joe Nemechek failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, his SABCO team reached an agreement to purchase Phil Barkdoll's entry and compete in the Daytona 500 in Barkdoll's car.

References

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1997 Daytona 500 at Old Farmers Almanac
  2. ^ "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. ^ "Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations". Roadracing World. Lake Elsinore, California: Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. March 24, 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona International Speedway. April 24, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  7. ^ What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube.
  8. ^ "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.

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