Race details | |||
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Race 29 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Date | October 12, 1997 | ||
Official name | 29th Annual DieHard 500 | ||
Location | Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
Average speed | 156.601 miles per hour (252.025 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Robert Yates Racing | ||
Time | 49.547 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Laps | 70 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | CBS | ||
Announcers | Mike Joy, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Motor Racing Network |
The 1997 DieHard 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 12, 1997, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final three laps of the race, with help from brother Bobby Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a late-race charge through the field to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. [1] [2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Cale Yarborough Motorsports driver John Andretti would finish second and third, respectively.
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 10, at 3:00 PM EST. 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, October 11, at 10:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. [3] 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.
Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.547 and an average speed of 193.271 miles per hour (311.040 km/h). [4]
Five drivers would fail to qualify: Ward Burton, Hut Stricklin, Gary Bradberry, Jeff Green, and Ed Berrier.
*Time not available.
The Diehard 500 was covered by CBS in the United States for the twenty third and final time. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1975 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Joy replaced Ken Squier in the booth because Squier would serve as host which he would continue till the end of 2000.
CBS | |||
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Host | Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | ||
Ken Squier | Mike Joy | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker | Dick Berggren Ralph Sheheen Bill Stephens |
The 1993 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 2, 1993, before an audience of 145,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. After a rain-delay late into the race, NASCAR officials determined to let the race finish under a two-lap shootout. In a late-race charge, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to charge from fourth to first on the final lap to take his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Bobby Allison Motorsports driver Jimmy Spencer and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.
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The 1984 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway on July 29, 1984.
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The 1996 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 1996, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 188 laps to 129 laps due to darkness caused by rain delays and lengthy crash cleanups. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to avoid numerous crashes and stay in front when the race was eventually called to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his sixth victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1993 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 25th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 25th, 1993, before an audience of 100,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In one of the closest finishes in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would manage to best out a last-lap challenge against Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan by 0.005 seconds at the finish line, with Earnhardt managing to extend his dominant driver's championship lead over the rest of the field with the victory. The victory was Earnhardt's 59th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish third.
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The 1998 Winston 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the last of five races of that year's Winston No Bull 5, and the 29th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 11, 1998, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the last 13 laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to defend the field to take his 18th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his third and final victory of the season, and a US$1,000,000 bonus for claiming the Winston No Bull 5 bonus. To fill out the top three, Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, both driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1996 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 28, 1996, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would manage to hold off the field in the final 20 laps to take his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1995 Winston Select 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 30, 1995, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to complete a pass for the lead with two to go and defend the field to take his 15th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and Wood Brothers Racing driver Morgan Shepherd would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1995 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 23, 1995, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his fourth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1994 DieHard 500 was the 18th stock car race of the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 24, 1994, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final nineteen laps of the race, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Jimmy Spencer would manage to hold off the field to take his second and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, teammate Bill Elliott and Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan would finish second and third, respectively. With his third place finish, Irvan would regain the points lead in the overall driver's standings.
The 1992 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 2, 1992, before an audience of 142,500 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Bill Elliott and Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1992 DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 26, 1992, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. At race's end, Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Ernie Irvan would manage to come back from a lap deficit and best out Junior Johnson & Associates driver Sterling Marlin by 19 thousandths of a second to take his sixth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his third and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Sterling Marlin and Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1991 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 22nd iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 5, 1991, but was delayed to Monday, May 6, due to rain. The race was held before an audience of 105,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. Running on a fuel strategy, Leo Jackson Motorsports driver Harry Gant would manage to drive the last 56 laps of the race on one tank of fuel to take his 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.
The 1989 Winston 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 7, 1989, before an audience of 140,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Davey Allison would make a late-race charge to the lead, passing for the lead with nine laps left in the race to take his fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Terry Labonte and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
The 1989 Talladega DieHard 500 was the 17th stock car race of the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 21st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 30, 1989, before an audience of 90,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Alabama International Motor Speedway, a 2.66 miles permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. On the final restart with five laps left in the race, Junior Johnson & Associates driver Terry Labonte would manage to defend the field, mainly defending Hendrick Motorsports driver Darrell Waltrip to take his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Darrell Waltrip and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.