1997 DieHard 500

1997 DieHard 500
Race details
Race 29 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
	The 1997 DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Jeff Gordon.
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	Ernie Irvan ;
Time	49.547
Most laps led
Driver	Terry Labonte
Laps	70
Winner
No. 5	Terry Labonte
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Mike Joy, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

Last updated October 06, 2022

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.

Background

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.

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.

#	Driver	Team	Make	Sponsor
1	Morgan Shepherd	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	R+L Carriers
2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	Miller Lite
3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4	Sterling Marlin	Morgan–McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	Kodak
5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Kellogg's Frosted Flakes
6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	Valvoline
7	Geoff Bodine	Geoff Bodine Racing	Ford	QVC
8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford	Circuit City
9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	Advantage Camo
10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	Tide
11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	Brett Bodine Racing
16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	PrimeStar, The Family Channel
17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	Parts America
18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	Interstate Batteries
21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	Citgo
22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac	MBNA
23	Jimmy Spencer	Haas-Carter Motorsports	Ford	Camel Cigarettes
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	DuPont
25	Ricky Craven	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Budweiser
28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Texaco, Havoline 10th Anniversary
29	Jeff Green (R)	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	Cartoon Network, Tom and Jerry, Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken
30	Johnny Benson Jr.	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	Pennzoil
31	Mike Skinner (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Lowe's
33	Ken Schrader	Andy Petree Racing	Chevrolet	Skoal
36	Derrike Cope	MB2 Motorsports	Pontiac	Skittles
37	Jeremy Mayfield	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	Kmart, RC Cola
40	Elliott Sadler	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	Coors Light
41	Steve Grissom	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Kodiak
42	Joe Nemechek	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	BellSouth
43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	STP
44	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	Hot Wheels
46	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	First Union
47	Billy Standridge	Standridge Motorsports	Ford	Cofab Steel Corporation
71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	Realtree
75	Rick Mast	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	Remington Arms
77	Robert Pressley	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Federal-Mogul
78	Gary Bradberry	Triad Motorsports	Ford	Hanes
81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	Square D
88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90	Dick Trickle	Donlavey Racing	Ford	Heilig-Meyers
91	Kevin Lepage	LJ Racing	Chevrolet	LJ Racing
94	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott Racing	Ford	McDonald's
95	Ed Berrier	Sadler Brothers Racing	Chevrolet	Feed the Children
96	David Green (R)	American Equipment Racing	Chevrolet	Caterpillar
97	Chad Little	Roush Racing	Pontiac	John Deere
98	John Andretti	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	RCA
99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	Exide

Qualifying

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.

Full qualifying results

Pos.	#	Driver	Team	Make	Time	Speed
1	28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	49.547	193.271
2	98	John Andretti	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	49.574	193.166
3	23	Jimmy Spencer	Travis Carter Enterprises	Ford	49.674	192.777
4	99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	49.690	192.715
5	36	Derrike Cope	MB2 Motorsports	Pontiac	49.691	192.711
6	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.716	192.614
7	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	49.755	192.463
8	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.771	192.401
9	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	49.773	192.393
10	94	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott Racing	Ford	49.783	192.355
11	77	Robert Pressley	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	49.787	192.339
12	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	49.820	192.212
13	42	Joe Nemechek	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	49.834	192.158
14	33	Ken Schrader	Andy Petree Racing	Chevrolet	49.848	192.104
15	25	Ricky Craven	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	49.870	192.019
16	31	Mike Skinner (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	49.922	191.819
17	11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	49.932	191.781
18	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	49.959	191.677
19	30	Johnny Benson Jr.	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	50.009	191.486
20	9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	50.040	191.367
21	90	Dick Trickle	Donlavey Racing	Ford	50.065	191.271
22	41	Steve Grissom	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	50.077	191.226
23	75	Rick Mast	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	50.080	191.214
24	46	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	50.115	191.081
25	7	Geoff Bodine	Geoff Bodine Racing	Ford	50.118	191.069
26	47	Billy Standridge	Standridge Motorsports	Ford	50.070	191.252
27	21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	50.170	190.871
28	40	Greg Sacks	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	50.232	190.635
29	1	Morgan Shepherd	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	50.249	190.571
30	4	Sterling Marlin	Morgan–McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	50.253	190.556
31	6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	50.283	190.442
32	71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	50.291	190.412
33	17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	50.361	190.147
34	43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	50.385	190.057
35	81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	50.397	190.011
36	97	Chad Little	Roush Racing	Pontiac	50.401	189.996
37	96	David Green (R)	American Equipment Racing	Chevrolet	50.402	189.992
38	91	Kevin Lepage	LJ Racing	Chevrolet	50.417	189.936
Provisionals
39	16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	-*	-*
40	37	Jeremy Mayfield	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	-*	-*
41	10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	-*	-*
42	44	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	-*	-*
Failed to qualify
43	22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac	-*	-*
44	8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford	-*	-*
45	78	Gary Bradberry	Triad Motorsports	Ford	-*	-*
46	29	Jeff Green (R)	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet	-*	-*
47	95	Ed Berrier	Sadler Brothers Racing	Chevrolet	-*	-*
Official qualifying results

*Time not available.

Race results

Fin	St	#	Driver	Team	Make	Laps	Led	Status	Pts	Winnings
1	6	5	Terry Labonte	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	188	70	running	185	$116,725
2	7	18	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs Racing	Pontiac	188	5	running	175	$76,670
3	2	98	John Andretti	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	Ford	188	1	running	170	$58,530
4	14	33	Ken Schrader	Andy Petree Racing	Chevrolet	188	6	running	165	$53,715
5	1	28	Ernie Irvan	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	188	11	running	160	$57,275
6	15	25	Ricky Craven	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	188	0	running	150	$41,500
7	42	44	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	188	0	running	146	$32,700
8	25	7	Geoff Bodine	Geoff Bodine Racing	Ford	188	2	running	147	$38,050
9	23	75	Rick Mast	Butch Mock Motorsports	Ford	188	0	running	138	$36,920
10	9	2	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South	Ford	188	2	running	139	$42,900
11	39	16	Ted Musgrave	Roush Racing	Ford	188	0	running	130	$38,080
12	29	1	Morgan Shepherd	Precision Products Racing	Pontiac	188	0	running	127	$35,025
13	10	94	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott Racing	Ford	188	0	running	124	$35,280
14	4	99	Jeff Burton	Roush Racing	Ford	188	0	running	121	$39,410
15	35	81	Kenny Wallace	FILMAR Racing	Ford	188	0	running	118	$36,760
16	37	96	David Green (R)	American Equipment Racing	Chevrolet	188	0	running	115	$28,600
17	38	91	Kevin Lepage	LJ Racing	Chevrolet	188	0	running	112	$23,835
18	5	36	Derrike Cope	MB2 Motorsports	Pontiac	188	0	running	109	$27,280
19	19	30	Johnny Benson Jr.	Bahari Racing	Pontiac	187	0	running	106	$33,950
20	34	43	Bobby Hamilton	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	187	0	running	103	$39,460
21	18	88	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing	Ford	187	13	running	105	$39,930
22	17	11	Brett Bodine	Brett Bodine Racing	Ford	187	0	running	97	$33,300
23	21	90	Dick Trickle	Donlavey Racing	Ford	187	0	running	94	$26,290
24	3	23	Jimmy Spencer	Travis Carter Enterprises	Ford	187	11	running	96	$32,940
25	32	71	Dave Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing	Chevrolet	187	0	running	88	$22,460
26	40	37	Jeremy Mayfield	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	Ford	184	0	handling	85	$25,360
27	11	77	Robert Pressley	Jasper Motorsports	Ford	178	0	running	82	$22,240
28	27	21	Michael Waltrip	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	172	0	running	79	$32,170
29	12	3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	167	25	running	81	$48,500
30	31	6	Mark Martin	Roush Racing	Ford	167	5	running	78	$37,030
31	13	42	Joe Nemechek	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	165	0	running	70	$24,440
32	22	41	Steve Grissom	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	163	0	running	67	$28,870
33	16	31	Mike Skinner (R)	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	159	1	running	69	$21,790
34	41	10	Ricky Rudd	Rudd Performance Motorsports	Ford	153	0	running	61	$36,745
35	8	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	153	3	running	63	$38,915
36	20	9	Lake Speed	Melling Racing	Ford	153	0	running	55	$21,670
37	33	17	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip Motorsports	Chevrolet	147	0	crash	52	$28,660
38	30	4	Sterling Marlin	Morgan–McClure Motorsports	Chevrolet	139	27	crash	54	$37,500
39	28	40	Greg Sacks	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	139	5	crash	51	$28,500
40	36	97	Chad Little	Roush Racing	Pontiac	139	0	crash	43	$21,525
41	24	46	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Team SABCO	Chevrolet	99	1	crash	45	$21,500
42	26	47	Billy Standridge	Standridge Motorsports	Ford	51	0	oil cooler	37	$21,500
Failed to qualify
43		22	Ward Burton	Bill Davis Racing	Pontiac
44		8	Hut Stricklin	Stavola Brothers Racing	Ford
45		78	Gary Bradberry	Triad Motorsports	Ford
46		29	Jeff Green (R)	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	Chevrolet
47		95	Ed Berrier	Sadler Brothers Racing	Chevrolet
Official race results

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References

↑ Poole, David (October 12, 1997). "Labonte Bros. win for Terry". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
↑ "Big crash punctuates Terry Labonte's win". The Dispatch. October 13, 1997. p. 32. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "DieHard 500". The Charlotte Observer . October 10, 1997. p. 17. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Ford, Tom (October 11, 1997). "Irvan's pole position a tribute". The Tampa Tribune. p. 36. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

Previous race: 1997 UAW-GM Quality 500	NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1997 season	Next race: 1997 AC Delco 400

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[1] Poole, David (October 12, 1997). "Labonte Bros. win for Terry". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 5, 2022.

[2] "Big crash punctuates Terry Labonte's win". The Dispatch. October 13, 1997. p. 32. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[3] "DieHard 500". The Charlotte Observer . October 10, 1997. p. 17. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[4] Ford, Tom (October 11, 1997). "Irvan's pole position a tribute". The Tampa Tribune. p. 36. Retrieved October 5, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

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