1997 International Race of Champions | |||
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The twenty-first season of the International Race of Champions started on February 17, 1997. The series used identically prepared Pontiac Firebird Trans Am race cars, and contested races at Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, California Speedway, and Michigan International Speedway. Mark Martin won the IROC championship, his second straight and third in four seasons.
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American All-Star Game or The Masters. Despite its name, the IROC was primarily associated with North American, oval-racing, NASCAR culture.
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5-mile (4.0 km) high-speed tri-oval, a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320-foot (400 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. 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.
Charlotte Motor Speedway, formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina 13 mi (21 km) from Charlotte. The complex features a 1.5 mi (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, the NASCAR All-Star Race, and the Bank of America Roval 400. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith as track president.
The roster of drivers and final points standings were as follows: [1]
Position | Driver | Points | Winnings | Series |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 72 | $225,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
2 | 63 | $100,000 | CART | |
3 | 58 | $60,000 | NASCAR Busch Series | |
4 | 57 | $50,000 | CART | |
5 | 43 | $45,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
6 | 39 | $40,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
7 | 35 | $40,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
8 | 34 | $40,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
9 | 34 | $40,000 | SCCA Trans-Am Series | |
10 | 30 | $40,000 | CART | |
11 | 18 | $40,000 | NASCAR Winston Cup | |
12 | 17 | $40,000 | CART |
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The twenty-second season of the International Race of Champions started on February 13, 1998. The series used identically prepared Pontiac Firebird Trans Am race cars, and contested races at Daytona International Speedway1, California Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mark Martin won the IROC championship, his third straight and fourth in five seasons.