The 1997 Food City 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 13, 1997, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to complete a bump-and-run on Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace in the final two turns to take his 22nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.

1997 Food City 500
Race details
Race 7 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1997 Food City 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. Artwork by Sam Bass.
The 1997 Food City 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. Artwork by Sam Bass.
Date April 13, 1997
Official name 37th Annual Food City 500
Location Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Average speed 75.035 miles per hour (120.757 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Penske Racing South
Time 15.526
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South
Laps 240
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Bristol Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac Delco-Remy, Cruisin' America Phone Card
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 Mattei Motorsports Ford QVC
8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Circuit City
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Melling Racing
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Close Call Phone Card
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
19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford Child Support Recovery
20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford Hardee's
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 Jack Sprague Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Cartoon Network, Scooby-Doo
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 Robby Gordon (R) 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
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Realtree
75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Remington Arms
77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Federal-Mogul
78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford Diamond Rio, 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 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet Spam
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 Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac John Deere
98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 21, 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, March 22, at 12:30 PM 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, while positions 39-43 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 next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.

Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.526 and an average speed of 123.586 miles per hour (198.892 km/h).[4]

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Bobby Hillin Jr., Billy Standridge, Mike Wallace, and Greg Sacks.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 15.526 123.586
2 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 15.548 123.411
3 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 15.581 123.150
4 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 15.583 123.134
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.611 122.913
6 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.626 122.795
7 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 15.648 122.623
8 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 15.654 122.576
9 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.670 122.451
10 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 15.680 122.372
11 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 15.697 122.240
12 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 15.713 122.115
13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 15.715 122.100
14 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 15.740 121.906
15 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 15.752 121.813
16 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 15.757 121.774
17 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.758 121.767
18 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 15.762 121.736
19 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 15.772 121.659
20 40 Robby Gordon (R) Team SABCO Chevrolet 15.781 121.589
21 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 15.790 121.520
22 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 15.798 121.405
23 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 15.799 121.405
24 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 15.805 121.405
25 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 15.824 121.259
26 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 15.828 121.228
27 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 15.828 121.228
28 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.837 121.159
29 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.845 121.098
30 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 15.859 120.991
31 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 15.867 120.930
32 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 15.882 120.816
33 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 15.888 120.770
34 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 15.891 120.748
35 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 15.892 120.740
36 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 15.899 120.687
37 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 15.906 120.634
38 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.907 120.626
Provisionals
39 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford - -
40 25 Jack Sprague Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - -
41 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac - -
42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet - -
Champion's Provisional
43 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet - -
Failed to qualify
44 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford -* -*
45 78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford -* -*
46 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet -* -*
47 20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford -* -*
Official qualifying results

Race results

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Fin[5] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 125 running 180 $83,640
2 1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 500 240 running 180 $64,090
3 17 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 0 running 165 $51,490
4 6 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 500 0 running 160 $39,265
5 23 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 500 0 running 155 $37,520
6 29 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 0 running 150 $32,970
7 18 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 500 90 running 151 $27,770
8 21 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 500 0 running 142 $18,370
9 32 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 500 0 running 138 $21,565
10 12 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 500 0 running 134 $28,215
11 19 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 500 0 running 130 $18,745
12 16 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 500 0 running 127 $25,390
13 34 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 500 0 running 124 $29,015
14 15 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 500 2 running 126 $17,965
15 10 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 499 36 running 123 $25,965
16 36 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 499 0 running 115 $13,640
17 25 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 499 0 running 112 $24,390
18 35 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 499 0 running 109 $17,240
19 24 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 499 0 running 106 $17,130
20 2 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 498 7 running 108 $32,421
21 39 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 497 0 running 100 $23,765
22 27 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 496 0 running 97 $14,215
23 30 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 495 0 running 94 $13,165
24 26 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 491 0 running 91 $23,490
25 43 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 485 0 running 88 $23,595
26 7 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 484 0 running 85 $23,215
27 22 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 483 0 running 82 $27,991
28 41 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 479 0 running 79 $23,040
29 14 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 477 0 running 76 $12,910
30 42 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 468 0 running 73 $15,585
31 33 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 455 0 running 70 $21,815
32 9 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 441 0 crash 67 $22,795
33 8 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 432 0 crash 64 $18,775
34 13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 425 0 running 61 $26,735
35 28 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 365 0 engine 58 $11,715
36 31 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 325 0 crash 55 $18,695
37 37 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 317 0 running 52 $11,675
38 3 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 296 0 crash 49 $18,950
39 38 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 281 0 engine 46 $26,650
40 40 25 Jack Sprague Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 256 0 crash 43 $18,650
41 4 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 223 0 crash 40 $18,750
42 11 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 157 0 engine 37 $26,650
43 20 40 Robby Gordon (R) Team SABCO Chevrolet 91 0 crash 34 $18,650
Failed to qualify
44 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford
45 78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford
46 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet
47 20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Poole, David (April 13, 1997). "Gordon tap dances to prize". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Gordon muscles way to victory". Ledger-Enquirer. April 14, 1997. p. 19. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Food City 500". The Charlotte Observer. April 11, 1997. p. 30. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ Macenka, Joe (April 12, 1997). "Drought over; Wallace on Food City 500 pole". Standard-Speaker. p. 22. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ "1997 Food City 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
Previous race:
1997 Interstate Batteries 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1997 season
Next race:
1997 Goody's Headache Powder 500 (Martinsville)