The 1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the third stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 2, 1997, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In a controversial victory, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to hold off the field on the final restart with three to go, scoring his 47th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Geoff Bodine Racing driver Geoff Bodine and Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | March 2, 1997 | ||
| Official name | 43rd Annual Pontiac Excitement 400 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 108.499 miles per hour (174.612 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | Set by 1996 owner's points | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 172 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
In post-race technical inspection, Wallace's engine was found to had failed to "meet compression ratio specifications" according to NASCAR technical inspector Kevin Triplett. At the time, the engine compression ratio was 14:1.[1] On Monday, March 3, NASCAR would run another test. The official test results came to 14.001:1, which while slightly over, was within the guidelines and would allow Wallace to keep his victory.[3]
Background
edit
Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
editQualifying was originally scheduled to be held on Friday, February 28. However, due to rain, qualifying was cancelled. In 1997, NASCAR rules mandated that the top 33 spots were based on the 1996 owner's points, since the race was in the first four races of the season. The final 10 spots were based on postmarks on the official entry list. As a result, Terry Labonte, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole.[4]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Billy Standridge, Greg Sacks, and Mike Wallace.
Full starting lineup
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Poole, David (March 2, 1997). "Wallace leaves questions". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ "Wallace's hard-fought victory not yet official at Pontiac 400". The Kansas City Star. March 3, 1997. p. 60. Retrieved September 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCollister, Tom (March 4, 1997). "Wallace declared Richmond winner". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 94. Retrieved September 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ D. Boggs, Johnny (March 2, 1997). "Rain forces Richmond race to start by standings, mail". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 59. Retrieved September 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
