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1997 AC Delco 400

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1997 AC Delco 400
Race details
Race 30 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1997 AC Delco 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The 1997 AC Delco 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Date October 27, 1997
Official name 23rd Annual AC Delco 400
Location Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Scheduled Distance 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Average speed 121.73 miles per hour (195.91 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 23.365
Most laps led
Driver Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 139
Winner
No. 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1997 AC Delco 400 was the 30th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 23rd iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 26, 1997, but was postponed to Monday, October 27, due to rain.[1] The race was held in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton would manage to make a late-race charge to lead to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Craven would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of North Carolina Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[4]

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
14 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Burger King
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
27 Kenny Irwin Jr. David Blair Motorsports Ford Nerf, Winner's Circle
28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
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 Greg Sacks 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
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
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 24, at 2:00 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 25, at 9:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[5] 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.

Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.365 and an average speed of 156.696 miles per hour (252.178 km/h).[6]

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Brett Bodine, Dave Marcis, Ed Berrier, and Kenny Irwin Jr.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 23.365 156.696
2 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 23.391 156.522
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 23.423 156.308
4 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 23.499 155.802
5 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 23.539 155.538
6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.541 155.524
7 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 23.542 155.518
8 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 23.548 155.478
9 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.551 155.458
10 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.553 155.445
11 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 23.563 155.379
12 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 23.575 155.300
13 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 23.585 155.234
14 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 23.589 155.208
15 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 23.596 155.162
16 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Pontiac 23.606 155.096
17 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 23.611 155.063
18 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 23.616 155.030
19 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 23.618 155.017
20 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 23.621 154.998
21 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet 23.621 154.998
22 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 23.622 154.991
23 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 23.642 154.860
24 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 23.646 154.834
25 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 23.650 154.808
26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.676 154.638
27 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 23.683 154.592
28 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 23.686 154.572
29 29 Jeff Green (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 23.697 154.501
30 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 23.700 154.481
31 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 23.710 154.416
32 14 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 23.724 154.325
33 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.746 154.182
34 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 23.765 154.058
35 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 23.767 154.046
36 78 Gary Bradberry Triad Motorsports Ford 23.814 153.741
37 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 23.824 153.677
38 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 23.870 153.381
Provisionals
39 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford -* -*
40 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford -* -*
41 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford -* -*
42 40 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Chevrolet -* -*
Champion's Provisional
43 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford -* -*
45 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -* -*
46 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet -* -*
47 27 Kenny Irwin Jr. David Blair Motorsports Ford -* -*
Official qualifying results

*Time not available.

Race results

Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 28 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 393 37 running 180 $89,150
2 2 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 393 73 running 175 $65,175
3 9 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 393 139 running 175 $45,625
4 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 393 23 running 165 $41,150
5 12 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 393 0 running 155 $30,800
6 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 393 0 running 150 $32,400
7 33 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 393 1 running 151 $38,400
8 26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 393 0 running 142 $32,800
9 35 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 393 0 running 138 $32,200
10 19 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 393 0 running 134 $22,625
11 1 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 392 93 running 135 $36,875
12 8 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 392 0 running 127 $26,575
13 27 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 392 0 running 124 $14,975
14 17 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 392 0 running 121 $26,075
15 24 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 392 0 running 118 $19,675
16 16 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Pontiac 391 0 running 115 $18,475
17 30 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 391 0 running 112 $18,175
18 18 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 391 0 running 109 $30,975
19 7 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 391 4 running 111 $24,575
20 14 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 391 0 running 103 $19,175
21 29 29 Jeff Green (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 391 0 running 100 $17,775
22 5 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 391 2 running 102 $16,475
23 10 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 391 0 running 94 $16,275
24 37 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 391 0 running 91 $23,075
25 23 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 390 0 running 88 $22,875
26 4 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 390 0 running 85 $22,675
27 15 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 390 0 running 82 $15,475
28 39 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 389 0 running 79 $27,375
29 43 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 389 0 running 76 $22,275
30 38 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 389 0 running 73 $21,675
31 41 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 389 0 running 70 $21,050
32 34 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 388 0 running 67 $18,950
33 32 14 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 387 0 running 64 $11,850
34 31 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 387 0 running 61 $18,750
35 21 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet 386 0 running 58 $11,650
36 20 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 384 0 running 55 $18,625
37 25 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 379 0 engine 52 $18,600
38 11 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 365 21 running 54 $30,050
39 42 40 Greg Sacks Team SABCO Chevrolet 365 0 handling 46 $18,550
40 13 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 241 0 crash 43 $26,550
41 36 78 Gary Bradberry Triad Motorsports Ford 239 0 crash 40 $11,550
42 22 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 178 0 camshaft 37 $18,550
43 40 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 111 0 crash 34 $18,550
Failed to qualify
44 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford
45 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
46 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet
47 27 Kenny Irwin Jr. David Blair Motorsports Ford
Official race results

References

  1. ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Rain pushes AC Delco 400 to today". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Hamilton uses late burst to cash in at Rockingham". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Harris, Mike (October 28, 1997). "Bobby Hamilton wins race and a bet". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 30. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "AC Delco 400". The State. October 24, 1997. p. 36. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Hembree, Mike (October 25, 1997). "Bobby Labonte claims pole". The Daily News Leader. p. 13. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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1997 DieHard 500 		NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1997 season 		Next race:
1997 Dura Lube 500
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