1997 Primestar 500
Race details
Race 4 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1997 Primestar 500 program cover, featuring Ted Musgrave, Bobby Labonte, and Terry Labonte. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1997 Primestar 500 program cover, featuring Ted Musgrave, Bobby Labonte, and Terry Labonte. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date March 9, 1997
Official name 38th Annual Primestar 500
Location Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Scheduled Distance 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km)
Average speed 132.731 miles per hour (213.610 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Team SABCO
Time 29.378
Most laps led
Driver Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Laps 253
Winner
No. 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

The 1997 Primestar 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 9, 1997, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would dominate the majority of the race to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan and Precision Products Racing driver Morgan Shepherd would finish second and third, respectively.

The race was marred by a crash involving Larry Hedrick Motorsports driver Steve Grissom on lap 284. On the track's backstretch, Jimmy Spencer would spin in front of oncoming cars, causing Grissom to spin and fellow driver and rookie Mike Skinner to hit Spencer and become airborne. Grissom would proceed to spin towards an opening on the inside backstretch wall at over 180 miles per hour (290 km/h), eventually hitting the wall violently. Grissom's car would proceed to flip wildly, with the rear axle completely torn from the car and with the fuel cell ruptured, fuel would spill onto the track.[1] Grissom was eventually determined to be OK from the accident, with Grissom only suffering a "skinned ankle" according to Grissom himself.[3]

Background

The layout of Atlanta Motor Speedway, the circuit where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.54-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.

Entry list

  • (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
08 Mike Miller Miller Racing Chevrolet Uniseal
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 Ricky Craven 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
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 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 Federal Trade Commission
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

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 7, at 12:30 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 8, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[4] 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.

Robby Gordon, driving for Team SABCO, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.378 and an average speed of 186.507 miles per hour (300.154 km/h).[5]

Seven drivers would fail to qualify: Robert Pressley, Derrike Cope, Bobby Hillin Jr., Wally Dallenbach Jr., Ed Berrier, Dave Marcis, and Mike Miller.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 40 Robby Gordon (R) Team SABCO Chevrolet 29.378 186.507
2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.471 185.918
3 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 29.564 185.334
4 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 29.607 185.064
5 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 29.620 184.983
6 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 29.640 184.858
7 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 29.655 184.765
8 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 29.670 184.671
9 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.675 184.640
10 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 29.710 184.423
11 78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford 29.731 184.292
12 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 29.735 184.268
13 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.747 184.193
14 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 29.759 184.119
15 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 29.761 184.107
16 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 29.764 184.088
17 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.772 184.039
18 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.784 183.965
19 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 29.802 183.853
20 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.806 183.829
21 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 29.812 183.792
22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.813 183.786
23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.830 183.681
24 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.835 183.650
25 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 29.837 183.638
26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.828 183.693
27 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 29.840 183.619
28 20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford 29.860 183.496
29 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 29.885 183.343
30 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.889 183.318
31 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.905 183.220
32 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 29.906 183.214
33 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 29.928 183.079
34 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 29.945 182.975
35 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 29.960 182.884
36 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 29.968 182.835
37 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet 29.974 182.798
38 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 29.978 182.774
Provisionals
39 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.383 180.338
40 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 30.028 182.470
41 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 29.982 182.750
42 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 30.347 180.552
Failed to qualify
43 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
44 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
45 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford -* -*
46 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet -* -*
47 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet -* -*
48 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet -* -*
49 08 Mike Miller Miller Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Official qualifying results

*Time not available.

Race results

Fin[6] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 9 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 328 253 running 185 $137,650
2 17 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 328 10 running 175 $73,000
3 21 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 328 10 running 170 $59,400
4 29 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 328 3 running 165 $46,000
5 27 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 328 0 running 155 $41,000
6 2 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 328 9 running 155 $45,900
7 31 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 328 0 running 146 $34,825
8 26 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 0 running 142 $40,975
9 22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 328 1 running 143 $43,275
10 18 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 328 0 running 134 $41,375
11 40 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Bahari Racing Pontiac 328 0 running 130 $33,925
12 36 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 327 0 running 127 $24,425
13 30 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 327 0 running 124 $19,905
14 1 40 Robby Gordon (R) Team SABCO Chevrolet 327 42 running 126 $42,935
15 33 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 327 0 running 118 $31,805
16 3 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 327 0 running 115 $30,495
17 16 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 327 0 running 112 $30,185
18 41 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 326 0 running 109 $29,965
19 32 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 324 0 running 106 $18,435
20 8 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 324 0 running 103 $32,035
21 24 31 Mike Skinner (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 323 0 running 100 $18,925
22 6 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 323 0 running 97 $29,365
23 20 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 323 0 running 94 $34,755
24 19 96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 323 0 running 91 $18,620
25 35 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 321 0 running 88 $29,165
26 37 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet 311 0 running 85 $18,460
27 28 20 Greg Sacks Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford 305 0 running 82 $18,350
28 4 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 304 0 engine 79 $21,575
29 10 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 299 0 crash 76 $28,335
30 25 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 293 0 running 73 $32,975
31 38 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 284 0 crash 70 v34,915
32 12 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 282 0 crash 67 $27,955
33 39 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 281 0 crash 64 $28,760
34 7 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 267 0 crash 61 $27,725
35 13 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 266 0 crash 58 $27,190
36 11 78 Billy Standridge Triad Motorsports Ford 261 0 engine 55 $17,665
37 14 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss-Haas Racing Ford 260 0 engine 52 $17,650
38 15 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 253 0 engine 49 $24,570
39 42 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 252 0 crash 46 $17,570
40 34 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 252 0 crash 43 $17,570
41 5 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 226 0 engine 40 $24,570
42 23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 59 0 engine 37 $34,770
Failed to qualify
43 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet
44 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac
45 77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Motorsports Ford
46 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet
47 95 Ed Berrier Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet
48 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
49 08 Mike Miller Miller Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

References

  1. 1 2 Poole, David (March 9, 1997). "Jarrett finally leads at finish; Grissom OK". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  2. Bisher, Furman (March 10, 1997). "Jarrett's first AMS win comes in a race junk dealers could love". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 28. Retrieved September 23, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. Levine, Al (March 10, 1997). "'Tough guy' Grissom only scratches ankle". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 28. Retrieved September 23, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. "Primestar 500 schedule". The Atlanta Constitution. March 5, 1997. p. 37. Retrieved September 23, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. Harris, Mike (March 8, 1997). "Robby Gordon has Atlanta pole, even surprising himself". The Courier-Journal. p. 13. Retrieved September 23, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. "1997 PRIMESTAR 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
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