Daytona 500
The 1997 Daytona 500 was run on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. The #31 of Mike Skinner won the pole. The race ended under caution after a big crash with 5 laps remaining involved several cars. The race was broadcast on CBS.
- 24-Jeff Gordon
- 5-Terry Labonte
- 25-Ricky Craven
- 94-Bill Elliott
- 4-Sterling Marlin
- 37-Jeremy Mayfield
- 6-Mark Martin
- 22-Ward Burton
- 10-Ricky Rudd
- 17-Darrell Waltrip
Failed to qualify: 91-Mike Wallace, 95-Gary Bradberry, 78-Billy Standridge, 15-Larry Pearson, 42-Joe Nemechek, 97-Chad Little, 75-Rick Mast, 96-David Green*, 0-Delma Cowart, and 84-Norm Benning.
- Robert Pressley's car caught air after he spun on Lap 10. The rear of the car lifted so much, the car was temporarily sliding across the track on its nose. The landing was quite hard, so after the crew repaired the car, Busch Series compeitor Todd Bodine hopped in to complete more laps.
- Joe Nemechek's car owner Felix Sabates bought the #73 entry of Phil Barkdoll, who had qualified 38th. Both Nemechek and his new sponsor Bellsouth went to the #73 for the 500.
- Remington Arms placed their sponsor logos on the #19 Ford driven by Loy Allen Jr. for Tri-Star Motorsports after Rick Mast failed to qualify the RahMoc car.
- Dale Earnhardt rolled his #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet in a crash with the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford of Ernie Irvan while in a four-way battle for the lead with 12 laps to go. During the crash, the hood of Irvan's car flew into the backstretch grandstand, injuring some fans. Earnhardt famously noticed that his tires were still on the car after the roll, had his car taken off the hook, and drove it back to pit road. The car was repaired and Earnhardt finished the race, 5 laps down in 31st. The car can be found in diecast form in 1:64 and 1:24 scale and is known to collectors as the "crash car" and the only diecast car to be replicated of a crash.
- At age 25, Jeff Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner ever until Trevor Bayne in 2011. Richard Petty had previously been the youngest winner in 1964, when he won the 500 at age 26.
- Hendrick Motorsports posted a 1-2-3 finish with Gordon winning the race, Terry Labonte finishing second, and Ricky Craven finishing in third.
Read more about this topic: 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series