DieHard 500
The DieHard 500 was held October 12 at Talladega Superspeedway. Ernie Irvan won the pole. Like many Talladega races, the story was "the Big One" - collecting 23 cars on lap 140 after Jeff Gordon cut a tire and turned into traffic. Mark Martin was furious after the wreck, and made an infamous quote. "I hate restrictor plate racing" he said while being interviewed by a pit reporter. The race was broadcast on CBS.
Top Ten Results
- 5-Terry Labonte
- 18-Bobby Labonte
- 98-John Andretti
- 33-Ken Schrader
- 28-Ernie Irvan
- 25-Ricky Craven
- 44-Kyle Petty
- 7-Geoff Bodine
- 75-Rick Mast
- 2-Rusty Wallace
Failed to qualify: 8-Hut Stricklin, 22-Ward Burton, 29-Jeff Green, 78-Gary Bradberry, 95-Ed Berrier
Read more about this topic: 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series