1997 Goodwrench Service 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 Goodwrench Service 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. | |||
| Date | February 23, 1997 | ||
| Official name | 32nd Annual Goodwrench Service 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.017 miles (1.637 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.371 miles per hour (195.328 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 23.189 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 323 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| 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 Goodwrench Service 400 was the second stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 23, 1997, 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, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to make a late race pass on the dominant driver of the day, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett to take his 21st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Jarrett and Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[edit]
North Carolina Speedway is a 1 mi (1.609 km) D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina. It has a 32,000-seat capacity as of 2012. North Carolina Speedway is owned by the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA).
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, February 21, 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, February 22, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[3] 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.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.189 and an average speed of 157.885 miles per hour (254.091 km/h).[4]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Chad Little, Billy Standridge, Mike Wallace, and Gary Bradberry.
Full qualifying results
[edit]Race results
[edit]| Fin[5] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 43 | running | 180 | $93,115 |
| 2 | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 393 | 323 | running | 180 | $68,760 |
| 3 | 17 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 393 | 1 | running | 170 | $42,260 |
| 4 | 10 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 393 | 0 | running | 160 | $39,210 |
| 5 | 8 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 155 | $35,050 |
| 6 | 23 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 393 | 0 | running | 150 | $35,325 |
| 7 | 15 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 146 | $40,525 |
| 8 | 5 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 393 | 0 | running | 142 | $32,025 |
| 9 | 32 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 393 | 3 | running | 143 | $36,325 |
| 10 | 16 | 1 | Morgan Shepherd | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 393 | 0 | running | 134 | $31,575 |
| 11 | 27 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 393 | 0 | running | 130 | $32,000 |
| 12 | 28 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 127 | $26,600 |
| 13 | 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 392 | 22 | running | 129 | $31,800 |
| 14 | 2 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 392 | 0 | running | 121 | $30,150 |
| 15 | 22 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 118 | $27,550 |
| 16 | 24 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 115 | $18,500 |
| 17 | 9 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 112 | $25,100 |
| 18 | 6 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 392 | 0 | running | 109 | $24,800 |
| 19 | 37 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 106 | $17,450 |
| 20 | 35 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 392 | 0 | running | 103 | $32,150 |
| 21 | 38 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 100 | $23,900 |
| 22 | 43 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 392 | 0 | running | 97 | $25,700 |
| 23 | 11 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 391 | 0 | running | 94 | $16,450 |
| 24 | 7 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 391 | 0 | running | 91 | $23,250 |
| 25 | 12 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 391 | 0 | running | 88 | $14,200 |
| 26 | 39 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 390 | 0 | running | 85 | $22,940 |
| 27 | 21 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 390 | 0 | running | 82 | $22,740 |
| 28 | 19 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 390 | 0 | running | 79 | $27,690 |
| 29 | 20 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 389 | 0 | running | 76 | $12,515 |
| 30 | 34 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 389 | 0 | running | 73 | $15,465 |
| 31 | 26 | 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 388 | 0 | running | 70 | $12,265 |
| 32 | 30 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 388 | 0 | running | 67 | $14,715 |
| 33 | 41 | 40 | Robby Gordon (R) | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 388 | 0 | running | 64 | $19,640 |
| 34 | 25 | 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 388 | 0 | running | 61 | $19,015 |
| 35 | 33 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 387 | 0 | running | 58 | $11,915 |
| 36 | 29 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | 379 | 0 | running | 55 | $18,840 |
| 37 | 18 | 29 | Robert Pressley | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | crash | 52 | $11,800 |
| 38 | 14 | 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 303 | 1 | running | 54 | $11,730 |
| 39 | 36 | 20 | Greg Sacks | Ranier-Walsh Racing | Ford | 271 | 0 | engine | 46 | $11,730 |
| 40 | 40 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 264 | 0 | overheating | 43 | $19,730 |
| 41 | 13 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 180 | 0 | engine | 40 | $18,730 |
| 42 | 31 | 77 | Bobby Hillin Jr. | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 136 | 0 | engine | 37 | $11,730 |
| 43 | 42 | 19 | Loy Allen Jr. | TriStar Motorsports | Ford | 68 | 0 | clutch | 34 | $11,730 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
[edit]- ↑ Poole, David (February 23, 1997). "Gordon takes the high road". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
- ↑ McLaurin, Jim (February 24, 1997). "Gordon is in nice groove". The State. p. 12. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Goodwrench 400". The Charlotte Observer. February 21, 1997. p. 26. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Harris, Mike (February 22, 1998). "Martin unleashes fury with record lap, pole". The News Journal. p. 14. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "1997 Goodwrench Service 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 21, 2022.