| 1997 Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series Race 23 of 32 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Information | Track Information | ||||
| Total Purse: | $1,202,356 | Race Date: | Aug 30, 1997 | Darlington Raceway | |
| Margin of Victory: | .144 Seconds | Race Duration: | 4Hr 8Min 17Sec. | Darlington, South Carolina | |
| Lead Changes: | 9 Among / 7 Drivers | Average Speed: | 121.149 MPH | 1.366 Mile Oval | |
| No. of Cars: | 43 | No. of Cautions: | 11 For 67 Laps | darlingtonraceway.com | |
| Winner, Pole and Manufacturer Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner Information | Pole Information | Manufacturer Points | ||||||
| Driver: | Jeff Gordon J. Gordon | Driver: | Bobby Labonte B. Labonte | Chevrolet: | 9 | |||
| Car No.: | #24 Chevrolet | Car No.: | #18 Pontiac | Ford: | 0 | |||
| Team: | Hendrick Motorsports | Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac: | 0 | |||
| Crew Chief: | Ray Evernham | Crew Chief: | Jimmy Makar | |||||
| Laps Led: | 116 of 367 | Pole Speed: | 170.661 MPH | |||||
| Official 1997 Southern 500 Results |
|---|
| Finish | Start | Num | Driver | Sponsor | Status | Mfg | Points | Laps | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont | Running |  | 180 | 367 | 116 |
| 2 | 16 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Exide Batteries | Running |  | 175 | 367 | 24 |
| 3 | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Quality Care / Ford Credit | Running | | 170 | 367 | 38 |
| 4 | 2 | 94 | Bill Elliott | McDonald's | Running | | 170 | 367 | 181 |
| 5 | 21 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Tide | Running | | 155 | 367 | 0 |
| 6 | 17 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Kellogg's Corn Flakes | Running | | 150 | 367 | 0 |
| 7 | 1 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Interstate Batteries | Running |  | 151 | 367 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Valvoline | Running | | 142 | 367 | 0 |
| 9 | 14 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | CITGO | Running | | 143 | 367 | 2 |
| 10 | 5 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Skoal Bandit | Running | | 134 | 366 | 0 |
| 11 | 37 | 97 | Chad Little | John Deere | Running | | 130 | 366 | 0 |
| 12 | 12 | 7 | Geoffrey Bodine | QVC | Running | | 127 | 366 | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Heilig-Meyers / Simmons | Running | | 124 | 366 | 0 |
| 14 | 24 | 36 | Derrike Cope | Skittles | Running | | 121 | 365 | 0 |
| 15 | 11 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Close Call Phone Card | Running | | 118 | 365 | 0 |
| 16 | 19 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kmart / RC Cola | Running | | 115 | 365 | 0 |
| 17 | 6 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Circuit City | Running | | 112 | 365 | 0 |
| 18 | 23 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Auto Parts | Running | | 109 | 365 | 0 |
| 19 | 18 | 30 | Johnny Benson, Jr. | Pennzoil | Running | | 106 | 365 | 0 |
| 20 | 40 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | STP | Running | | 103 | 365 | 0 |
| 21 | 29 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Kodiak | Running | | 100 | 365 | 0 |
| 22 | 34 | 40 | Robby Gordon (R) | Coors Light | Running | | 97 | 363 | 0 |
| 23 | 20 | 73 | Joe Nemechek | BellSouth | Running | | 94 | 359 | 0 |
| 24 | 25 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | Square D | Running | | 91 | 354 | 0 |
| 25 | 27 | 78 | Gary Bradberry | Child Support Recovery International | Running | | 88 | 354 | 0 |
| 26 | 38 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Parts America | Handling | | 85 | 353 | 0 |
| 27 | 13 | 22 | Ward Burton | MBNA America | Handling | | 82 | 350 | 0 |
| 28 | 30 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Camel Cigarettes | Running | | 79 | 341 | 0 |
| 29 | 15 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | The Family Channel / PRIMESTAR | Handling | | 81 | 296 | 4 |
| 30 | 36 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | GMGoodwrench Service | Running | | 73 | 282 | 0 |
| 31 | 31 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Budweiser | Engine | | 70 | 236 | 0 |
| 32 | 39 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Hot Wheels | Engine | | 67 | 202 | 0 |
| 33 | 10 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Texaco / Havoline | Engine | | 64 | 183 | 0 |
| 34 | 28 | 75 | Rick Mast | Remington Arms | Accident | | 61 | 177 | 0 |
| 35 | 41 | 1 | Lance Hooper (R) | R+L Carriers | Accident | | 58 | 175 | 0 |
| 36 | 33 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Lowe's | Accident | | 55 | 130 | 0 |
| 37 | 32 | 98 | John Andretti | RCA | Accident | | 52 | 117 | 0 |
| 38 | 22 | 12 | Jeff Purvis | Opryland USA | Accident | | 49 | 114 | 0 |
| 39 | 42 | 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Cartoon Network | Electrical | | 46 | 104 | 0 |
| 40 | 9 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Kodak Films | Engine | | 43 | 102 | 0 |
| 41 | 26 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach, Jr. | First Union | Radiator | | 40 | 85 | 0 |
| 42 | 35 | 96 | Todd Bodine | Caterpillar | Accident | | 37 | 5 | 0 |
| 43 | 43 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Miller Lite | Accident | | 34 | 5 | 0 |
