1997 AC Delco 400
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 AC Delco 400 program cover | |||
| Date | October 27, 1997 | ||
| Official name | 33rd Annual AC Delco 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.017 miles (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.73 miles per hour (195.91 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 23.365 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 139 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | |
| 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 AC Delco 400 was the 30th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 26, 1997, but was postponed to Monday, October 27, due to rain.[1] The race was held 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, Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton would manage to make a late-race charge to lead to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Craven would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[edit]
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[4]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 24, 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, October 25, at 9:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[5] Positions 26-38 would be decided on time, and depending on who needed it, the 39th thru either the 42nd, 43rd, or 44th position 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 field would be limited to 42 cars. If a champion needed it, the field would expand to 43 cars. If the race was a companion race with the NASCAR Winston West Series, four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while the final two spots would be given to teams in the Winston West Series, leaving the field at 44 cars.
Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.365 and an average speed of 156.696 miles per hour (252.178 km/h).[6]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Brett Bodine, Dave Marcis, Ed Berrier, and Kenny Irwin Jr.
Full qualifying results
[edit]*Time not available.
Race results
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Rain pushes AC Delco 400 to today". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Hamilton uses late burst to cash in at Rockingham". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Harris, Mike (October 28, 1997). "Bobby Hamilton wins race and a bet". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 30. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ "AC Delco 400". The State. October 24, 1997. p. 36. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hembree, Mike (October 25, 1997). "Bobby Labonte claims pole". The Daily News Leader. p. 13. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 AC Delco 400 program cover | |||
| Date | October 27, 1997 | ||
| Official name | 33rd Annual AC Delco 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.017 miles (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 121.73 miles per hour (195.91 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 23.365 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 139 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | |
| 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 AC Delco 400 was the 30th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 33rd iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 26, 1997, but was postponed to Monday, October 27, due to rain.[1] The race was held 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, Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton would manage to make a late-race charge to lead to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Hendrick Motorsports driver Ricky Craven would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[4]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 24, 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, October 25, at 9:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[5] Positions 26-38 would be decided on time, and depending on who needed it, the 39th thru either the 42nd, 43rd, or 44th position 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 field would be limited to 42 cars. If a champion needed it, the field would expand to 43 cars. If the race was a companion race with the NASCAR Winston West Series, four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while the final two spots would be given to teams in the Winston West Series, leaving the field at 44 cars.
Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.365 and an average speed of 156.696 miles per hour (252.178 km/h).[6]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Brett Bodine, Dave Marcis, Ed Berrier, and Kenny Irwin Jr.
Full qualifying results
*Time not available.
Race results
References
- ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Rain pushes AC Delco 400 to today". The Charlotte Observer. p. 15. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Poole, David (October 27, 1997). "Hamilton uses late burst to cash in at Rockingham". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 18, 2000. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ Harris, Mike (October 28, 1997). "Bobby Hamilton wins race and a bet". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 30. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ "AC Delco 400". The State. October 24, 1997. p. 36. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hembree, Mike (October 25, 1997). "Bobby Labonte claims pole". The Daily News Leader. p. 13. Retrieved October 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.