1997 Interstate Batteries 500


The 1997 Interstate Batteries 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 6, 1997, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was the inaugural Cup Series race at the track, and it was the first time Interstate Batteries served as a sponsor for NASCAR. The race was the sixth of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The pace car was the Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34 with a 3.8L engine, the first of its kind to serve as a pace car. As qualifying was canceled due to rain, the pole position was awarded to points leader Dale Jarrett of Yates Racing. Terry Labonte of Hendrick Motorsports led the most laps with 104, while Roush Racing's Jeff Burton scored his first Cup Series victory after leading 60 laps, including the final 58.

Traffic delays

As a result of the rain, besides qualifying being canceled, many of the track's parking lots were flooded. Track owner Bruton Smith received help from the Texas Department of Transportation, which closed down a portion of Texas State Highway 170 to use it as a parking lot. Although the parking lot issue was solved, traffic concerns arose, and on race day, by 8 AM, traffic on Interstate 35W stopped 16 miles south of the track. Due to the traffic, pianist Van Cliburn, who was scheduled to perform the national anthem at the race, had his helicopter delayed and could not perform.

Race

The race started with a 13-car crash on the first lap. The crash was the first in a wreck-laden race, with ten cautions and 73 laps under the yellow flag, the most in track history. Late in the race, Jeff Burton took the lead, and led the final 58 laps of the race to win his first career Cup race. Dale Jarrett finished second, followed by Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, and Ricky Rudd.

Results

PosGridDriverTeamManufacturerTime/Status
1599Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord334601804:00:16
2188Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord33442175+4.067 seconds
3418Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac3342170Lead lap under green flag
435Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet334104170Lead lap under green flag
5810Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord33426160Lead lap under green flag
6153Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet3340150Lead lap under green flag
71222Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac3340146Lead lap under green flag
8224Sterling MarlinMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet3342147Lead lap under green flag
92121Michael WaltripWood Brothers RacingFord3330138+1 lap
103541Steve GrissomLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet3320134+2 laps
111694Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord3320130+2 laps
123098John AndrettiCale Yarborough MotorsportsFord3320127+2 laps
133181Kenny WallaceFILMAR RacingFord3320124+2 laps
1477Geoff BodineGeoff Bodine RacingFord3310121+3 laps
153671Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet3310118+3 laps
16249Lake SpeedMelling RacingFord3310115+3 laps
174291Mike WallaceLJ RacingChevrolet3300112+4 laps
182733Ken SchraderAndy Petree RacingChevrolet3300109+4 laps
192611Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord3270106+7 laps
201743Bobby HamiltonPetty EnterprisesPontiac3250103+9 laps
214378Billy StandridgeTriad MotorsportsFord3250100+9 laps
222531Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32410102+10 laps
233290Dick TrickleDonlavey RacingFord319094+15 laps
24191Morgan ShepherdPrecision Products RacingPontiac304091+30 laps
251825Todd BodineHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet284993+50 laps
263897Chad LittleMark Rypien MotorsportsPontiac283085+51 laps
272344Kyle PettyPE2 MotorsportsPontiac266082+68 laps
281330Johnny Benson Jr.Bahari RacingPontiac256079Crash
294042Joe NemechekTeam SABCOChevrolet255076Crash
30224Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2476978+87 laps
312875Rick MastButch Mock MotorsportsFord246070Engine
322037Jeremy MayfieldKranefuss-Haas RacingFord200067Handling
33348Hut StricklinStavola Brothers RacingFord192064Clutch
342940Robby GordonTeam SABCOChevrolet174061+160 laps
351116Ted MusgraveRoush RacingFord167058Engine
361028Ernie IrvanRobert Yates RacingFord161055Crash
3792Rusty WallacePenske RacingFord160052Crash
3866Mark MartinRoush RacingFord1431054Engine
393323Jimmy SpencerTravis Carter EnterprisesFord95046Crash
403920Greg SacksRanier-Walsh RacingFord84043Crash
413736Derrike CopeMB2 MotorsportsPontiac21040Crash
424177Bobby Hillin Jr.Jasper MotorsportsFord17037Crash
431417Darrell WaltripDarrell Waltrip MotorsportsChevrolet0034Crash

Media

Television

The Interstate Batteries 500 was covered by CBS for the first time in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and nineteen-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, Dick Berggren and Ralph Sheheen handled pit road for the television side.