NASCAR Winston Cup Series ACDelco 400: Fact Sheet
20 October 1997
1997 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES FACT SHEET WHAT: ACDelco 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race #30 of 32 WHERE: North Carolina Motor Speedway Rockingham, NC 1.017-Mile Banked Paved Speedway WHEN: Sunday, October 26, 1997 12:30 pm EST DISTANCE: 400 Miles/393 Laps POSTED AWARDS: $1,446,336 FIELD: 43 cars possible. Fastest 38 cars through time trials. Four provisional starting positions based on 1997 NWC owner points and one past champion provisional. SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. PROMOTER: North Carolina Motor Speedway, Inc. TV: TNN (Live) Airtime: 12:30 pm (EST) Announcers: Eli Gold, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker and Glenn Jarrett Pit Reporters: Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum RADIO: MRN (Live) Airtime: 12:15 pm (EST) Announcers: Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall SCHEDULE: Friday, October 24 6:00 am : Team Haulers Enter 7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens 8:00 am : Rookie Drivers' Meeting 9:30 am : Qualifying Draw 10:30 - 11:30 am : Practice 12:00 - 12:30 pm : Practice 3:00 pm : Qualifying (Positions 1-25) Saturday, October 25 7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens 8:00 - 9:00 am : Practice 9:30 am : Qualifying (Positions 26-38) TBD : Final practice following NBS event PARTICIPATING AWARDS SPONSORS: Winston, AE Clevite Engine Parts, Aeroquip, Auto Meter Products, Bowman Distribution, Busch Beer, Champion Spark Plugs, Competition Cams, Craftsman Tools, Crane Cams, DuPont Automotive Finishes, Edelbrock Manifolds, Fram Fuel Filters, Gatorade Sports Beverage, Goodyear Tires, Goody's Headache Powders, Holley Carburetors, Hurst Shifters, JE Pistons, Jesel Rocker Arms, Longacre Computerscales, MCI, Mac Tools, Mechanix Wear, Moog Chassis Parts, Motorcraft Batteries, Opryland, Plasti-Kote Spray Paint, RCA, Raybestos Brakes, Simpson Helmets, Spicer Drive Shafts, Stant Radiator Caps, STP Oil Treatment & Oil Filters, 3M Automotive Products, True Value Hardware, Unocal Gasoline, 76/NASCAR High Performance Motor Oil, Western Auto Stores, Wiseco Pistons, Wix Air Filters RECORDS: Qualifying: Mark Martin; Ford; 157.885 mph; 23.189 seconds; 2/21/97 Race: Ricky Rudd; Ford; 122.320 mph, 3 hours, 16 minutes, 0.3 seconds THE TRACK: Degree of Banking in Turns 1 and 2 - 22 degrees Degree of Banking in Turns 3 and 4 - 25 degrees Degree of Banking on Straights - 8 degrees Length of Front Straight - 1,300 feet Length of Back Straight - 1,367 feet 1996 REVIEW: Ricky Rudd kept alive his streak of winning at least one race a season, making his mark for the 14th consecutive year by winning the ACDelco 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The race was a benchmark for several reasons. In addition to Rudd's accomplishment, Terry Labonte, who just tow races earlier had trailed Jeff Gordon by 111 points in the standings, captured a 32-point lead by winning Charlotte and followig that with a third-place finish at Rockingham. Gordon finished 12th, one lap down. Dale Jarrett was second (after leading the most laps), 3.397 seconds behind Rudd, followed by Labonte, Ernie Irvan and Jeff Burton.