1997 Brickyard 400

February 2024 February 2025 NASWINSTON Brickyard 400 1997 08 2 1997 19 32 1997_Brickyard_400_program_cover_and_logo.png 1997 Brickyard 400 program cover Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana 2.5 4.023 160 400 643.738 130.814 mi/h Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing 50.637 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing 39 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports ABC Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons 5.3/18 The 1997 Brickyard 400, the 4th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on August 2, 1997, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5 mi km off on speedway, it was the 19th race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Ricky Rudd won the race. Background The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately 6 mi km off west of Downtown Indianapolis. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is 2.5 mi km off long. The track's turns are banked at 9 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators. Summary In the final twenty laps, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin held the top three spots, but none of the three would be able to make it to the finish without one final pit stop for fuel. Jeff Burton and Ricky Rudd also were close on fuel. On lap 145, Robby Gordon brushed the wall, and Burton ran over debris. Burton was forced to pit under green, but as he was finishing his stop, the caution came out. Burton flew out of the pits to beat the leaders, and for a moment it appeared he was in the cat bird's seat with four fresh tires, and would be the leader after all other drivers cycled through their stops. However, he was penalized for speeding while exiting the pit lane, and dropped to 15th. Ricky Rudd was among a few drivers who stayed out, and his gamble put him in the lead. Rudd drove the final 46 laps without a pit stop to take the victory.https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-aug-03-1997-4281982/ Rudd's gamble pays off Cedar Rapids Gazette August 3, 1997 February 2, 2024 50 NewspaperArchive The race was the last Cup Series start attempt for Tim Steele, and Ron Barfield Jr. also raced his only NASCAR Winston Cup race here. Results Pos Finishing position SP Starting position No. Car numberDriverCar makeEntrantLapsStatus 1 7 10 Ricky Rudd Ford Rudd Performance Motorsports 160 Running 2 25 18 Bobby Labonte Pontiac Joe Gibbs Racing 160 Running 3 3 88 Dale Jarrett Ford Robert Yates Racing 160 Running 4 24 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 160 Running 5 16 37 Jeremy Mayfield Ford Kranefuss-Haas Racing 160 Running 6 31 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing 160 Running 7 20 30 Johnny Benson Jr. Pontiac Bahari Racing 160 Running 8 15 94 Bill Elliott Ford Bill Elliott Racing 160 Running 9 6 31 Mike Skinner Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 160 Running 10 1 28 Ernie Irvan Ford Robert Yates Racing 160 Running 11 8 33 Ken Schrader Chevrolet Andy Petree Racing 160 Running 12 27 9 Lake Speed Ford Melling Racing 160 Running 13 39 44 Kyle Petty Pontiac PE2 Motorsports 160 Running 14 4 17 Darrell Waltrip Chevy Darrell Waltrip Motorsports 160 Running 15 33 99 Jeff Burton Ford Roush Racing 160 Running 16 41 25 Ricky Craven Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 160 Running 17 35 98 John Andretti Ford Cale Yarborough Motorsports 160 Running 18 42 11 Brett Bodine Ford Brett Bodine Racing 160 Running 19 36 22 Ward Burton Pontiac Bill Davis Racing 160 Running 20 12 43 Bobby Hamilton Pontiac Petty Enterprises 160 Running 21 34 27 Rick Wilson Ford David Blair Motorsports 160 Running 22 23 92 Ron Barfield Jr. Ford Bill Elliott Racing 160 Running 23 17 75 Rick Mast Ford Butch Mock Motorsports 160 Running 24 40 23 Jimmy Spencer Ford Travis Carter Enterprises 159 Running 25 26 29 Jeff Green Chevrolet Diamond Ridge Motorsports 159 Running 26 19 41 Steve Grissom Chevrolet Larry Hedrick Motorsports 159 Running 27 30 95 Ed Berrier Chevrolet Sadler Brothers Racing 159 Running 28 11 40 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Team SABCO 159 Running 29 5 3 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 158 Running 30 29 81 Kenny Wallace Ford FILMAR Racing 158 Running 31 37 91 Greg Sacks Chevrolet LJ Racing 158 Running 32 2 42 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Team SABCO 156 Running 33 22 16 Ted Musgrave Ford Roush Racing 155 Running 34 10 26 Rich Bickle Chevrolet Darrell Waltrip Motorsports 153 Crash 35 9 96 David Green Chevrolet American Equipment Racing 137 Engine 36 14 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Chevrolet Team SABCO 120 Ignition 37 28 12 Jeff Purvis Chevrolet LAR Motorsports 112 Running 38 43 2 Rusty Wallace Ford Penske Racing 91 Engine 39 18 21 Michael Waltrip Ford Wood Brothers Racing 89 Running 40 38 5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 83 Engine 41 32 36 Derrike Cope Pontiac MB2 Motorsports 12 Crash 42 21 97 Chad Little Pontiac Mark Rypien Motorsports 2 Crash 43 13 4 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Morgan-McClure Motorsports 2 Engine Source:1997 Brickyard 400 Failed to qualify Mike Wallace (#1) Dick Trickle (#90) Geoff Bodine (#7) Bobby Hillin Jr. (#78) Tim Steele (#61) Morgan Shepherd (#77) Dave Marcis (#71) Hut Stricklin (#8) Larry Pearson (#15) – withdrawn A. J. Foyt (#50) – withdrawn Race statistics Time of race: 3:03:28 Average speed: 130.814 mph Pole speed: 177.736 mph Cautions: 6 for 25 laps Margin of victory: 0.183 seconds Lead changes: 19 Percent of race run under caution: 15.6% Average green flag run: 19.3 laps Lap leaders Laps Leader 1–39 Ernie Irvan 40 Jeff Gordon 41 Johnny Benson Jr. 42–54 Wally Dallenbach Jr. 55 Jimmy Spencer 56 Terry Labonte 57 Ricky Craven 58–77 Dale Jarrett 78–80 Jeff Gordon 81 Johnny Benson Jr. 82–83 Jimmy Spencer 84 Wally Dallenbach Jr. 85–88 Jeff Gordon 89–109 Jeff Burton 110–113 Jeff Gordon 114 Ricky Rudd 115–122 Mike Skinner 123–135 Jeff Gordon 136–146 Dale Jarrett 147–160 Ricky Rudd Total laps led Laps Leader 39 Ernie Irvan 31 Dale Jarrett 25 Jeff Gordon 21 Jeff Burton 15 Ricky Rudd 14 Wally Dallenbach Jr. 8 Mike Skinner 3 Jimmy Spencer 2 Johnny Benson Jr. 1 Ricky Craven 1 Terry Labonte Cautions: 6 for 25 laps Laps Reason 4–6 #97 (Chad Little), #96 (David Green), and #12 (Jeff Purvis) crash turn 1 15–20 #36 (Derrike Cope), #21 (Michael Waltrip), #94 (Bill Elliott), #16 (Ted Musgrave), and #43 (Bobby Hamilton) crash turn 2 84–88 #5 (Terry Labonte) engine 114–117 #42 (Joe Nemechek) crash turn 2 147–150 Debris #40 (Robby Gordon) 155–157 #26 (Rich Bickle) crash turn 3 Media Television The race was aired live on ABC in the United States. Bob Jenkins and 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Benny Parsons called the race from the broadcast booth. Jerry Punch, Bill Weber and Jack Arute handled pit road for the television side. ABC Booth announcers Pit reporters Lap-by-lap Color commentator Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Jerry Punch Bill Weber Jack Arute References Brickyard 400 Brickyard 400 Category:NASCAR races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway