1997 Daytona 500

1997 Daytona 500

Race details
Race 1 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1997 Daytona 500 logo
Date	February 16, 1997 (1997-02-16)
Location	Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Temperatures hovering around 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 23 miles per hour (37 km/h)[1]
Average speed	148.295 miles per hour (238.658 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Mike Skinner	Richard Childress Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates Racing
Duel 2 Winner	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Mark Martin	Roush Racing
Laps	52
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	CBS
Announcers	Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett
Nielsen ratings	8.6/23 (12.8 million viewers)

The 1997 Daytona 500, the 39th running of the event, was held on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Consisted of 200 laps and 500 miles, it was the first race of the 1997 Winston Cup season. Mike Skinner, driving the #31 car for Richard Childress Racing, won the pole and Jeff Gordon, driving the #24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race. The race was broadcast on television by CBS.

• Joe Nemechek's car owner Felix Sabates bought the #73 entry of Phil Barkdoll, who had qualified 38th. Nemechek went to the #73 for the 500.
• Remington Arms placed their sponsor logos on the #19 Ford driven by Loy Allen Jr. for TriStar Motorsports after Rick Mast failed to qualify the RahMoc car.
• Robert Pressley's car caught air after he spun on lap 10. The rear of the car lifted so much, the car was temporarily sliding across the track on its nose. The landing was quite hard, so after the crew repaired the car, then Busch Series competitor and future 2-time Camping World Truck Series Champion Todd Bodine hopped in to complete more laps.
• Dale Earnhardt was involved in a crash in a six-way battle for the lead with 12 laps to go, in which his #3 Chevrolet scraped the backstretch wall by itself, then made contact with Dale Jarrett causing Earnhardt's car to roll over. While his car was on its roof, Earnhardt was contacted by Ernie Irvan in the #28 Ford. The hood of Irvan's car detached and sailed into the backstretch grandstand, injuring a few spectators. While sitting in an ambulance after the crash, Earnhardt noticed that his tires were still on the car after the crash, had it taken off the tow truck, and drove it back to pit road. The car was repaired as best as the team could, and Earnhardt was able to return to the race, 5 laps down in 31st.
• The race ended under caution after the Big One occurred on lap 196, involving 13 cars.
• Hendrick Motorsports posted a 1-2-3 finish with Gordon winning the race, Terry Labonte finishing second, and Ricky Craven finishing third. The team used a formation finish as the race ended under the safety car, which was possible at the time.
• At age 25, Jeff Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner ever. Richard Petty had previously been the youngest winner in 1964, when he won the 500 at age 26. Gordon's record was surpassed when Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 at age 20.

The Daytona 500 was covered by CBS for the nineteenth time in the United States. Ken Squier, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1980 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Mike Joy, Dick Berggren and Ralph Sheheen reported from pit road.