1997 Hanes 500
The 1997 Hanes 500 was the 27th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 49th iteration of the event. The race was originally scheduled to held on Sunday, September 28, 1997, but was postponed until Monday, September 29 due to inclement weather.[1] The race took place in Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race, Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton would manage to take advantage of a penalty-stricken Rusty Wallace to take his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third and final victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the top three, Richard Childress Racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Hamilton would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1997 Hanes 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | September 29, 1997 | ||
| Official name | 49th Annual Hanes 500 | ||
| Location | Ridgeway, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 73.072 miles per hour (117.598 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bill Davis Racing | ||
| Time | 20.272 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | |
| Laps | 226 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Martinsville Speedway is an NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 26. 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, September 27. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. 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.
Ward Burton, driving for Bill Davis Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.272 and an average speed of 93.410 miles per hour (150.329 km/h).[4]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Gary Bradberry, Morgan Shepherd, and Dave Marcis.
Full qualifying results
*Time not available.
Race results
References
- Poole, David (September 29, 1997). "Rains sets Martinsville race back a day". The Charlotte Observer. p. 17. Retrieved October 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Poole, David (September 29, 1997). "Burton takes over when Wallace draws Martinsville penalty". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- McLaurin, Jim (September 30, 1997). "Burton gets good flag, Wallace gets bad one". The State. p. 27. Retrieved October 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Dutton, Monte (September 27, 1997). "Little Burton takes pole from Martin". Anderson Independent-Mail. p. 5. Retrieved October 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.