1997 Primestar 500
Fourth race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1997 Primestar 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 9, 1997, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.522 miles (2.449 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 328 laps to complete. At race's end, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would dominate the majority of the race to take his ninth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing driver Ernie Irvan and Precision Products Racing driver Morgan Shepherd would finish second and third, respectively.
Race details | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 4 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Date | March 9, 1997 | ||
Official name | 38th Annual Primestar 500 | ||
Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | ||
Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
Scheduled Distance | 328 laps, 499.216 mi (803.41 km) | ||
Average speed | 132.731 miles per hour (213.610 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Team SABCO | ||
Time | 29.378 | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
Laps | 253 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | ABC | ||
Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | Performance Racing Network |
The race was marred by a crash involving Larry Hedrick Motorsports driver Steve Grissom on lap 284. On the track's backstretch, Jimmy Spencer would spin in front of oncoming cars, causing Grissom to spin and fellow driver and rookie Mike Skinner to hit Spencer and become airborne. Grissom would proceed to spin towards an opening on the inside backstretch wall at over 180 miles per hour (290 km/h), eventually hitting the wall violently. Grissom's car would proceed to flip wildly, with the rear axle completely torn from the car and with the fuel cell ruptured, fuel would spill onto the track.[1] Grissom was eventually determined to be OK from the accident, with Grissom only suffering a "skinned ankle" according to Grissom himself.[3]