1997 Coca-Cola 600

The 1997 Coca-Cola 600, the 38th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 25, 1997 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested at 333 laps – shortened from 400 laps due to a rain delay and a 1 a.m. curfew – on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 11th race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.

1997 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 11 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Date May 25, 1997 (1997-05-25)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 333 laps, 499.5 mi (803.867 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
Weather Temperatures averaging around 72.4 °F (22.4 °C); wind speeds up to 17.2 miles per hour (27.7 km/h)[1]
Average speed 136.745 mph (220.070 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing
Laps 83
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren & Geoff Bodine

On the day of the race, 0.25 inches of precipitation were recorded around the speedway.[2]

Background

Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and The Winston, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI).

Top 10 results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
2 2Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord
3 6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord
4 94Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord
5 99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord
6 18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac
7 3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet
8 5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
9 1Morgan ShepherdPrecision Products RacingPontiac
10 10Ricky RuddRudd Performance MotorsportsFord

Race statistics

  • Time of race: 3:39:10
  • Average Speed: 136.745 miles per hour (220.070 km/h)
  • Pole Speed: 184.3
  • Cautions: 7 for 50 laps
  • Margin of Victory: 0.468 sec
  • Lead changes: 27
  • Percent of race run under caution: 15%
  • Average green flag run: 35.4 laps

[3]

References

  1. Weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. "Charlotte NASCAR Climatology" (PDF). SERCC. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
  3. Race statistics at Race Database
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