1997 Daytona 500

Photos by Earl Ma

The 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup season began, as always, with its Super Bowl - the Daytona 500. The thirty-ninth running of the "Great American Race" came on February 16, culminating the stock car portion of Daytona Speedweeks '97. We all events from Thursday on, including the Gatorade Twin-125 qualifying races (which determined the starting lineup for the 500), Goody's Dash series Discount Auto Parts 200, the IROC XXI season opener, and the Busch Grand National Gargoyles 300.

With the popularity of big league stock car racing reaching a fever pitch nationwide, the hype grows every year. Currently, more requests for press credentials are received for Daytona than for the Super Bowl, an apt demonstration of the incredible interest being generated by what still amounts to a predominantly regional racing series in which only one driver born outside the US has even attempted to qualify for a race over the past two years. A substantial number of those requests go nowhere, no matter how legitimate the media outlet may be.

With all this demand, public access to the pits and garage area are virtually impossible, short of knowing the right person with the right corporate connections. While you might be able to buy a pass or otherwise gain entrance at virtually any other Winston Cup venue, at Daytona it costs big money just to get into the infield so you could press up against the garage gate and merely fantasize about sneaking in. In this regard, NASCAR pales badly in comparison to the open paddock atmosphere of Indycars. But in contrast, the drivers as a result make themselves more accessible to larger numbers of people by making far more public appearances away from the track, staging autograph sessions at various stores and making the rounds of various TV and radio broadcasts. It is not that uncommon finding a Winston Cup driver and his family or crew dining several tables away from you at one of Daytona Beach's favorite restaurants.

The 500 saw Jeff Gordon make up nearly a full lap deficit after a mid-race unscheduled pit stop and work his way back towards the front and taking full advantage of the wreck on lap 189 which sent Dale Earnhardt flipping down the backstretch (and losing the 500 for the 19th time), and Ernie Irvan's hood flying into the Tiny Lund Grandstand, injuring two spectators.

Upon the restart, Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven wasted no time in drafting by leader Bill Elliott in turn 1. This gave the ailing (and absent) Rick Hendrick his first career 1-2-3 finish in a Winston Cup race, Gordon his first 500 victory at the age of 26, Labonte his second runner-up finish, and Craven a podium placing in his first outing with the team.

17 key personalities in NASCAR racing signed the Rover Jackson commemorative banner, a testimony to the considerable legwork - and luck - necessary in tracking down people during the three days prior to the 500. Much thanks to the following individuals who spared a few seconds of their time and added their names to the roster (in alphabetical order):

1. John Andretti
2. Nancy Andretti
3. Ron Barfield, Jr.
4. Johnny Benson, Jr.
5. Geoff Bodine
6. Bill Broderick
7. Jeff Burton
8. Harry Gant
9. Eli Gold
10. Bobby Hamilton
11. Chad Little

12. Mark Martin
13. Jeremy Mayfield
14. Benny Parsons
15. Ricky Rudd
16. Elliott Sadler
17. Ken Squier

Some faulted this race as being another parade of cars with minimal passing under restrictor plate racing restrictions, but for this first-time Winston Cup racegoer, that hardly made a difference. Judicious use of radio scanners, seldom seen in the stands outside of NASCAR, added another dimension to the race and clued in important details about how the race unfolded, many of which never made it onto TV or radio.

Heavy thunderstorms on Saturday morning led to a brief delay for the start of the BGN race, and the clouds did threaten before the 500, but traditional "Bill France weather" ensured the race would go off smoothly.

Bill Broderick photo courtesy 76 Products Company
John Andretti photo courtesy Cale Yarborough Motorsports
Ricky Rudd photo courtesy Rudd Performance Motorsports