1997 Pepsi 400

{{Short description|16th race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Official_name=39th Annual Pepsi 400|Caption=The 1997 Pepsi 400 program cover, featuring Jeff Gordon.|Date=July 5|Avg={{convert|157.791|mph|km/h}}|Season_No=32|Race_No=16|Scheduled_laps=160|Course_km=4.0|Distance_laps=160|Distance_km=643.737|Course_mi=2.5|Scheduled_km=643.737|Scheduled_mi=400|Race_Name=Pepsi 400|Location=Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona International Speedway|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Network=ESPN|First_Team=Cale Yarborough Motorsports|First_Driver=John Andretti|Pole_Team=Richard Childress Racing|Most_Team=Cale Yarborough Motorsports|Pole_Driver=Mike Skinner|Most_Driver=John Andretti|Most_laps=113|Car=98|Year=1997|Distance_mi=400|Pole_Time=47.424|Image=1997_Pepsi_400.jpeg}}

The 1997 Pepsi 400 was the 16th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 29th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 5, 1997, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 160 laps to complete. In a one-lap restart to the finish, Cale Yarborough Motorsports driver John Andretti would manage to defend the field in a close finish to take his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.{{Cite web |last=Green Jr. |first=Ron |date=July 5, 1997 |title=Andretti flexes muscle |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0705.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815213454/http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0705.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |access-date=September 29, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |last=Kerasotis |first=Peter |date=July 6, 1997 |title=Andretti rules Daytona |pages=27 |work=Florida Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110390954/andretti-rules-daytona/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte and Morgan–McClure Motorsports driver Sterling Marlin would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

File:Daytona_International_Speedway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.{{Cite web |date=2010-08-11 |title=NASCAR.COM : Tracks |url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811053515/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |archive-date=2010-08-11 |access-date=2021-10-17}} The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.{{Cite web |date=2010-08-30 |title=Daytona International Speedway: The World Center of Racing |url=http://www.speedway-guide.com/Daytona-International-Speedway.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830050250/http://www.speedway-guide.com/Daytona-International-Speedway.html |archive-date=2010-08-30 |access-date=2021-10-17}}

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Jerry Nadeau

|Precision Products Racing

1997 Pepsi 400

Background

= Entry list =

Qualifying

= Full qualifying results =

Race results

References