1997 Pontiac Excitement 400

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

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Race_No=3|Distance_mi=300|Year=1997|Pole_Time=Set by 1996 owner's points|Race_Name=Pontiac Excitement 400|Course_mi=0.75|Scheduled_km=482.803|Distance_km=482.803|Course_km=1.21|Distance_laps=400|Scheduled_laps=400|Scheduled_mi=300|Official_name=43rd Annual Pontiac Excitement 400|Location=Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway|Avg={{convert|108.499|mph|km/h}}|Season_No=32|Date=March 2|Car=2|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett|Most_laps=172|First_Driver=Rusty Wallace|First_Team=Penske Racing South|Most_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Pole_Driver=Terry Labonte|Pole_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|Most_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Caption=The 1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover.|Image=1997_Pontiac_Excitement_400.jpg|Attendance=}}

The 1997 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the third stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 2, 1997, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In a controversial victory, Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace would manage to hold off the field on the final restart with three to go, scoring his 47th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=David |date=March 2, 1997 |title=Wallace leaves questions |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0302.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815213615/http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0302.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1997 |title=Wallace's hard-fought victory not yet official at Pontiac 400 |pages=60 |work=The Kansas City Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110041535/wallaces-hard-fought-victory-not-yet/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Geoff Bodine Racing driver Geoff Bodine and Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.

In post-race technical inspection, Wallace's engine was found to had failed to "meet compression ratio specifications" according to NASCAR technical inspector Kevin Triplett. At the time, the engine compression ratio was 14:1. On Monday, March 3, NASCAR would run another test. The official test results came to 14.001:1, which while slightly over, was within the guidelines and would allow Wallace to keep his victory.{{Cite news |last=McCollister |first=Tom |date=March 4, 1997 |title=Wallace declared Richmond winner |pages=94 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110041679/wallace-declared-richmond-winner/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Background

File:Richmond_International_Speedway.png, the venue where the race was at.]]

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

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

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Morgan Shepherd

|Precision Products Racing

1997 Pontiac Excitement 400

Background

= Entry list =

Qualifying

= Full starting lineup =

Race results

References