1997 TranSouth Financial 400

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

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Date=March 23|Most_laps=171|Pole_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Pole_Team=Robert Yates Racing|First_Team=Robert Yates Racing|First_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Most_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Most_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Car=88|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Season_No=32|Location=Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway|Race_No=5|Avg={{convert|121.162|mph|km/h}}|Official_name=41st Annual TranSouth Financial 400|Race_Name=TranSouth Financial 400|Year=1997|Scheduled_laps=293|Distance_laps=293|Distance_km=644.12|Scheduled_km=644.12|Scheduled_mi=400.238|Course_km=2.198|Course_mi=1.366|Pole_Time=28.742|Distance_mi=400.238|Caption=The 1997 TranSouth Financial 400 program cover, featuring Darrell Waltrip.|Image=1997_TranSouth_Financial_400.jpeg|Attendance=}}

The 1997 TranSouth Financial 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 41st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 23, 1997, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a {{Convert|1.366|mi|km}} permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 293 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would fiercely defend his lead against Roush Racing driver Ted Musgrave to take his tenth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second victory of the season, and his second consecutive victory.{{Cite web |last=Bonnell |first=Rick |date=March 23, 1997 |title=Jarrett's at the top of his game |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0323.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815213606/http://www.thatsracin.com/97/docs/0323.htm |archive-date=August 15, 2000 |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |last=McCollister |first=Tom |date=March 24, 1997 |title=Jarrett earns victory; Musgrave gets respect |pages=19 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/110060955/jarrett-earns-victory-musgrave-gets/ |access-date=September 23, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top three, Musgrave and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

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

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Morgan Shepherd

|Precision Products Racing

1997 TranSouth Financial 400

Background

= Entry list =

Qualifying

= Full qualifying results =

Race results

References