The 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the ninth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the third race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the ninth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 4, 1997, in Sonoma, California, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a 2.52 miles (4.06 km) permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would dominate the majority of the race to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, both driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively.
Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52 miles (4.06 km) long;[3] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95 miles (3.14 km). The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[4] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99 miles (3.20 km).[5]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, May 3, at 6:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, May 4, at 1:00 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[6] Positions 26-38 would be decided on time, and depending on who needed it, the 39th thru either the 42nd, 43rd, or 44th position would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the field would be limited to 42 cars. If a champion needed it, the field would expand to 43 cars. If the race was a companion race with the NASCAR Winston West Series, four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals, while the final two spots would be given to teams in the Winston West Series, leaving the field at 44 cars.
Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:37.751 and an average speed of 92.807 miles per hour (149.358 km/h).[7]
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The 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the ninth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series the third race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston West Series and the ninth iteration of the event The race was held on Sunday May 4 1997 in Sonoma California at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway a 2 52 miles 4 06 km permanent road course layout The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete At race s end Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would dominate the majority of the race to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season 1 2 To fill out the top three Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte both driving for Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third respectively 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300Race detailsRace 9 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup SeriesThe 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 program cover featuring Rusty Wallace DateMay 4 1997Official name9th Annual Save Mart Supermarkets 300LocationSonoma California Sears Point RacewayCoursePermanent racing facility2 52 mi 4 06 km Distance74 laps 186 48 mi 300 11 km Scheduled Distance74 laps 186 48 mi 300 11 km Average speed75 788 miles per hour 121 969 km h Pole positionDriverMark MartinRoush RacingTime1 37 751Most laps ledDriverMark MartinRoush RacingLaps69WinnerNo 6Mark MartinRoush RacingTelevision in the United StatesNetworkESPNAnnouncersBob Jenkins Ned Jarrett Benny ParsonsRadio in the United StatesRadioMotor Racing Network Contents 1 Background 1 1 Entry list 2 Qualifying 2 1 Full qualifying results 3 Race results 4 ReferencesBackground edit nbsp The layout of Sears Point Raceway used by NASCAR at the time Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races the other being Watkins Glen International The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12 turn course that is 2 52 miles 4 06 km long 3 the track was modified in 1998 adding the Chute which bypassed turns 5 and 6 shortening the course to 1 95 miles 3 14 km The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race and was criticized by many drivers who preferred the full layout 4 In 2001 it was replaced with a 70 degree turn 4A bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1 99 miles 3 20 km 5 Entry list edit R denotes rookie driver Driver Team Make Sponsor 00W Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Chevrolet Oliver Gravity Seperators 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac Delco Remy Cruisin America Phone Card 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford Miller Lite 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg s Frosted Flakes 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline 7 Geoff Bodine Mattei Motorsports Ford QVC 07 Sean Woodside Golden West Motorsports Pontiac Cinema Vehicle Services 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford Circuit City 9 Jeff Davis Melling Racing Ford Ultra Shield 09W R K Smith Smith Racing Pontiac Smith Racing 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Close Call Phone Card 15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet Scribner Racing 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford PrimeStar The Family Channel 16W Bill McAnally Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet Parts America 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford Child Support Recovery 20 Lance Hooper Ranier Walsh Racing Ford Hardee s 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA 23 Jimmy Spencer Haas Carter Motorsports Ford Camel Cigarettes 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco Havoline 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet Cartoon Network Scooby Doo 30 Johnny Benson Jr Bahari Racing Pontiac Pennzoil 31 Mike Skinner R Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Lowe s 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Skoal 35 Larry Gunselman Race Stuff Motorsports Ford Caterpillar 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac Skittles 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss Haas Racing Ford Kmart RC Cola 38 Butch Gilliland Stroppe Motorsports Ford Stroppe Motorsports 40 Robby Gordon R Team SABCO Chevrolet Coors Light 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet BellSouth 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Hot Wheels 45W Gary Smith Strauser Racing Chevrolet TootsieToy 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr Team SABCO Chevrolet First Union 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Realtree 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Remington Arms 77 Bobby Hillin Jr Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines amp Transmissions Federal Mogul 78 Tom Hubert Triad Motorsports Ford Diamond Rio Hanes 78W Chuck Pruett Golden Gate Racing Chevrolet Golden Gate Racing 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford Square D 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service Ford Credit 89W Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac Las Vegas Motor Speedway 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig Meyers 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet Spam 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald s 96 David Green R American Equipment Racing Chevrolet Caterpillar 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac John Deere 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford RCA 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford ExideQualifying editQualifying was split into two rounds The first round was held on Friday May 3 at 6 00 PM EST Each driver would have one lap to set a time During the first round the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run held on Saturday May 4 at 1 00 PM EST As with the first round each driver would have one lap to set a time 6 Positions 26 38 would be decided on time and depending on who needed it the 39th thru either the 42nd 43rd or 44th position would be based on provisionals Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner s points The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race If no past champion needs the provisional the field would be limited to 42 cars If a champion needed it the field would expand to 43 cars If the race was a companion race with the NASCAR Winston West Series four spots would be determined by NASCAR Winston Cup Series provisionals while the final two spots would be given to teams in the Winston West Series leaving the field at 44 cars Mark Martin driving for Roush Racing would win the pole setting a time of 1 37 751 and an average speed of 92 807 miles per hour 149 358 km h 7 13 drivers would fail to qualify Rick Mast Joe Nemechek R K Smith Robert Pressley Chad Little Gary Smith David Green Dick Trickle Chuck Pruett Bill McAnally Scott Gaylord Wayne Jacks and Rick Scribner Full qualifying results edit Pos Driver Team Make Time Speed 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 1 37 751 92 807 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 1 38 041 92 533 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1 38 106 92 471 4 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1 38 147 92 533 5 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 1 38 363 92 230 6 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1 38 545 92 059 7 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 1 38 597 92 011 8 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 1 38 631 91 979 9 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr Team SABCO Chevrolet 1 38 670 91 943 10 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 1 38 735 91 882 11 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1 38 785 91 836 12 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 1 38 849 91 776 13 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 1 38 955 91 678 14 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 1 38 956 91 677 15 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 1 39 058 91 583 16 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 1 39 092 91 551 17 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 1 39 115 91 530 18 40 Robby Gordon R Team SABCO Chevrolet 1 39 312 91 348 19 31 Mike Skinner R Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1 39 389 91 278 20 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 1 39 390 91 277 21 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 1 39 499 91 177 22 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 1 39 552 91 128 23 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 1 39 589 91 094 24 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 1 39 594 91 090 25 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 1 39 636 91 051 26 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 1 38 446 92 152 27 78 Tom Hubert Triad Motorsports Ford 1 38 763 91 856 28 38 Butch Gilliland Stroppe Motorsports Ford 1 38 898 91 731 29 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 1 38 984 91 651 30 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1 39 234 91 420 31 77 Bobby Hillin Jr Jasper Motorsports Ford 1 39 247 91 408 32 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1 39 317 91 344 33 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1 39 335 91 327 34 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet 1 39 577 91 105 35 30 Johnny Benson Jr Bahari Racing Pontiac 1 39 610 91 075 36 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 1 39 696 90 997 37 20 Lance Hooper Ranier Walsh Racing Ford 1 39 882 90 827 38 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 1 39 887 90 823 Winston Cup provisionals 39 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss Haas Racing Ford 40 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 41 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 42 9 Jeff Davis Melling Racing Ford Winston West provisionals 43 07 Sean Woodside Golden West Motorsports Pontiac 44 35 Larry Gunselman Race Stuff Motorsports Ford Failed to qualify 45 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 46 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 47 09W R K Smith Smith Racing Pontiac 48 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 49 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 50 45W Gary Smith Strauser Racing Chevrolet 51 96 David Green R American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 52 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 53 78W Chuck Pruett Golden Gate Racing Chevrolet 54 16W Bill McAnally Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet 55 00W Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Chevrolet 56 89W Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac 57 15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet Official qualifying results Time not available Race results editFin 8 St Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings 1 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 74 69 running 185 113 995 2 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 74 0 running 170 66 065 3 4 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 74 1 running 170 63 700 4 8 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 74 2 running 165 50 135 5 26 17 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 74 0 running 155 35 920 6 5 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 74 0 running 150 40 795 7 6 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 74 0 running 146 37 345 8 24 28 Ernie Irvan Robert Yates Racing Ford 74 0 running 142 40 145 9 20 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 74 0 running 138 39 595 10 14 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 74 0 running 134 32 440 11 12 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 74 0 running 130 34 880 12 32 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74 0 running 127 39 580 13 11 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 74 0 running 124 22 980 14 25 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 74 0 running 121 33 680 15 9 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr Team SABCO Chevrolet 74 0 running 118 23 930 16 19 31 Mike Skinner R Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 74 0 running 115 22 830 17 33 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 74 0 running 112 32 855 18 21 36 Derrike Cope MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 74 0 running 109 21 705 19 23 43 Bobby Hamilton Petty Enterprises Pontiac 74 0 running 106 36 680 20 29 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 74 0 running 103 41 105 21 35 30 Johnny Benson Jr Bahari Racing Pontiac 74 0 running 100 32 555 22 34 91 Mike Wallace LJ Racing Chevrolet 74 0 running 97 23 505 23 41 1 Morgan Shepherd Precision Products Racing Pontiac 74 0 running 94 32 280 24 28 38 Butch Gilliland Stroppe Motorsports Ford 74 0 running 91 21 410 25 30 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 74 0 running 88 25 350 26 16 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 74 0 running 85 37 380 27 39 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kranefuss Haas Racing Ford 73 0 running 82 24 965 28 27 78 Tom Hubert Triad Motorsports Ford 73 0 running 79 21 350 29 22 8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Ford 73 0 running 76 31 840 30 17 98 John Andretti Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 73 0 running 73 31 710 31 15 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 73 0 running 70 31 290 32 13 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 70 0 running 67 31 140 33 43 07 Sean Woodside Golden West Motorsports Pontiac 69 0 running 64 20 905 34 10 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 66 0 running 61 45 890 35 31 77 Bobby Hillin Jr Jasper Motorsports Ford 64 0 running 58 23 965 36 36 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 61 0 accident 55 30 850 37 42 9 Jeff Davis Melling Racing Ford 60 0 accident 52 30 745 38 44 35 Larry Gunselman Race Stuff Motorsports Ford 60 0 rear end 49 20 720 39 40 25 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 58 0 running 46 30 220 40 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 47 2 engine 48 38 720 41 18 40 Robby Gordon R Team SABCO Chevrolet 43 0 engine 40 27 720 42 37 20 Lance Hooper Ranier Walsh Racing Ford 40 0 engine 37 21 820 43 38 19 Gary Bradberry TriStar Motorsports Ford 31 0 engine 34 20 720 44 7 7 Geoff Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 10 0 engine 31 29 220 Failed to qualify 45 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 46 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 47 09W R K Smith Smith Racing Pontiac 48 29 Robert Pressley Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet 49 97 Chad Little Mark Rypien Motorsports Pontiac 50 45W Gary Smith Strauser Racing Chevrolet 51 96 David Green R American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 52 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 53 78W Chuck Pruett Golden Gate Racing Chevrolet 54 16W Bill McAnally Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet 55 00W Scott Gaylord Oliver Racing Chevrolet 56 89W Wayne Jacks Jacks Motorsports Pontiac 57 15W Rick Scribner Scribner Racing Chevrolet Official race resultsReferences edit Green Jr Ron May 4 1997 Martin finds road to victory That s Racin The Charlotte Observer Archived from the original on August 15 2000 Retrieved September 26 2022 Martin finally breaks dry spell The Daily News Leader May 5 1997 p 9 Retrieved September 26 2022 via Newspapers com nbsp Sears Point www gt racing co uk Retrieved 2021 11 13 Passing is tough in Chute chronicle augusta com 2011 06 07 Archived from the original on 2011 06 07 Retrieved 2021 11 13 SEARS POINT BREAKS GROUND ON MODIFIED CHUTE RacingWest 2007 09 29 Archived from the original on 2007 09 29 Retrieved 2021 11 13 Save Mart 300 The Charlotte Observer May 2 1997 p 17 Retrieved September 26 2022 via Newspapers com nbsp Martin can break drought at Sears Point Messenger Inquirer May 4 1997 p 12 Retrieved September 26 2022 via Newspapers com nbsp 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 The Third Turn The Third Turn Retrieved September 25 2022 Previous race 1997 Goody s Headache Powder 500 Martinsville NASCAR Winston Cup Series1997 season Next race 1997 Winston 500 Previous race 1997 Winston 200 NASCAR Winston West Series1997 season Next race 1997 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 200 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 amp oldid 1159216286, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
