1997 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

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The 1997 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 49th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 26th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. It began on January 26 and ended on November 16. Ernie Irvan of AK Racing won the Cup championship at the end of the season.

It was the last season until 2020 without Matt Kenseth.

Teams, drivers, and manufacturers

Manufacturers

Company	Marquee	Model	Status
General Motors	Chevrolet	Monte Carlo Z34	Full factory support
		Cavalier	Full factory support
		Camaro Z28	Full factory support
		Malibu	NEW, full factory support
	Oldsmobile (RETURNING)	Cutlass	RETURNING, full factory support
	Pontiac	Grand Prix	Full factory support
		Bonneville	Full factory support
		Firebird	Full factory support
Ford Motor Company	Ford	Thunderbird	Full factory support (final year with support)
		Probe	FINAL YEAR, full factory support
		Contour	Full factory support
		Crown Victoria	Full factory support
		Mustang SVT Cobra	Full factory support
	Mercury	Cougar	Full factory support (final year with support)
		Sable	Full factory support
		Grand Marquis	Full factory support
Chrysler Corporation	Dodge	Intrepid	Full factory support
		Stratus	Full factory support
		Avenger	Full factory support

Manufacturer notes

After the stir caused by the unorthodox design of the Mercury Sable in 1996, manufacturers scrambled to match it. Both Chevrolet and Dodge began developing new generations of the Monte Carlo and Intrepid, respectively, to homologate for NASCAR competition, both doing so by 1999, while Ford worked hard to get the Sable's badge-engineering template, the Ford Taurus, into NASCAR. General Motors even went as far as to bring Oldsmobile back for the first time since 1992, taking advantage of the fact that the new model of Cutlass introduced in 1997 used the same platform as the Chevrolet Malibu already running in NASCAR, and that by 1998, they would have a car using the same platform as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix, the Oldsmobile Intrigue; it also helped that the Oldsmobile Aurora V8 developed for the Indy Racing League had been approved by NASCAR.

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt Inc.	17	Darrell Waltrip	Jeff Hammond	1997 Monte Carlo	Parts America
		38	Kelley Earnhardt (R)	Philippe Lopez		Pennzoil
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Terry Labonte	Gary DeHart	1997 Monte Carlo	Kellogg's
		24	Jeff Gordon	Ray Evernham		DuPont
		25	Tim Richmond	Phil Hammer Andy Graves		Lowe's
		52	Ricky Craven	Tim Brewer		Skittles
	Marcis Auto Racing	71	Dave Marcis	Bob Marcis	1997 Camaro	RealTree Camouflage
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Kenny Wallace	Robert Larkins	1997 Cavalier	Kodak Film
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Larry McReynolds	1997 Monte Carlo	GM Goodwrench
		31	Mike Skinner (R)	Kevin Hamlin		Budweiser
Dodge	AK Racing	7	Alan Kulwicki	Paul Andrews	1997 Avenger	Walmart
		11	Ernie Irvan			Burger King
	Bahari Racing	30	Johnny Benson	Doug Hewitt	1997 Intrepid	Pennzoil
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Bobby Labonte	Chris Hussey	1997 Intrepid	Sprite
		23	Ward Burton	TBA		MBNA America
	Donlavey Racing	90	Dick Trickle	Bob Johnson	1997 Stratus	Heilig-Meyers
			Dorsey Schroeder
	Elliott-Melling Racing	9	Bill Elliott	Mike Beam	1997 Thunderbird	Coors Light
		94	Casey Elliott			Super 8 Motels
	Moroso Racing	20	Rob Moroso	Tommy Baldwin	1997 Stratus	NAPA Auto Parts
	Petty Enterprises	43	Bobby Hamilton	Robbie Loomis	1997 Intrepid	STP
			Richard Petty
	Precision Products Racing	1	Morgan Shepherd	Michael McSwain	1997 Avenger	Delco Remy America
			Jerry Nadeau
			Mike Wallace
			Lance Hooper
	Team SABCO	40	Shawna Robinson	Mike Hillman	1997 Intrepid	Kmart
		42	Kyle Petty	Tony Glover		Mello Yello
		45	Patty Moise			Barbie
Ford	Brett Bodine Racing	27	Brett Bodine	Donnie Richeson	1997 Thunderbird	McDonald's
	FILMAR Racing	82	Ted Musgrave	Newt Moore	1997 Mustang	Square D
	Penske Racing South	2	Rusty Wallace	Robin Pemberton	1997 Thunderbird	Miller Lite
	Robert Yates Racing	28	Davey Allison	Marc Reno	1997 Thunderbird	Texaco/Havoline
		88	Sterling Marlin	Todd Parrott		Ford Quality Care
	Roush Racing	6	Mark Martin	Jimmy Fennig	1997 Probe	Valvoline
		16	Tammy Jo Kirk	James Ince		Family Channel/PrimeStar
		99	Jeff Burton	Buddy Parrott		Exide Batteries
	Travis Carter Enterprises	32	Jimmy Spencer	Donnie Wingo	1997 Contour	Camel Cigarettes
	Triad Motorsports	78	Billy Standridge	Bill Hayes Bob Johnson	1997 Contour	Hanes
			Tom Hubert
			Bobby Hillin Jr.
			Gary Bradberry
Mercury	Cale Yarborough Motorsports	98	Jeremy Mayfield	Tony Furr	1997 Sable	RCA
	Jasper Motorsports	77	Bobby Hillin Jr.	Terry Whooten	1997 Cougar	Jasper Engines/Federal Mogul
			Morgan Shepherd
			Robert Pressley
	Kranefuss-Haas Racing	37	John Andretti	Paul Andrews	1997 Grand Marquis	RC Cola
	Orr Motorsports	57	Rodney Orr		1997 Sable	Craftsman
	Rudd Performance Motorsports	10	Ricky Rudd	Jim Long	1997 Sable	Tide
	Stavola Brothers Racing	8	Hut Stricklin	Bill Ingle	1997 Cougar	Circuit City
		84	Clifford Allison			Circuit City
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Michael Waltrip	Leonard Wood	1997 Sable	Citgo
Oldsmobile	American Equipment Racing	96	David Green (R)	Sammy Johns	1997 Cutlass	Caterpillar
	Andy Petree Racing	33	Ken Schrader	Andy Petree	1997 Cutlass	Skoal Bandit
	Diamond Ridge Motorsports	29	Robert Pressley	Wes Ward	1997 Cutlass	Cartoon Network
			Jeff Green
Pontiac	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	41	Steve Grissom	Charley Pressley	1997 Bonneville	Kodiak
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Dale Jarrett	Jimmy Makar	1997 Grand Prix	Interstate Batteries
	Mark Rypien Motorsports	97	Chad Little	Harold Holly	1997 Firebird	John Deere
	MB2 Motorsports	36	Derrike Cope	Ryan Pemberton	1997 Grand Prix	Jimmy Dean

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model
Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	26	Rich Bickle	Dave McCarty	1997 Malibu
	LAR Motorsports	12	Jeff Purvis	Philippe Lopez	1996 Beretta
	T.R.I.X. Racing	79	Randy MacDonald		1995 Caprice
Dodge	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	50	A.J. Foyt		1997 Avenger
	Barkdoll Racing	73	Joe Nemechek		1997 Intrepid
			Phil Barkdoll
	Petty Enterprises	44	Bobby Hamilton		1997 Intrepid
	Ultra Motorsports	02	Mike Bliss		1996 Stratus
	Team SABCO	46	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Terry Shirley	1997 Intrepid
Ford	Bill Elliott Racing	89	Ron Barfield		1997 Thunderbird
	Bud Moore Engineering	15	Larry Pearson		1996 Escort
			Greg Sacks
	H.S. Die Racing Team	61	Tim Steele		1996 Thunderbird
	Melling Racing	92	Lake Speed	Jeff Buice	1997 Thunderbird
			Jeff Davis
	Ranier-Lundy Racing	83	Greg Sacks	Tommy Baldwin, Jr.	1997 Thunderbird
			Lance Hooper
	Sadler Brothers Racing	95	Gary Bradberry	Lee Leslie	1996 Mustang
			Billy Standridge
Mercury	Dave Blair Motorsports	27	Rick Wilson	Slugger Labbe	1996 Sable
			Kenny Irwin Jr.
	H.L. Waters Racing	0	Delma Cowart		1996 Cougar
	Standridge Motorsports	47	Billy Standridge		1997 Sable
	TriStar Motorsports	19	Loy Allen Jr.		1995 Grand Marquis
			Gary Bradberry
Oldsmobile	BACE Motorsports	74	Randy LaJoie		1997 Cutlass
	Buckshot Racing	00	Buckshot Jones	Ricky Pearson	1997 Cutlass
	Ken Schrader Racing	52	Jack Sprague		1997 Cutlass
	LJ Racing	91	Mike Wallace	Doug Richert	1997 Cutlass
			Loy Allen Jr.
			Greg Sacks
			Ron Hornaday Jr.
			Kevin Lepage
	Miller Racing	08	Mike Miller		1997 Cutlass
	Norm Benning Racing	84	Norm Benning		1997 Cutlass
Pontiac	Bailey Racing	66	H.B. Bailey		1995 Sunfire
	ISM Racing	35	Todd Bodine		1996 Grand Prix

Technical changes

1997 saw the return of Oldsmobile to the sport, coinciding with its program in the USAC Gold Crown Series. For this year, the only model run was the Cutlass.

Schedule

No.	Race title	Track	Date	TV
1	Save Mart Supermarkets 300	Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma	January 26	WBC
	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 9	WBC
	Gatorade 125s		February 13	WBC
2	Daytona 500		February 16	WBC
3	Goodwrench Service 400	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	February 23	TNN
4	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	March 2	ESPN
5	Primestar 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	March 9	WBC
6	San Jose 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	March 16	WBC
7	TranSouth Financial 400	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	March 23	ESPN
8	Interstate Batteries 500	Texas World Speedway, Fort Worth	April 6	WBC
9	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	April 13	ESPN
10	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville	April 20	ESPN
11	Coors 400	Pikes Peak International Speedway, Fountain	April 27	WBC
12	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	May 4	WBC
13	Dodge 500	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	May 10	ESPN
	RCA Open	Ascot Park, Gardena	May 17	TNN
	RCA All-Star Challenge XIII			TNN
14	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	May 25	WBC
15	Miller 500	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	June 1	TNN
16	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis	June 8	WBC
17	Chrysler 400	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth	June 15	TNN
18	California 500 presented by NAPA	California Speedway, Fontana	June 22	WBC
19	Music City USA 420	Nashville Speedway USA, Nashville	June 29	TNN
20	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 5	ESPN
21	Jiffy Lube 300	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon	July 13	TNN
22	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	July 20	WBC
23	Denver Post 400	Pikes Peak International Speedway, Fountain	July 27	WBC
24	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway	August 3	WBC
25	The Bud at The Glen	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	August 10	ESPN
26	DeVilbiss 400	Michigan Speedway, Brooklyn	August 17	ESPN
27	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	August 23	ESPN
28	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	August 31	ESPN
29	Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	September 6	ESPN
30	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	September 14	ESPN
31	MBNA 400	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover	September 21	TNN
32	Hanes 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	September 28	ESPN
33	UAW-GM Quality 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	October 5	WBC
34	Sears DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	October 12	WBC
35	Cisco Systems 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	October 19	WBC
36	AC Delco 400	North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham	October 27	TNN
37	Dura Lube 500 presented by Kmart	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale	November 2	TNN
38	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	November 9	ESPN
39	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario	November 16	WBC
	NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special *	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	November 23	WBC

• * - The NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special was cancelled due to a driver boycott in the aftermath of the 1996 Honda turbocharger cheating scandal, in which Honda snuck a turbocharger into its HRH engine used in the 1996 USAC Gold Crown Series, causing speeds to spiral out of control and ultimately lead to the death of rookie driver Jeff Krosnoff and a volunteer track marshal at Toronto. The boycott came due to Suzuka being owned by Honda.

Results

No.	Race	Pole Position	Winner	Make/Model
1	Save Mart Supermarket 300	Clifford Allison	Clifford Allison	Mercury Cougar
	Busch Clash	Terry Labonte	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	Gatorade 125s Race 1	Mike Skinner	Ernie Irvan	Ford Thunderbird
	Gatorade 125s Race 2	Steve Grissom	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2	Daytona 500	Mike Skinner	Kelley Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
3	Goodwrench Service 400	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4	Pontiac Excitement 400	Terry Labonte	Rusty Wallace	Ford Thunderbird
5	Primestar 500	Robby Gordon	Dale Jarrett	Pontiac Grand Prix
6	San Jose 500	David Green	Rob Moroso	Dodge Stratus
7	TranSouth Financial 400	Dale Jarrett	Davey Allison	Ford Thunderbird
8	Interstate Batteries 500	Ernie Irvan	Jeff Burton	Ford Probe
9	Food City 500	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte CArlo
10	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Kenny Wallace	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
11	Coors 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Rodney Orr	Mercury Sable
12	Budweiser 400	Mark Martin	Mark Martin	Ford Probe
13	Dodge 500	John Andretti	Mark Martin	Ford Probe
	RCA Open	Chad Little	Tim Richmond	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	RCA All-Star Challenge XIII	Bill Elliott	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
14	Coca-Cola 600	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
15	Miller 500	Bobby Labonte	Ricky Rudd	Mercury Sable
16	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	Bobby Hamilton	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
17	Chrysler 400	Dale Jarrett	Ernie Irvan	Ford Thunderbird
18	California 500 presented by NAPA	Joe Nemechek	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
19	Music City USA 420	Alan Kulwicki	Alan Kulwicki	Dodge Avenger
20	Pepsi 400	Mike Skinner	John Andretti	Mercury Grand Marquis
21	Jiffy Lube 300	Ken Schrader	Jeff Burton	Ford Probe
22	Pennsylvania 500	Joe Nemechek	Davey Allison	Ford Thunderbird
23	Denver Post 400	Jeff Gordon	Ken Schrader	Oldsmobile Cutlass
24	Brickyard 400	Ernie Irvan	Ricky Rudd	Mercury Sable
25	The Bud at The Glen	Todd Bodine	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
26	DeVilbiss 400	Johnny Benson	Mark Martin	Ford Probe
27	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Kenny Wallace	Dale Jarrett	Pontiac Grand Prix
28	Southern 500	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
29	Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400	Bill Elliott	Ernie Irvan	Ford Thunderbird
30	Tyson Holly Farms 400	Ken Schrader	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
31	MBNA 400	Mark Martin	Kyle Petty	Dodge Intrepid
32	Hanes 500	Ward Burton	Jeff Burton	Ford Probe
33	UAW-GM Quality 500	Kelley Earnhardt	Dale Jarrett	Pontiac Grand Prix
34	Sears DieHard 500	Ernie Irvan	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
35	Cisco Systems 500	Bill Elliott	Kyle Petty	Dodge Intrepid
36	AC Delco 400	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Hamilton	Dodge Intrepid
37	Dura Lube 500 presented by Kmart	Bobby Hamilton	Davey Allison	Ford Thunderbird
38	NAPA 500	Geoff Bodine	Bobby Labonte	Dodge Intrepid
39	Los Angeles Times 500	Bobby Hamilton	Rodney Orr	Mercury Sable
	NASCAR Suzuka Thunder Special	race cancelled

Cars used in 1997 (incomplete)

Chevrolet Monte Carlo Z34

Ford Thunderbird (final year with factory support)

Dodge Avenger (NEW)

Pontiac Grand Prix

Mercury Sable (NEW)

Oldsmobile Alero (NEW)