The 1997 NASCAR Winston 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 February 9 and ended on November 16. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won his second Cup championship at the end of the season. It was the last season until 2019 without Matt Kenseth.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Limited schedule

Schedule

Races

Busch Clash

The Busch Clash, a race for pole winners from the previous season, and drivers who have won the event before was run on February 9 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Terry Labonte drew the pole. The race was broadcast on CBS. Top ten results

Gatorade 125s

The Gatorade Twin 125s were run on February 13 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mike Skinner and Steve Grissom were the pole sitters for races one and two, respectively. The races were broadcast tape-delayed on CBS just prior to the Daytona 500. Race one results Race two results

39th Daytona 500

The 1997 Daytona 500 was run on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. The #31 of Mike Skinner won the pole. The race ended under caution after a big crash with five laps remaining involved several cars. The race was broadcast on CBS. Failed to qualify: 91-Mike Wallace, 95-Gary Bradberry, 78-Billy Standridge, 15-Larry Pearson, 42-Joe Nemechek, 97-Chad Little, 75-Rick Mast, 96-David Green*, 0-Delma Cowart, and 84-Norm Benning.

Goodwrench Service 400

The Goodwrench Service 400 was run on February 23 at North Carolina Speedway. The #6 of Mark Martin won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results

Pontiac Excitement 400

The Pontiac Excitement 400 was held March 2 at Richmond International Raceway. Terry Labonte won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results

Primestar 500

The Primestar 500 was run on March 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The #40 of Robby Gordon won the pole. The race was broadcast on ABC. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 29-Robert Pressley, 36-Derrike Cope, 46-Wally Dallenbach Jr., 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Bobby Hillin Jr., 95-Ed Berrier, 08-Mike Miller

TranSouth Financial 400

The TranSouth Financial 400 was held March 23 at Darlington Raceway. Dale Jarrett won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 41-Steve Grissom, 78-Billy Standridge, 90-Dick Trickle

Interstate Batteries 500

The inaugural Interstate Batteries 500 was held April 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Dale Jarrett won the pole. This was the first race held at the track and the first NASCAR race in the state of Texas since 1981. The race was broadcast on CBS. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 19-Gary Bradberry, 27-Rick Wilson, 29-Robert Pressley, 46-Wally Dallenbach Jr., 66-H. B. Bailey, 74-Randy LaJoie, 95-Ed Berrier, 96-David Green, 02-Mike Bliss

Food City 500

The Food City 500 was held on April 13 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Rusty Wallace won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 20-Greg Sacks, 77-Bobby Hillin Jr., 78-Billy Standridge, 91-Mike Wallace

Goody's Headache Powder 500

The Goody's Headache Powder 500 was held April 20 at Martinsville Speedway. Kenny Wallace won the pole. It was FILMAR Racing's first career pole of the season. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 19-Gary Bradberry, 20-Lance Hooper, 78-Billy Standridge, 79-Randy MacDonald, 96-David Green

Save Mart Supermarkets 300

The Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was held May 4 at Sears Point Raceway. Mark Martin won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 29-Robert Pressley, 42-Joe Nemechek, 45-Gary Smith, 75-Rick Mast, 78w-Chuck Pruitt, 90-Dick Trickle, 96-David Green, 97-Chad Little, 09-R. K. Smith

Winston 500

The Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was originally scheduled for Sunday, April 27, but rain forced the race to be postponed. Teams returned on Saturday, May 10 (Mother's Day weekend), and the race was held under sunny skies. John Andretti started from the pole position. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 19-Gary Bradberry, 42-Joe Nemechek*, 73-Phil Barkdoll, 78-Billy Standridge, 91-Mike Wallace, 95-Ed Berrier

Winston Open

The Winston Open was held before The Winston All-Star Race on May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as a last chance qualifier race for the cars that had not won a race yet in 1997 or late 1996 and was not a past champion. Chad Little won the pole. The winner of this race would qualify to be in The Winston All-Star Race. Top ten results

The Winston

The Winston is the All-Star Race for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 17 after the Winston Open Race. Drivers have to qualify; Win a race since last year The Winston race, Win the Winston Open qualifier race, or Win one of The Winston All-Star Races from the past 5 years. This race was run in 3 segments with 2 30 lap segments and a 10 lap shootout segment for a total of 70 laps. Bill Elliott won the pole. Dale Jarrett won the first segment and Bobby Labonte won the second segment. The final segment results are posted in the top ten below. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten final segment results

Coca-Cola 600

The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon won the pole. The race was shortened to 333 laps due to time issues after a long rain delay; it was after 1:00 am EDT when the race was completed. The race was broadcast on TBS. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Bobby Hillin Jr., 91-Mike Wallace, 95-Ed Berrier, 97-Chad Little

Miller 500

The Miller 500 was held June 1 at Dover Downs International Speedway. The #18 of Bobby Labonte won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 78-Billy Standridge, 95-Ed Berrier

Pocono 500

The Pocono 500 was held June 8 at Pocono Raceway. The #43 of Bobby Hamilton won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results

Miller 400

The Miller 400 was held June 15 at Michigan Speedway. Dale Jarrett won the pole. The race was broadcast on CBS. Top ten results

California 500 presented by NAPA

The inaugural California 500 presented by NAPA was held on June 22 at California Speedway. The #42 of Joe Nemechek won the pole. The race was broadcast on ABC. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 78-Billy Standridge, 81-Kenny Wallace, 91-Mike Wallace*

Pepsi 400

The Pepsi 400 was held on July 5 at Daytona International Speedway. The #31 of Mike Skinner won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN for the last time. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 7-Geoff Bodine, 29-Jeff Green, 91-Loy Allen Jr.

Jiffy Lube 300

The Jiffy Lube 300 was held July 13 at New Hampshire International Speedway. #33 of Ken Schrader won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results

Pennsylvania 500

The Pennsylvania 500 was held July 20 at Pocono Raceway. The #42 of Joe Nemechek won the pole. The race was broadcast on TBS. Top ten results

Brickyard 400

The Brickyard 400 was held August 3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ernie Irvan won the pole. The race was broadcast on ABC. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 1-Mike Wallace, 7-Geoff Bodine, 8-Hut Stricklin, 61-Tim Steele, 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Morgan Shepherd, 78-Bobby Hillin Jr., 90-Dick Trickle

The Bud at The Glen

The Bud at The Glen was held August 10 at Watkins Glen International. The #34 of Todd Bodine (in a one-off Winston Cup race for Team 34 Racing, his Busch Series team at the time) won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results

DeVilbiss 400

The DeVilbiss 400 was held August 17 at Michigan Speedway. The #30 of Johnny Benson won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results

Goody's Headache Powder 500

The Goody's Headache Powder 500 was held August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The #81 of Kenny Wallace won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 40-Robby Gordon, 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Morgan Shepherd

Mountain Dew Southern 500

The Mountain Dew Southern 500 was held August 31 at Darlington Raceway. Bobby Labonte won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Morgan Shepherd, 91-Greg Sacks

Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400

The Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 was held September 6 at Richmond International Raceway. The #94 of Bill Elliott won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results

CMT 300

The CMT 300 was held September 14 at New Hampshire International Speedway. The #33 of Ken Schrader won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results

MBNA 400

The MBNA 400 was held September 21 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Mark Martin won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 14-Steve Park

Hanes 500

The Hanes 500 was held September 29 at Martinsville Speedway. Ward Burton won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top ten results

UAW-GM Quality 500

The UAW-GM Quality 500 was held October 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The #7 of Geoff Bodine won the pole. The race was broadcast on TBS. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 14-Steve Park, 15-Greg Sacks, 17-Darrell Waltrip, 31-Mike Skinner, 40-Elliott Sadler*, 71-Dave Marcis, 75-Rick Mast

DieHard 500

The DieHard 500 was held October 12 at Talladega Superspeedway. Ernie Irvan won the pole. Like many Talladega races, the story was "the Big One", collecting 23 cars on lap 140 after Jeff Gordon cut a tire and turned into traffic. Mark Martin was furious after the wreck, and made an infamous quote. "I hate restrictor plate racing," he said while being interviewed by a pit reporter. The race was broadcast on CBS. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 8–Hut Stricklin, 22–Ward Burton, 29–Jeff Green, 78–Gary Bradberry, 95–Ed Berrier

AC Delco 400

The AC Delco 400 was held on Monday, October 27 at North Carolina Speedway. Bobby Labonte won the pole. It was originally scheduled to be run on Sunday, October 26 but heavy rain pushed the start to Monday morning. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 11–Brett Bodine, 71–Dave Marcis

Dura Lube 500 presented by Kmart

The Dura Lube 500 presented by Kmart was held November 2 at Phoenix International Raceway. Bobby Hamilton won the pole. Dale Jarrett's victory in this race marked the final victory for the Ford Thunderbird. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 1-Morgan Shepherd

NAPA 500

The 1997 championship season finale was the NAPA 500 held November 16 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Geoff Bodine won the pole at a speed of 197.478 mi/h, which at the time was the fastest qualifying lap ever run outside of Daytona and Talladega. During the summer, the track had been reconfigured from a traditional oval to a quad-shaped oval. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Jeff Gordon entered the race with a 77-point advantage over Dale Jarrett and an 88-point advantage over Mark Martin. During a practice session on Saturday, Gordon was driving down the pit lane, scrubbing his tires to heat them up on what was a cold morning. Gordon lost control and crashed into the parked car of Bobby Hamilton. Gordon had to go to a backup car, and qualified a lowly 37th. Gordon had to finish 18th or better to clinch the championship, but starting deep in the field, he had charge his way up through the pack. Jarrett finished 2nd, Martin 3rd, and Gordon 17th, while Bobby Labonte took the victory, the first win for Joe Gibbs Racing since the team switched from Chevrolet to Pontiac. Gordon ultimately hung on and won the title by only 14 points over Jarrett and 29 points over Martin, the closest three-way points finish under the Bob Latford 1975 points system. Top ten results Failed to qualify: 8-Hut Stricklin, 35-Todd Bodine, 40-Greg Sacks, 71-Dave Marcis, 77-Robert Pressley, 95-Ed Berrier, 96-David Green

NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka

The NASCAR Thunder Special Suzuka was a non points exhibition race held November 23 on the Suzuka Circuit - East Circuit in Japan. Mark Martin won the pole. The race was broadcast on TBS. Top ten results

Results and standings

Drivers' championship

(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by owner's points standings.

• – Most laps led.

NASCAR Rookie of the Year

After running the Cup series part-time for a decade, Mike Skinner finally ran a full-time schedule, and walked away with three top-tens and the Rookie of the Year title. His closest runner-up was David Green, despite the fact Green did not finish any higher than sixteenth. Third place was Green's brother Jeff, who came into the season midway with Diamond Ridge Motorsports. The last place finisher was Robby Gordon, who suffered through a tumultuous season with Team SABCO, dealing with injuries and personal disputes.