# 1997 DieHard 500

The 1997 DieHard 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 12, 1997, in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In the final three laps of the race, with help from brother Bobby Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a late-race charge through the field to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Cale Yarborough Motorsports driver John Andretti would finish second and third, respectively.
The drivers who finished in the top five (Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, John Andretti, Ken Schrader, and Ernie Irvan) qualified for the new Winston No Bull 5 program for the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. If either of these drivers won the next season's 1998 Daytona 500, they would win a $1 million dollar bonus. The Winston No Bull 5 essentially replaced the Winston Million.

## Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 1 | Morgan Shepherd | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | R+L Carriers |
| 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 | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | QVC |
| 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | Circuit City |
| 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | Advantage Camo |
| 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | Tide |
| 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | Brett Bodine Racing |
| 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | PrimeStar, The Family Channel |
| 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | Parts America |
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | Interstate Batteries |
| 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 10th Anniversary |
| 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | Cartoon Network, Tom and Jerry, Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken |
| 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 |
| 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | Skittles |
| 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | Kmart, RC Cola |
| 40 | Elliott Sadler | 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 |
| 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | First Union |
| 47 | Billy Standridge | Standridge Motorsports | Ford | Cofab Steel Corporation |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | Realtree |
| 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | Remington Arms |
| 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | Jasper Engines & Transmissions, Federal-Mogul |
| 78 | Gary Bradberry | Triad Motorsports | Ford | Hanes |
| 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | Square D |
| 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | Quality Care Service, Ford Credit |
| 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | Heilig-Meyers |
| 91 | Kevin Lepage | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | LJ Racing |
| 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | McDonald's |
| 95 | Ed Berrier | Sadler Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | Feed the Children |
| 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | Caterpillar |
| 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Pontiac | John Deere |
| 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | RCA |
| 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | Exide |

## Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 10, at 3:00 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, October 11, at 10:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. 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.
Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.547 and an average speed of 193.271 miles per hour (311.040 km/h).
Five drivers would fail to qualify: Ward Burton, Hut Stricklin, Gary Bradberry, Jeff Green, and Ed Berrier.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 49.547 | 193.271 |
| 2 | 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 49.574 | 193.166 |
| 3 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 49.674 | 192.777 |
| 4 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 49.690 | 192.715 |
| 5 | 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 49.691 | 192.711 |
| 6 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.716 | 192.614 |
| 7 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 49.755 | 192.463 |
| 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.771 | 192.401 |
| 9 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 49.773 | 192.393 |
| 10 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 49.783 | 192.355 |
| 11 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 49.787 | 192.339 |
| 12 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 49.820 | 192.212 |
| 13 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 49.834 | 192.158 |
| 14 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 49.848 | 192.104 |
| 15 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.870 | 192.019 |
| 16 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 49.922 | 191.819 |
| 17 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 49.932 | 191.781 |
| 18 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 49.959 | 191.677 |
| 19 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 50.009 | 191.486 |
| 20 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 50.040 | 191.367 |
| 21 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 50.065 | 191.271 |
| 22 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.077 | 191.226 |
| 23 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 50.080 | 191.214 |
| 24 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 50.115 | 191.081 |
| 25 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 50.118 | 191.069 |
| 26 | 47 | Billy Standridge | Standridge Motorsports | Ford | 50.070 | 191.252 |
| 27 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 50.170 | 190.871 |
| 28 | 40 | Greg Sacks | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 50.232 | 190.635 |
| 29 | 1 | Morgan Shepherd | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 50.249 | 190.571 |
| 30 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.253 | 190.556 |
| 31 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 50.283 | 190.442 |
| 32 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 50.291 | 190.412 |
| 33 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.361 | 190.147 |
| 34 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 50.385 | 190.057 |
| 35 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 50.397 | 190.011 |
| 36 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Pontiac | 50.401 | 189.996 |
| 37 | 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 50.402 | 189.992 |
| 38 | 91 | Kevin Lepage | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 50.417 | 189.936 |
| Provisionals |||||||
| 39 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 40 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 41 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | -* | -* |
| 42 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 43 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | -* | -* |
| 44 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | -* | -* |
| 45 | 78 | Gary Bradberry | Triad Motorsports | Ford | -* | -* |
| 46 | 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| 47 | 95 | Ed Berrier | Sadler Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | -* | -* |
| Official qualifying results |||||||
*Time not available.

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| 1 | 6 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 188 | 70 | running | 185 | $116,725 |
| 2 | 7 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 188 | 5 | running | 175 | $76,670 |
| 3 | 2 | 98 | John Andretti | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 188 | 1 | running | 170 | $58,530 |
| 4 | 14 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 188 | 6 | running | 165 | $53,715 |
| 5 | 1 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 188 | 11 | running | 160 | $57,275 |
| 6 | 15 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | running | 150 | $41,500 |
| 7 | 42 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 188 | 0 | running | 146 | $32,700 |
| 8 | 25 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 188 | 2 | running | 147 | $38,050 |
| 9 | 23 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 138 | $36,920 |
| 10 | 9 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 188 | 2 | running | 139 | $42,900 |
| 11 | 39 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 130 | $38,080 |
| 12 | 29 | 1 | Morgan Shepherd | Precision Products Racing | Pontiac | 188 | 0 | running | 127 | $35,025 |
| 13 | 10 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 124 | $35,280 |
| 14 | 4 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 121 | $39,410 |
| 15 | 35 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 118 | $36,760 |
| 16 | 37 | 96 | David Green (R) | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | running | 115 | $28,600 |
| 17 | 38 | 91 | Kevin Lepage | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | running | 112 | $23,835 |
| 18 | 5 | 36 | Derrike Cope | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 188 | 0 | running | 109 | $27,280 |
| 19 | 19 | 30 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 187 | 0 | running | 106 | $33,950 |
| 20 | 34 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 187 | 0 | running | 103 | $39,460 |
| 21 | 18 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 187 | 13 | running | 105 | $39,930 |
| 22 | 17 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 187 | 0 | running | 97 | $33,300 |
| 23 | 21 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 187 | 0 | running | 94 | $26,290 |
| 24 | 3 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 187 | 11 | running | 96 | $32,940 |
| 25 | 32 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | running | 88 | $22,460 |
| 26 | 40 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Kranefuss-Haas Racing | Ford | 184 | 0 | handling | 85 | $25,360 |
| 27 | 11 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 178 | 0 | running | 82 | $22,240 |
| 28 | 27 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 172 | 0 | running | 79 | $32,170 |
| 29 | 12 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 167 | 25 | running | 81 | $48,500 |
| 30 | 31 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 167 | 5 | running | 78 | $37,030 |
| 31 | 13 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 165 | 0 | running | 70 | $24,440 |
| 32 | 22 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 163 | 0 | running | 67 | $28,870 |
| 33 | 16 | 31 | Mike Skinner (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 159 | 1 | running | 69 | $21,790 |
| 34 | 41 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 153 | 0 | running | 61 | $36,745 |
| 35 | 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 153 | 3 | running | 63 | $38,915 |
| 36 | 20 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 153 | 0 | running | 55 | $21,670 |
| 37 | 33 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | crash | 52 | $28,660 |
| 38 | 30 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 139 | 27 | crash | 54 | $37,500 |
| 39 | 28 | 40 | Greg Sacks | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 139 | 5 | crash | 51 | $28,500 |
| 40 | 36 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Pontiac | 139 | 0 | crash | 43 | $21,525 |
| 41 | 24 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 99 | 1 | crash | 45 | $21,500 |
| 42 | 26 | 47 | Billy Standridge | Standridge Motorsports | Ford | 51 | 0 | oil cooler | 37 | $21,500 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 43 | | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | | | | | |
| 44 | | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Ford | | | | | |
| 45 | | 78 | Gary Bradberry | Triad Motorsports | Ford | | | | | |
| 46 | | 29 | Jeff Green (R) | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 47 | | 95 | Ed Berrier | Sadler Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| Official race results |||||||||||

## Media
### Television

The Diehard 500 was covered by CBS in the United States for the twenty third and final time. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1975 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Joy replaced Ken Squier in the booth because Squier would serve as host which he would continue till the end of 2000.
CBS :
| Host | Booth announcers | Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Host | Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | Pit reporters |
| Ken Squier | Mike Joy | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker | Dick Berggren Ralph Sheheen Bill Stephens |