1997 Piston Cup Season

The 1997 Piston Cup Season was another changing and shocking season. Jeff Gorvette decided to leave the Piston Cup for CARCA for 1998, Thomas Tanrev, William Highbanks, Charles Johnson and Norman Green all retired following 1997 and their teammates (excluding Tanrev, who had no teammates) became the primary drivers. Murray Clutchburn won his second Piston Cup. No rookies debuted.

## Racers

1. Tow Cap 4 - Rusty Cornfuel
2. Oxnard 16 - Thomas Tanrev
3. DuPont 24 - Jeff Gorvette
4. Nitroade 28 - Andrew Axler
5. Mood Springs 33 - Chuck Armstrong
6. Trunk Fresh 34 - Buck Vincent
7. Tank Coat 36 - Eugene Carbureski
8. Trunk Fresh 37 - Dirkson D'Agostino
9. Dinoco 43 - The King
10. Brake Dock 50 - Travis Driftshaft
11. Easy Idle 51 - Ruby Oaks
12. Leak Less 52 - Claude Scruggs
13. Faux Wheel Drive 54 - Johnny Blamer
14. Fiber Fuel 56 - Brush Curber
15. Fiber Fuel 57 - Charles Johnson
16. Octane Gain 58 - Bernie Simpson
17. Vitoline 61 - James Cleanair
18. Vitoline 62 - William Highbanks
19. RPM 64 - Winford Bradford Rutherford
20. N20 Cola 68 - Ron Pitcar
21. Gasprin 70 - Edgar Filterroot
22. Rev N Go 73 - Misti Motorkrass
23. Retread 79 - Haul Inngas
24. Gask-Its 80 - Billy Ford
25. Shiny Wax 82 - Mark Landis
26. htB 86 - Chick Hicks
27. Bumper Save 90 - James Robson
28. Sputter Stop 92 - Murray Clutchburn
29. Spare Mint 93 - Ernie Gearson
30. Retread 99 - Norman Green
31. Tach O Mint 101 - Greg Candyman
32. Tach O Mint 109 - Hanz Guenther
33. AXELE 115 - Joe Rodrun Jr
34. Clutch Aid 121 - Klint Shiftright
35. No Stall 123 - Larry Smith

## Race Winners

1. Nightdona 500 - Greg Candyman
2. Pizza Planet 400 at Las Vegas - Ron Pitcar
3. Texas 350 - Winford Bradford Rutherford
4. Shiny Wax 500 - Dirkson D'Agostino
5. BnL 500 - Jeff Gorvette
6. Ben's Hot Sauce 400 - The King
7. Vitoline 350 - Rusty Cornfuel
8. Tank Coat 400 - The King
9. Tach O Mint 500 - Chick Hicks
10. New York 300 - Klint Shiftright
11. Palm Mile 300 - Murray Clutchburn
12. htB 400 - Claude Scruggs
13. Rev N Go 350 - Larry Smith
14. N20 Cola 400 - Murray Clutchburn
15. Brickyard 400 - James Cleanair
16. Clutch Aid/Coszen 400 - Chuck Armstrong
17. No Stall 350 - The King
18. Retread 500 - Chick Hicks
19. Gasprin 400 - Jeff Gorvette
20. Nashville 400 - James Robson
21. Homestead 350 - Klint Shiftright
22. Faux Wheel Drive 400 - Klint Shiftright
23. Shifty Drug 350 - Ruby Oaks
24. Piston Cup Dash 600 - Travis Driftshaft
25. Sidewall Shine 400 - The King
26. Spare Mint 400 - Murray Clutchburn
27. Fiber Fuel 400 - Eugene Carbureski
28. RPM 350 - Haul Inngas
29. Brake Dock 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr
30. Sputter Stop 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr
31. Leak Less 400 - Ruby Oaks
32. Octane Gain 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr
33. Mood Springs 350 - Murray Clutchburn
34. Trunk Fresh 650 - Klint Shiftright
35. Dinoco 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr

## Championship Standings

1. Murray Clutchburn
2. The King
3. Klint Shiftright
4. Joe Rodrun Jr
5. Chick Hicks
6. Haul Inngas
7. Ruby Oaks
8. Greg Candyman
9. Dirkson D'Agostino
10. Jeff Gorvette
11. James Cleanair
12. Chuck Armstrong
13. Travis Driftshaft
14. Rusty Cornfuel
15. Brush Curber
16. Ron Pitcar
17. Winford Bradford Rutherford
18. Eugene Carbureski
19. James Robson
20. Charles Johnson
21. Buck Vincent
22. Norman Green
23. Mark Landis
24. Thomas Tanrev
25. Edgar Filterroot
26. Ernie Gearson
27. Hanz Guenther
28. Bernie Simpson
29. William Highbanks
30. Larry Smith
31. Andrew Axler
32. Misti Motorkrass
33. Claude Scruggs
34. Johnny Blamer
35. Billy Ford

## Trivia

* Billy Ford had his worst year
* Johnny Blamer had a "good year" not last in the standings

1996 Piston Cup Season (Previous) (Next) 1998 Piston Cup Season