1997 TranSouth Financial 400 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1997 TranSouth Financial 400
Name of Track:	Darlington Raceway
Date:	March 23rd

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina.

Looks Like An Egg

It was the first superspeedway built with NASCAR racing in mind and is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

Largest Field of Racers

Darlington has an interesting history. When the 1.366 mile long track first opened over a half-century ago, it was not uncommon for there to be 80 or more entrants in a race; this was curtailed over the years as NASCAR adopted a more uniform set of guidelines with regard to the number of cars which could qualify for a race.

Flip-Flop

In recent years the track has been reconfigured; what was the front stretch is now the back stretch, and the turns have been renumbered accordingly. Seating has been increased to approximately 60,000; it has been limited by the proximity of a railroad track to the facility, a highway behind the back stretch, and the still-present pond.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

1997 TranSouth Financial 400 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1997 TranSouth Financial 400, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Dale Jarrett	88	1	$142,860	293	running	Quality Care / Ford Credit
2	Ted Musgrave	16	21	$54,330	293	running	Family Channel / Primestar
3	Jeff Gordon	24	10	$56,240	293	running	DuPont Refinishes
4	Jeff Burton	99	6	$34,420	293	running	Exide Batteries
5	Bobby Labonte	18	3	$38,275	293	running	Interstate Batteries
6	Rusty Wallace	2	15	$32,825	293	running	Miller Lite
7	Michael Waltrip	21	27	$26,545	293	running	Citgo
8	Ken Schrader	33	13	$26,815	293	running	Skoal Bandit
9	Geoffrey Bodine	7	4	$25,210	293	running	QVC
10	Johnny Benson, Jr.	30	36	$0	293	running	Pennzoil
11	Darrell Waltrip	17	41	$24,150	293	running	Parts America
12	Morgan Shepherd	1	23	$23,820	293	running	Delco Remy America
13	Terry Labonte	5	12	$34,235	292	running	Kellogg's Corn Flakes
14	Kenny Wallace	81	30	$23,230	292	running	Square D
15	Dale Earnhardt	3	43	$28,625	292	running	GM Goodwrench Service
16	Bill Elliott	94	18	$22,755	292	running	McDonald's
17	Jeremy Mayfield	37	19	$15,500	292	running	Kmart / RC Cola
18	Ward Burton	22	40	$15,265	292	running	MBNA America
19	Rick Mast	75	42	$22,020	292	running	Remington Arms
20	Derrike Cope	36	25	$13,890	292	running	Skittles
21	Ernie Irvan	28	8	$28,070	291	running	Texaco Havoline
22	Jimmy Spencer	23	26	$21,500	291	running	Camel Cigarettes
23	Ricky Rudd	10	16	$26,055	291	running	Tide
24	Mark Martin	6	5	$21,135	291	running	Valvoline
25	John Andretti	98	33	$21,165	291	running	RCA
27	Chad Little	97	32	$10,610	290	running	John Deere
28	Dave Marcis	71	20	$13,550	290	running	RealTree Camouflage
29	Greg Sacks	20	24	$10,440	289	running	Hardee's
30	Mike Skinner	31	34	$10,405	289	running	Lowe's
31	Phil Parsons	42	29	$12,845	289	running	BellSouth
32	Sterling Marlin	4	9	$26,310	278	running	Kodak Film
33	Kyle Petty	44	28	$10,220	264	running	Hot Wheels
34	Robby Gordon	40	38	$17,185	232	crash	Coors Light
35	Brett Bodine	11	31	$17,150	224	oil leak	Close Call Phone Card
36	Lake Speed	9	11	$17,115	188	trans	Melling Engine Parts
37	Bobby Hamilton	43	39	$25,101	183	oil pump	STP
38	Gary Bradberry	19	14	$9,954	169	running	Child Support Recovery
39	Robert Pressley	29	35	$9,954	161	crash	Cartoon Network
40	Ricky Craven	25	2	$17,100	160	crash	Budweiser
41	David Green	96	22	$9,954	69	crash	Caterpillar
42	Bobby Hillin, Jr.	77	37	$0	62	oil leak	Jasper Engines / Federal Mogul
43	Mike Wallace	91	17	$9,954	26	crash	Spam