1997 The Winston

1997 The Winston
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 2 exhibition races in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Date May 17, 1997 (1997-05-17)
Location Concord, North Carolina
Course Charlotte Motor Speedway
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 70 laps, 105 mi (169 km)
Weather Temperatures around 78.6 °F (25.9 °C), with winds gusting to 12.6 miles per hour (20.3 km/h)[2]
Average speed 157.895 mph (254.107 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Bill Elliott Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 17
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, and Dick Berggren

The 1997 edition of The Winston was a stock car racing competition that took place on May 17, 1997. Held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, the 70-lap race was an exhibition race in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Bill Elliott of Bill Elliott Racing won the pole. Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing led the most laps with 17 of the 70 laps. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race and claimed his second All-Star Race win in a car that was nicknamed "T-Rex" after its Jurassic Park: The Ride paint scheme.[3] The car was deemed controversial at the time due to its dominant performance in the race that NASCAR banned it from being used in further races.[4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ "1997 The Winston". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Weather information for the 1997 The Winston". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  3. ^ Caldwell, Gray (May 16, 2018). "The true story behind the legendary 'T-Rex'". Hendrick Motorsports. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Walters, Shane (August 2, 2020). "T-Rex: The car that was banned by NASCAR; Evernham details why". RacingNews.co. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  5. ^ George, Dhruv (January 2, 2022). "How Jeff Gordon's Banned T-Rex Car Was Accidentally Produced by Hendrick Motorsports". Essentially Sports. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  6. ^ Benton, Jack (November 27, 2008). ""Jeff Gordon Flashback": T-Rex Set NASCAR On Its Ear With 1997 "Winston" Win". Bleacher Report. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  7. ^ Jensen, Tom (May 19, 2023). "10 Historic NASCAR All-Star Races". NASCAR Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 27, 2023.