Official NASCAR Race Results
Jeff Gordon won the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
08-31-1997 | Mountain Dew Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway
Table initially ordered on Finish Position. Click a column header to re-sort by that value.
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts | Laps | Led | Status | Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont Refinishes | 180 | 367 | 116 | Running | 131,330 |
| 2 | 16 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Ford | Exide Batteries | 175 | 367 | 24 | Running | 57,280 |
| 3 | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | Quality Care / Ford Credit | 170 | 367 | 38 | Running | 47,505 |
| 4 | 2 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Ford | McDonald's | 170 | 367 | 181 | Running | 49,965 |
| 5 | 21 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | Tide | 155 | 367 | 0 | Running | 39,345 |
| 6 | 17 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Corn Flakes | 150 | 367 | 0 | Running | 41,315 |
| 7 | 1 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | Interstate Batteries | 151 | 367 | 2 | Running | 42,240 |
| 8 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Ford | Valvoline | 142 | 367 | 0 | Running | 33,550 |
| 9 | 14 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Ford | Citgo | 143 | 367 | 2 | Running | 29,020 |
| 10 | 5 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit | 134 | 366 | 0 | Running | 32,280 |
| 11 | 37 | 97 | Chad Little | Pontiac | John Deere | 130 | 366 | 0 | Running | 22,515 |
| 12 | 12 | 7 | Geoffrey Bodine | Ford | QVC | 127 | 366 | 0 | Running | 27,220 |
| 13 | 8 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Ford | Heilig-Meyers / Simmons | 124 | 366 | 0 | Running | 19,930 |
| 14 | 24 | 36 | Derrike Cope | Pontiac | Skittles | 121 | 365 | 0 | Running | 19,640 |
| 15 | 11 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Ford | Close Call Phone Card | 118 | 365 | 0 | Running | 27,800 |
| 16 | 19 | 37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Ford | Kmart / RC Cola | 115 | 365 | 0 | Running | 18,980 |
| 17 | 6 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Ford | Circuit City | 112 | 365 | 0 | Running | 25,710 |
| 18 | 23 | 9 | Lake Speed | Ford | Melling Engine Parts | 109 | 365 | 0 | Running | 18,435 |
| 19 | 18 | 30 | Johnny Benson, Jr. | Pontiac | Pennzoil | 106 | 365 | 0 | Running | 25,155 |
| 20 | 40 | 43 | Bobby Hamilton | Pontiac | STP | 103 | 365 | 0 | Running | 30,485 |
| 21 | 29 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Chevrolet | Kodiak | 100 | 365 | 0 | Running | 24,525 |
| 22 | 34 | 40 | Robby Gordon | Chevrolet | Coors Light | 97 | 363 | 0 | Running | 25,305 |
| 23 | 20 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | BellSouth | 94 | 359 | 0 | Running | 17,060 |
| 24 | 25 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | Ford | Square D | 91 | 354 | 0 | Running | 23,785 |
| 25 | 27 | 78 | Gary Bradberry | Ford | Hanes | 88 | 354 | 0 | Running | 13,575 |
| 26 | 38 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | Parts America | 85 | 353 | 0 | Handling | 23,415 |
| 27 | 13 | 22 | Ward Burton | Pontiac | MBNA America | 82 | 350 | 0 | Handling | 23,305 |
| 28 | 30 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Ford | Camel Cigarettes | 79 | 341 | 0 | Running | 22,695 |
| 29 | 15 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Ford | Family Channel / Primestar | 81 | 296 | 4 | Handling | 20,085 |
| 30 | 36 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service Plus | 73 | 282 | 0 | Running | 30,925 |
| 31 | 31 | 25 | Ricky Craven | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 70 | 236 | 0 | Engine | 19,840 |
| 32 | 39 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Pontiac | Hot Wheels | 67 | 202 | 0 | Engine | 12,750 |
| 33 | 10 | 28 | Ernie Irvan | Ford | Texaco / Havoline | 64 | 183 | 0 | Engine | 27,685 |
| 34 | 28 | 75 | Rick Mast | Ford | Remington Arms | 61 | 177 | 0 | Crash | 19,650 |
| 35 | 41 | 1 | Lance Hooper | Pontiac | R&L Carriers | 58 | 175 | 0 | Crash | 19,540 |
| 36 | 33 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 55 | 130 | 0 | Crash | 12,480 |
| 37 | 32 | 98 | John Andretti | Ford | RCA | 52 | 117 | 0 | Crash | 19,416 |
| 38 | 22 | 12 | Jeff Purvis | Chevrolet | Opryland USA | 49 | 114 | 0 | Crash | 12,270 |
| 39 | 42 | 29 | Jeff Green | Chevrolet | Cartoon Network | 46 | 104 | 0 | Electrical | 12,270 |
| 40 | 9 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Kodak Film | 43 | 102 | 0 | Engine | 28,270 |
| 41 | 26 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach, Jr. | Chevrolet | First Union | 40 | 85 | 0 | Radiator | 12,270 |
| 42 | 35 | 96 | Todd Bodine | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | 37 | 5 | 0 | Crash | 12,270 |
| 43 | 43 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Ford | Miller Lite | 34 | 5 | 0 | Crash | 29,270 |
Race Recap
- Date: 08-31-1997
- Track: Darlington Raceway
- Race: Mountain Dew Southern 500
- Race #: 23
- Cars: 43
- Winner: Jeff Gordon
- Start Position: 7th
- Car Make: Chevrolet
- Avg Speed: 121.149 mph
- Distance: 501 miles
- Purse: $1,202,356
- Cautions: 11
- Caution Laps: 67
- Lead Changes: 9
- Pole: 170.661 mph
