NASCAR Winston Cup Series MBNA 400: Fact Sheet
16 September 1997
1997 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES FACT SHEET WHAT: MBNA 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race #26 of 32 WHERE: Dover Downs International Speedway Dover, DE 1.0-Mile Banked Concrete Oval Speedway WHEN: Sunday, September 21, 1997 12:10 pm EDT DISTANCE: 400 Laps/400 Miles POSTED AWARDS: $1,551,173 FIELD: 43 cars possible. Fastest 38 cars through time trials. Four provisional starting positions based on 1997 NWC owner points and one past champion provisional. SANCTION: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. PROMOTER: Dover Downs, Inc. TV: TNN (Live) Airtime: 12:00 pm (EDT) Announcers: Eli Gold, Buddy Baker and Dick Berggren Pit Reporters: Glen Jarrett, Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum RADIO: MRN (Live) Airtime: 12:00 pm (EDT) Announcers: Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall SCHEDULE: Friday, September 19 6:00 am : Team Haulers Enter 7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens 8:30 am : Rookie Drivers' Meeting 10:30 am : Qualifying Draw 11:00 am - 12:00 pm : Practice 1:20 - 2:00 pm : Practice 3:00 pm : Qualifying (Positions 1-25) Saturday, September 20 8:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens 9:30 - 11:00 am : Practice 11:30 am : Qualifying (Positions 26-38) TBD : Final Practice following NBS event PARTICIPATING AWARDS SPONSORS: Winston, AE Clevite Engine Parts, Aeroquip, Auto Meter Products, Bowman Distribution, Busch Beer, Champion Spark Plugs, Competition Cams, Craftsman Tools, Crane Cams, DuPont Automotive Finishes, Edelbrock Manifolds, Fram Fuel Filters, Gatorade Sports Beverage, Goodyear Tires, Goody's Headache Powders, Holley Carburetors, Hurst Shifters, JE Pistons, Jesel Rocker Arms, Longacre Computerscales, MCI, Mac Tools, Mechanix Wear, Moog Chassis Parts, Motorcraft Batteries, Opryland, Plasti-Kote Spray Paint, RCA, Raybestos Brakes, Simpson Helmets, Spicer Drive Shafts, Stant Radiator Caps, STP Oil Treatment & Oil Filters, 3M Automotive Products, True Value Hardware, Unocal Gasoline, 76/NASCAR High Performance Motor Oil, Western Auto Stores, Wiseco Pistons, Wix Air Filters RECORDS: Qualifying: Bobby Labonte; Chevrolet; 155.086 mph; 23.213 seconds; 9/13/96 THE TRACK: Degree of Banking in Corners - 24 degrees Degree of Banking on Straights - 9 degrees Length of Frontstretch - 1076 feet Length of Backstretch - 1076 feet 1996 REVIEW: Jeff Gordon won the survival of the fittest, beating Rusty Wallace to the line by 0.441-second in a race that took nearly five hours because of 14 caution periods. It was Gordon's eighth win of the season, his second straight in this race and his third in a row at Dover.