NASCAR Winston Cup Series ACDelco 400: Fact Sheet

20 October 1997
            1997 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES FACT SHEET
 
 WHAT: ACDelco 400
       NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race #30 of 32
 
 WHERE: North Carolina Motor Speedway
        Rockingham, NC
        1.017-Mile Banked Paved Speedway
 
 WHEN: Sunday, October 26, 1997
        12:30 pm EST
 
 DISTANCE: 400 Miles/393 Laps
 
 POSTED AWARDS: $1,446,336
 
 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: North Carolina Motor Speedway, Inc.
 
 TV: TNN (Live)
     Airtime: 12:30 pm (EST)
     Announcers: Eli Gold, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker and Glenn Jarrett
     Pit Reporters: Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum
 
 RADIO: MRN (Live)
        Airtime: 12:15 pm (EST)
        Announcers: Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall
 
 SCHEDULE:
           Friday, October 24
              6:00 am : Team Haulers Enter
              7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
              8:00 am : Rookie Drivers' Meeting
              9:30 am : Qualifying Draw
     10:30 - 11:30 am : Practice
     12:00 - 12:30 pm : Practice
              3:00 pm : Qualifying (Positions 1-25)
 
           Saturday, October 25
              7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
       8:00 - 9:00 am : Practice
              9:30 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: Mark Martin; Ford; 157.885 mph; 23.189 seconds;
                       2/21/97
          Race: Ricky Rudd; Ford; 122.320 mph,
                3 hours, 16 minutes, 0.3 seconds
 
 THE TRACK:
 Degree of Banking in Turns 1 and 2 - 22 degrees
 Degree of Banking in Turns 3 and 4 - 25 degrees
 Degree of Banking on Straights - 8 degrees
 Length of Front Straight - 1,300 feet
 Length of Back Straight - 1,367 feet
 
 1996 REVIEW: Ricky Rudd kept alive his streak of winning at least one race a
season, making his mark for the 14th consecutive year by winning the ACDelco
400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. The race was a benchmark for several
reasons. In addition to Rudd's accomplishment, Terry Labonte, who just tow
races earlier had trailed Jeff Gordon by 111 points in the standings, captured
a 32-point lead by winning Charlotte and followig that with a third-place
finish at Rockingham. Gordon finished 12th, one lap down. Dale Jarrett was
second (after leading the most laps), 3.397 seconds behind Rudd, followed by
Labonte, Ernie Irvan and Jeff Burton.