1997 California 500
Motor car race / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1997 California 500 presented by NAPA was the inaugural NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held at California Speedway in Fontana, California. The race was the 15th in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Though Greg Sacks was the fastest qualifier, he had to start 26th due to not being a first day qualifier, and the pole position was instead given to Sacks' teammate, fellow Felix Sabates driver Joe Nemechek, who ran with an average speed of 183.015 miles per hour (294.534 km/h).[2] The race was won by Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports, who also led the most laps with 113.[3] A crowd of 85,000 attended the race, the first race in southern California since 1988, when Riverside International Raceway held the Budweiser 400.[4]
Race details[1] | |||
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Race 15 of 32 in the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Date | June 22, 1997 (1997-06-22) | ||
Location | California Speedway, Fontana, California | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 2 mi (3.22 km) | ||
Distance | 250 laps, 500 mi (804.67 km) | ||
Weather | Hot with temperatures approaching 91.9 °F (33.3 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 155.12 miles per hour (249.64 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Felix Sabates | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Laps | 113 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | ABC Sports | ||
Announcers | Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | MRN | ||
Booth Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Barney Hall | ||
Turn Announcers | Joe Moore (1 & 2), and Dan Hubbard (3 & 4) |