| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| First Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| Pole Time: | 15.526 |
| Official Name: | 37th Annual Food City 500 |
| Caption: | The 1997 Food City 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt. Artwork by Sam Bass. |
| Season No: | 32 |
| Race No: | 7 |
| Pole Driver: | Rusty Wallace |
| Pole Team: | Penske Racing South |
| Radio: | Performance Racing Network |
| Announcers: | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons |
| Network: | ESPN |
| Avg: | 75.035mph |
| Most Laps: | 240 |
| Most Team: | Penske Racing South |
| First Driver: | Jeff Gordon |
| Location: | Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway |
| Most Driver: | Rusty Wallace |
| Car: | 24 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 500 |
| Course Km: | 0.858 |
| Distance Laps: | 500 |
| Scheduled Km: | 428.89 |
| Distance Km: | 428.89 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 266.5 |
| Date: | April 13 |
| Course Mi: | 0.533 |
| Race Name: | Food City 500 |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Distance Mi: | 266.5 |
The 1997 Food City 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 13, 1997, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to complete a bump-and-run on Penske Racing South driver Rusty Wallace in the final two turns to take his 22nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 21, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, March 22, at 12:30 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[3] Positions 26-38 would be decided on time, while positions 39-43 would be based on provisionals. Four spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The fifth is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.
Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.526 and an average speed of 123.586mph.[4]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Bobby Hillin Jr., Billy Standridge, Mike Wallace, and Greg Sacks.