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NASCAR Winston Cup Series NAPA 500: Fact Sheet

10 November 1997

           1997 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES FACT SHEET

WHAT: NAPA 500
      NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race #32 of 32

WHERE: Atlanta Motor Speedway
       Hampton, GA
       1.54-Mile Banked Paved Speedway

WHEN: Sunday, November 16, 1997

DISTANCE: 500.5 Miles/325 Laps

POSTED AWARDS: $2,006,788

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: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Inc.

TV: ESPN (Live)
    Airtime: 12:30 pm (EST)
    Announcers: Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons and Ned Jarrett
    Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Dr. Jerry Punch and John Kernan

RADIO: PRN (Live)
       Airtime: 12:00 pm (EST)
       Announcers: Doug Rice and Mark Garrow

SCHEDULE: (All Times Local)

        Friday, November 14
             6:00 am : Team Haulers Enter
             7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
             9:30 am : Rookie Drivers' Meeting
            10:00 am : Qualifying Draw
  10:30 am - 2:00 pm : Practice
             3:00 pm : Qualifying (Positions 1-25)

         Saturday, November 15
             7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
     9:00 - 10:30 am : Practice
            11:00 am : Qualifying (Positions 26-38)
                 TBD : Final practice following ARCA 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: Robby Gordon; Chevrolet; 186.507 mph; 29.378 seconds;
                       3/9/97
          Race: Dale Earnhardt; Chevrolet; 163.633 mph;
                 11/12/95
 
 THE TRACK:
 Degree of Banking in Turns - 24 degrees
 Degree of Banking on Straights - 5 degrees
 
1996 REVIEW: The racing Labontes did not get to where they are by getting
weep-eyed and emotional. But they had never, between them, achieved anything
as remarkable as their performances in the season-ending NAPA 500. Even they
-- 39-year-old Terry and 32-year-old Bobby -- had to let down their guards
when the younger Labonte won the race and the older won the NASCAR Winston
Cup championship on the same day. By finishing first, 0.41 of a second ahead
of a fast-closing Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte managed to win his only race
of 1996, fending off what otherwise would have been a disappointing year. By
also winning the pole, he earned a huge $136,800 bonus from Unocal for
sweeping both. That boosted his total earnings for the day to $274,900.
Terry's fifth-place finish -- as usual, smooth as silk and just as faultless
-- gave him the championship by 37 points over Jeff Gordon, who finished
third. Rick Hendrick became the first modern-era team owner to win
consecutive titles with different drivers.