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NASCAR Winston Cup Series Dura-Lube 500: Fact Sheet

29 October 1997

           1997 NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES FACT SHEET

WHAT: Dura-Lube 500 Presented by Kmart
      NASCAR Winston Cup Series Race #31 of 32

WHERE: Phoenix International Raceway
       Phoenix, AZ
       1.0-Mile Oval Paved Speedway

WHEN: Sunday, November 2, 1997
       2:00 pm EST

DISTANCE: 312 Laps/312 Miles

POSTED AWARDS: $1,455,896

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: Phoenix Speedway Corporation

TV: TNN (Live)
    Airtime: 2:00 pm (EST)
    Announcers: Eli Gold, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker and Glenn Jarrett
    Pit Reporters: Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum

RADIO: MRN (Live)
       Airtime: 1:45 pm (EST)
       Announcers: Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall

SCHEDULE: (All Times Local)

        Friday, October 31
             6:00 am : Team Haulers Enter
             7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
             9:00 am : Rookie Drivers' Meeting
             9:30 am : Qualifying Draw
 10:00 am - 12:30 pm : Practice
             1:30 pm : Qualifying (Positions 1-25)

         Saturday, November 1
             7:00 am : NASCAR Garage Opens
     9:00 - 10:30 am : Practice
            11:00 am : Qualifying (Positions 26-38)
                 TBD : Final practice following NCT 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; 131.076 mph; 27.465 seconds;
                       10/26/96
          Race: Bobby Hamilton; Pontiac; 109.709 mph;
                2 hours, 50 minutes, 38 seconds; 10/27/96
 
 THE TRACK:
 Degree of Banking in Turns 1 and 2 - 11 degrees
 Degree of Banking in Turns 3 and 4 - 9 degrees
 Degree of Banking on Straights - None
 Length of Front Straight - 1,179 feet
 Length of Back Straight - 1,551 feet
 
 1996 REVIEW: Richard Petty always knew he would win another race, even after
his driving days were over. But it took more than 12 years for the
blue-and-orange No. 43, the winningest car in NASCAR Winston Cup history, to
roll gracefully back into victory lane. A prematurely gray Tennessean,
39-year-old Bobby Hamilton ended the drought with a victory in the Dura-Lube
500. terry labonte began the day in 30th place in the starting grid, his
tenuous Winston Cup point advantage imperiled by a broken left hand he
suffered in practice two days prior to the race. When the race was over, not
only did Labonte have his point lead, he had expanded it to 47 points. He very
nearly won the race as well, leading 61 laps before settling back into third.