|| *Comments on the 1997 Gatorade 125 #1:* View the most recent comment <#10> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. RaceFanX posted: 12.18.2007 - 12:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finishing last, this was the last major NASCAR race for Delma Cowart. He made the highlights reels when he spun with Geoff Bodine while being lapped. Oddly, he had a black and green #0 Ford in this one instead of his usual white and green paint job. 2. stricklinfan82 posted: 12.26.2007 - 4:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rick Mast runs in the lead pack but loses a cylinder late in the race, finishing outside the top 15 and missing the Daytona 500 as a result. Ironically, after the two drivers swapped rides in the off-season Morgan Shepherd beat out Rick Mast for the final provisional spot because the #1 car that Mast drove in '96 beat the #75 car that Shepherd drove in '96 by a mere 57 points. OUCH. The Ford Thunderbird that Mast drove in this 125 would still start in the Daytona 500, as Loy Allen Jr. used it as a backup car after losing his team's only car in the 2nd Twin 125 later that day. 3. 18fan posted: 02.10.2010 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Funny that Mast's last good stretch, the three straight top-6s at the end of 1996, is what cost him a spot in the 1997 500 with his new team. 4. RaceFanX posted: 12.27.2011 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owners: #88 Dale Jarrett- Yates Racing #31 Mike Skinner- Richard Childress #28 Ernie Irvan- Yates Racing #23 Jimmy Spencer- Travis Carter #4 Sterling Marlin- Larry McClure #6 Mark Martin- Jack Roush #10 Ricky Rudd- Ricky Rudd #18 Bobby Labonte- Joe Gibbs #22 Ward Burton- Bill Davis #29 Robert Pressley- Gary Bechtel #37 Jeremy Mayfield- Michael Kranefuss #99 Jeff Burton- Jack Roush #7 Geoffrey Bodine- Geoffrey Bodine #90 Dick Trickle- Junie Donlavey #36 Derrike Cope- Nelson Bowers #11 Brett Bodine- Brett Bodine #16 Ted Musgrave- Jack Roush #20 Greg Sacks- Harry Ranier #77 Bobby Hillin, Jr.- Doug Bawel #91 Mike Wallace- Joe Falk #78 Billy Standridge- Jim Wilson #42 Joe Nemechek- Felix Sabates #75 Rick Mast- Butch Mock #73 Phil Barkdoll- Phil Barkdoll #43 Bobby Hamilton- Petty Enterprises #0 Delma Cowart- H.L. Waters Laps Led: #88 Jarrett- 45 #28 Irvan- 5 All others- 0 Time of race: 00:45:09 Average Speed: 166.113 MPH 1 caution for 1 lap The Yates duo of defending Daytona 500 champion Dale Jarrett and Ernie Irvan dominate this race, both finishing on the podium and leading every lap between them. Sandwiched by the Yates' cars at the front was 500 polesitter Mike Skinner, who hot off two seasons in the then-new Truck series was moving up to Cup and beginning an eventual Rookie of the Year season. Biggest shock of this race was that Joe Nemechek DNQed for what was supposed to be the big debut of his partnership with SABCO and BellSouth. Sabates and Nemechek bought their way into the 500 by buying out the #73 Chevrolet of Phil Barkdoll's spot in the field, Barkdoll made the race on speed. The buyout was basically Phil's last hurrah, he attempted a few more races in 1997 but didn't qualify for any of them before retiring (his team qualifed and ran in the 1998 Daytona 500 with Mike Wallace at the wheel though). Mike Wallace's DNQ was also somewhat of a shock, much had been made in the offseason of the new Falk team's pairing of Wallace and a notable sponsorship from Spam. It was the start of a rough season that would see both Wallace and Spam gone from the #91 before the end of the year. 5. RaceFanX posted: 12.27.2011 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reasons for DNFs: #43 Hamiliton- engine #0 Cowart- crash 6. Unser1 posted: 09.22.2013 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Delma Cowart's crew chief for his DNQ was Dickie Williamson 7. RaceFanX posted: 06.11.2016 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lap Leaders: Dale Jarrett 1-40, Ernie Irvan 41-45, Dale Jarrett 46-50 Robert Yates' two cars were at the front and in control for this one as defending Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett dominated in route to win. The RYR cars were 1-2 for the vast majority of this race minus one moment when Jimmy Spencer edged ahead of Ernie Irvan for second before falling back and Mike Skinner sneaking past to take the spot when Jarrett drafted past Irvan for the win in the closing laps. 8. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 02.18.2017 - 6:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution 1: Lap 19-22: #0,7 accident tri-oval 9. Jimnsimforever posted: 04.05.2019 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Surprisingly, Dale Jarrett's only 125 win in his entire career. 10. Rich posted: 04.26.2021 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ken Squier along with Ned Jarrett and Buddy Baker were the commentators. Mike Joy and Dr. Dick Berggren were the pit road reporters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: