|| *Comments on the 1997 California 500 Presented by NAPA:* View the most recent comment <#32> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. MASH_guy posted: 06.08.2005 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordoon wins the first Cup race ever held at California. 2. Darrell posted: 01.15.2006 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I used to have this race on tape. About the only exciting thing about this race was Hut Stricklin's meeting with the wall. Other than that, snoozefest. DNQ: Mike Wallace, Kenny Wallace, Billy Standridge. 3. SK posted: 11.28.2006 - 3:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also of note was Greg Sacks posting a faster time in second-round qualifying than Joe Nemechek's pole run. He joins Robby Gordon as the second driver to set a track record in qualifying in the #40 car that year (Gordon did so at Atlanta in the final race before the reconfiguration). Jeff Green's first Winston Cup top-10 finish, as well. 4. Mike posted: 02.17.2007 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek's first pole, I think. 5. biffle16 posted: 05.17.2007 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Surprised you'd say that, Darrell, considering Jeff Gordon won. ;) 6. Pat Rader posted: 05.31.2007 - 2:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was a gas mileage race and everyone kept waiting for J.Gordon to run out of gas giving the win to Texas Terry, but it never happened, and J.Gordon won and Terry finished second...again. 7. Bill posted: 06.27.2007 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Hye, MASH_guy. First Cup race in California? You kidding me? There were five in 1951 when the Cup Series was known as Grand National. And if you want to go strictly by "Cup," two of the first three Winstom Cup races in 1971 were run in California, including the first race of the season, at Riverside. 8. Brian R. posted: 07.24.2007 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill...he said "first race ever held at California"...not "in California"...just thought i'd clarify that 9. JCS posted: 10.06.2008 - 8:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) California hs a rich history of Sprint Cup racing, from fairgrounds to road courses: Ontario, Riverside etc. 10. Melissa posted: 06.18.2009 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am trying to find a video of this race. Even some clips of the start of the race would be great, anyone know where I could find this?? 11. Art D posted: 06.26.2009 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 26th career win for J. Gordon 12. myself posted: 08.17.2009 - 2:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a boring race track! 13. 18fan posted: 06.01.2010 - 2:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't Mark Martin run out with 11 to go giving Gordon the lead and then run out again on the last lap because they didn't put enough fuel in the car. 14. Terminator posted: 11.02.2011 - 8:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The debut race at Nascar's most boring track. 15. RaceFanX posted: 02.28.2012 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #5 Terry Labonte- Kellogg's Frosted Flakes 16. Eric posted: 05.05.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first NASCAR race I ever watched, 10 years old. I randomly had a 1:64 diecast of Terry Labonte's #5 car in my Hotwheels collection and decided to try watching the real thing. Knew nothing about NASCAR or Labonte at the time, so imagine what it was like tuning in to see this driver/car leading laps and finishing 2nd. Been a diehard NASCAR/Terry Labonte fan from that day forward. Sucks that I missed his 2nd championship by a year though. 17. Gabriel Nunes posted: 03.26.2015 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon's gonna go the distance! He Comes to the Start finish line, and Jeff Gordon will win the California 500 by NAPA." - Allen Bestwick, MRN 18. Anonymous posted: 12.24.2015 - 5:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Wallace ran the Winston West race after missing the field for this race. 19. Anthony posted: 11.18.2016 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Who would have thought that a small mistake in June would have big consequences. If Mark Martin's team had put 1 second of fuel more in the car, he would have finished 4th and scored 21 more points. He finished only 29 points behind in the Cup standings in November. The days when all races counted were better. 20. Bramblegrunt posted: 04.28.2017 - 11:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 1997 showed the sign of the times in NASCAR with California and Texas both being new tracks being basic replicas of other tracks already on the schedule, paving the way for the cookie-cutter schedule All Sabco cars had hopes of a great day this day. Joe Nemechek on Pole, Greg Sacks fastest in qualifying after posting a 2nd round fast time and Wally Dallenbach had a top 5 starting spot. Nemechek led the opening laps and was passed by Wally who went on to lead through lap 8. And then it was all downhill from there. Only Nemechek finished in the top 20. The closing stages was all about the calculators, much like many of its sister races at Michigan. Fuel Mileage was the word and Mark Martin looked like he may win but was 5 laps short, they had a quick gas and go and gave up the lead, only to again run out of fuel on the last lap. Gordon was able to make the economy run to the win and ran out of fuel driving to victory lane. This race marked a things to come for this track as it does have that stigma of not really bringing the most exciting racing. More recently the finishes at this track have gotten a bit better. 21. Anthony posted: 04.28.2017 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Every track since 1997 has been a 1.5 or 2 mile track. 22. HD11 posted: 11.07.2017 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's amazing to see how quickly this track has gone from not so exciting to one of the premier tracks on the circuit for great racing. A funny anecdote: During the raw satellite feed during a commercial, Bob Jenkins mentioned he exchanged an autograph for a spot in the line to the urinal, lmao! 23. JSPorts posted: 11.07.2017 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it's due in large part to the aging of the track surface. The older surface allows the cars to run all over the track instead of following each other in a line. I remember back around 2008 dreading this race every time it came up on the schedule. And of course, that's back when the track had 2 races. 10 years ago, this track had 2 500-mile races it didn't need. Today, it has 1 400-mile race and it needs more. 24. Gray Gaulding's Distant Cousin posted: 12.12.2017 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver Change #40 Robby Gordon Coors Chevrolet (Felix Sabates) Robby was injured in practice so Greg Sacks took over for him. 25. RaceFanX posted: 12.12.2017 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Driver change" is for when a driver drove in practice or qualifying but didn't race. Robby Gordon was out with his burns from Indianapolis and I don't think he was ever in the car during this weekend. 26. Jahn1234567890 posted: 12.13.2017 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby Gordon did run in practice but after a crash on friday doctors decided Gordon was not allowed to run the rest of the weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUY_uLIE7Jw The bit about Gordon is at 6:30 27. Evan posted: 01.02.2018 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sponsor Edit #22 Ward Burton MBNA America/Mighty Ducks Bill Davis decided to run Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team logo on the car at California. Source:A picture of the car is in 1998 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide on Ward Burton's driver preview page. 28. RaceFanX posted: 02.04.2018 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Jimmy Spencer scored a top-5 finish in this one when he and his team gambled on fuel and ran the last 56 laps/112 miles of this race on one tank of fuel. When others ran dry they made it to the finish. 29. RaceFanX posted: 02.04.2018 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver Change- #40 Robby Gordon Coors Chevrolet (owned by Felix Sabates) @24/@26 You guys were right. Robby did practice before a practice crash forced him back to the sidelines. Gordon and the #40 Chevrolet team were originally going to race with a special yellow-and-blue paint scheme more geared toward Original Coors in this race but the team only had the primary car painted in that look. When Gordon wrecked that in practice Greg Sacks took over racing a the team's standard paint scheme, albeit with all Coors branding (the team normally had a Coors Light decal on the hood). 30. CJ posted: 04.19.2018 - 1:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Season best finish and only top 5 for Jimmy Spencer. First start in the 77 for Morgan Shepherd. First career top 10 finish for Jeff Green 31. Onion posted: 04.16.2020 - 9:25 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) The only time the Scooby-Doo car finished in the top 10. In the other top 10s scored by the Cartoon Network-sponsored rides, it was either The Flinstones, Tom & Jerry or The Jetsons on the car. 32. Rich posted: 08.04.2020 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Bob Jenkins and Benny Parsons. The pit road reporters were Dr. Jerry Punch, Bill Weber and Jack Arute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: