|| *Comments on the 1997 Brickyard 400:* View the most recent comment <#37> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. HomeDepot20TS posted: 02.26.2005 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ricky Rudd's greatest triumph. 2. je24go posted: 06.30.2005 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ricky Rudd did not pit under the final caution. The leaders that did pit, pit when the pits were closed, causing them to start at the end of the longest line. Ricky held off Bobby Labonte in the final laps and won, puting his name on a great list. Winners at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 3. J. Kircher posted: 04.14.2006 - 12:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Rudd scores an improbable win holding off Bobby Labonte in a great duel. The amazing race was right behind them between the former leaders Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon. The two passed each other back and forth while going three and four wide through slower cars. At one point Gordon was almost in the grass on the backstretch. Too bad it wasn't for the win. Bill Elliott's short-lived protege, Ron Barfield, made his only career Cup start. 4. Darrell posted: 04.20.2006 - 11:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rich Bickle, driving for Darrell Waltrip, runs near the top-ten all day, but crashes near the end. 5. MOST posted: 05.06.2006 - 5:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Derrike Cope had his whole front end ripped off, never seen that much of a car torn off before. 6. Kevin posted: 08.12.2006 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It was great to see Ricky win such a huge race!!! 7. SK posted: 01.29.2007 - 2:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bickle suffered 3 broken ribs in his crash, but did not sit out any races on his way to a 2nd place finish in CTS points. 8. DNQ List posted: 08.01.2007 - 5:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Probably Wally Dallenbach's best oval performance. 9. RaceFanX posted: 02.16.2008 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ford shocked the racing world by announcing the Taurus, a 4-door car, would replace the Thunderbird as their model for the 1998 season in the week leading up to this race. Last attempt at Winston Cup for ARCA champion Tim Steele. Steele entered the #61 HSDie Ford in this event but was unable to qualify. This was also the last year A.J. Foyt attempted the Brickyard 400, closing his fabled racing career with a DNQ at this event 10. most posted: 03.10.2008 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I may be wrong, but I don't remember AJ trying to get into this race, he was full time IRL Owner by that point, can someone confirm either way? 11. RaceFanX posted: 08.11.2008 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The DNQ list proves it, this was A.J.'s last attempt to race, I think he had a yellow #50 Ford. The last time Super Tex was actually in a race was the Vegas Truck race in 1996. 12. Anonymous posted: 01.22.2009 - 9:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race for a car #26 since 1995. 13. Anonymous posted: 06.19.2009 - 10:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hermie Sadler ran a #26 in his one-off at Dover in 1996 14. RaceFanX posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #97 Chad Little- John Deere 160th Anniversary Little had a black-and-gold special paint job instead of his normal green-and-yellow look for this race but it didn't last long. When Sterling Marlin blew his engine Little hit the wall and spun into the outside wall. With only two laps each Marlin and Little both of them set a record for fewest laps completed in the Brickyard 400. 15. Midnight posted: 07.18.2013 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first and only so far nfl team sponsorship in NASCAR 16. Flywheel posted: 07.21.2013 - 2:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Incorrect, Midnight. The Falcons sponsored Jerry Glanville's efforts in the 90s as well. 17. Ryan W posted: 07.31.2013 - 2:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton's crew cost him this race. 18. Evan posted: 08.20.2014 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Action released promo cars for the last 3 Brickyard 400 winners in the race, Jeff Gordon('94) Earnhardt ('95) and the previous year's winner Dale Jarrett('96). Interestingly single-team owner Ricky Rudd single-handedly stole the spotlight from the top teams that day, I read somewhere Johnny Benson came close to winning the 400 as well, but the biggest defeat probably went to Jeff Burton who had difficulties on the final pit stop. Ricky Rudd won with two tires and took the fuel mileage gamble and it paid off for Ricky's biggest win as a team owner and the biggest win of his career. Rudd never won a Daytona 500, but a Brickyard 400 is the next best thing. 19. 28DaveyAllison28 posted: 09.30.2015 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) AJ Foyt actually attempted to qualify for this race? I do not remember him attempting to qualify at all. Other sites say he withdrew from this event before qualifying took place. Anyone know why? 20. Josh posted: 07.29.2016 - 9:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnny Benson got squeezed out when Gordon and Jarrett were driving like maniacs and almost hit the wall. Still finished 7th. That would cost him a Top 10 points finish at the end of the season. 21. Anthony posted: 11.24.2016 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who would have thought the Brickyard 400 was actually a decent race. Compared to this year's single file aero push fest, this one was infinitely better. Passing on the track, cars running together and a decent crowd. 22. RaceFanX posted: 12.31.2016 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Steele's DNQ entry was painted identically to his ARCA cars of the era (minus changing out the Hoosier tires and decals for Goodyear ones). He ran the #16 in ARCA but flipped his number around to #61 for his Cup attempt because Ted Musgrave and the Roush team were already running that number in the top series. 23. 1995z71 posted: 07.03.2017 - 2:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race weekend was the first time a company sponsored a car in all three races in a weekend. KFC sponsored Rich Bickle in this race, Kenny Irwin Jr (DNQ) in the Busch race and Mike Skinner in the truck race. 24. Corey posted: 07.03.2017 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @23 Actually I believe that honor goes to GM Goodwrench at Richmond in 1996 with Dale Earnhardt Sr. (Cup), Jeff Green (Busch) and Mike Skinner (Trucks). GM Goodwrench sponsored each driver full time in their respective series that year. 25. Corey posted: 07.03.2017 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm referring to the Fall races at Richmond in 1996 26. Corey posted: 07.03.2017 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Okay So I did a little more research into that. The first race weekend that I can see where a company sponsored a vehicle in all three series is the weekend of May 27-28, 1995. It was GM Goodwrench Service with Earnhardt Sr., J. Green and Skinner. Cup and Busch at Charlotte and the Trucks at I-70 Speedway. The first time for all three at the same track would be September 7-9, 1995 at Richmond. In fact, Goodwrench would sponsor all three full-time for both the 1995 and 1996 seasons. AC Delco would replace Goodwrench in the Busch Series. 27. RaceFanX posted: 07.03.2017 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) KFC sponsored vehicles in all three of this weekend's races as "KFC Team Twister" to promote the release of its new Twister line of chicken wraps that had just come out at the time. All three racing vehicles they initially sponsored even had the same stylish red, white, and blue paint scheme although when Irwin DNQed for the Busch race their sponsorship moved over to the plain red car of Rick Fuller for the race itself. The move garnered some hype but ultimately none of the KFC entries finished their respective races, Bickle and Fuller crashed out while Skinner was eliminated by a mechanical failure. Nice to see Bickle get a one-off here as his 1997 season with Darrell Waltrip's team was perhaps his best in NASCAR, he won three races and was a legitimate title contender in the Truck series. As noted above Bickle actually had a great run going in this one, up in the top-20, but it ended up in a spin backward into the Turn 3 wall and a ride on a stretcher. It was a rough weekend for Rich as he had just lost the points lead to Jack Sprague in the Truck series two nights earlier after a rough night in the series' race at IRP, he would not regain it. 28. HD11 posted: 12.11.2017 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton had to pit out of the top five late and while on pit road the caution waved. As he attempted to beat the leaders to remain on the lead lap he sped down pit road. It kept him on the lead lap but the ensuing penalty eliminated his chance to win. Had he legally remained on the lead lap, he would have restarted in fourth with four fresh tires and may have had a shot to win. 29. CJ posted: 04.23.2018 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Season best finish for Johnny Benson First and only Cup start for Ron Barfield. Greg Sacks first and only start of the year in the 91. Only Cup start of the year for Rich Bickle. First start of the year for Jeff Purvis in the 12 and his best finish of the season. 30. Greg9ChaseFan posted: 06.01.2018 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty blew one of 10000 motors that year in this race. 31. Mr.Victory posted: 06.01.2018 - 7:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @30 What? 32. Jordan posted: 06.01.2018 - 8:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think he is referring to Rusty's 1997 as a whole, which featured engine failure after engine failure. He officially had 6 DNF's from motors, but there were also many others where it turned sour but he made it to the finish off the pace...Atlanta comes to mind off the top of my head. 33. jp posted: 12.04.2018 - 12:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Update: #9-Lake Speed: Melling/Delta Faucet Source: http://www.rubbins-racin.com/forums/filedata/fetch?id=1307459 34. Turn 4 posted: 12.17.2018 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First and only time Darrell Waltrip had a 2 car team. Apparently Bobby Hillin left the 77 car to drive the 78 (usally driven by Gary Bradberry) and Morgan Shepard took Hillins place (even though Shepard DNQed). Geoff Bodine DNQed for the event which is devastating because after this Bodine was nearly broke financially. Best finish for Lake Speed (12 place). 35. Anonymous posted: 05.21.2020 - 7:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @2 "The leaders that did pit, pit when the pits were closed, causing them to start at the end of the longest line." That's not what happened. The caution came out with about 16 laps to go. Jeff Burton was in the pits when the caution came out, but he was penalized for speeding so was put at the end of the longest line. A good number of cars, most of the leaders, pit under caution when the pits were open because they couldn't make it on fuel. Rudd and Bobby Labonte stayed out with a few other cars that thought or knew they could make it on fuel. The #18 car crew knew they could make it, Rudd gambled. They started double file which made it very difficult for cars on the lead lap to get back up to the front. Bobby and Ricky put some distance between themselves and 3rd place Benson. Rudd was a little faster. Another caution came out with 6 to go. They restarted single file with 3 laps to go. Rudd put some distance between himself and Labonte again. With 2 to go there was almost a wreck when Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, and Dale Jarret were battling for 3rd place which put a lot of distance between 2nd place Labonte and now 3rd place Jarret. 1 lap to go there wasn't enough Labonte could do to catch Rudd and Rudd's gamble paid off. 36. 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. 37. acerogers58 posted: 09.02.2020 - 7:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to the book "Rich Bickle BARNYARD to BRICKYARD", Bickle's head actually hit the wall when he crashed in turn 3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: