INDIANAPOLIS, August 2, 1997 -- Ricky Rudd gambled by staying out when other leaders made late "splash-and-go" fuel stops and held back Bobby Labonte to capture the fourth running of the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rudd had led for only a lap earlier in the race when leaders Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon came to pit road for five-second fuel stops. He then survived a restart with three laps to go to take the victory as Jarrett and Gordon charged frantically back to take third and fourth place, respectively.
For the win, Rudd got $571,000 in posted awards. Labonte got $242,275 for second, Jarrett collected $223,900 for third and Gordon got $223,675 for fourth.
Rudd s margin of victory over Labonte was .183 of a second, a Brickyard 400 record. The previous mark was .37 of a second in 1995, when Dale Earnhardt beat Rusty Wallace to the line.
"Unbelievable," Rudd said. "It's hard to put it in words. I've won 17 or 18 Winston Cup races but this race here, it's incredible. As a kid, I ran go-karts just down the road. I dreamed of racing here but I thought it'd been in an Indy car. I never dreamed I'd be in a stock car. Then, you're doing a victory lap in a convertible around this place. It's incredible."
There were 19 lead changes among 11 drivers, led by pole winner Ernie Irvan, who led a Brickyard 400 record 39 laps at the opening of the race.
Gordon continues to lead the Winston Cup standings with 2,834 points, followed by Mark Martin with 2,755, Jarrett with 2,687 and Terry Labonte, who bowed out Saturday in 40th place after engine problems, with 2,603.
Five drivers led the Brickyard 400 for the first time -- Jeff Burton, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Mike Skinner, Jimmy Spencer and Ricky Craven, the latter coming from 41st starting position to take the point.
Twenty-three cars finished on the lead lap, breaking the event record of 21 set in 1996. Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader continued their streaks of completing every lap of all four Brickyard 400s to date. Elliott finished eighth and Schrader wound up 11th.
Gordon is now the only driver to lead all four Brickyard 400s, Elliott and Dale Earnhardt failing to lead for the first time.
Although four accidents occurred during the race, only Rich Bickle was transported to Methodist Hospital. Bickle was awake and alert and complaining of back pain.
Rudd averaged 130.828 over the 400-mile distance. Irvan had the race s fastest leading lap at 172.506 on Lap 22.
4TH BRICKYARD 400 - AUGUST 2, 1997 - PURSE: $4,965,217
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY / NASCAR WINSTON CUP SERIES
FP SP Car Driver Sponsor/Make Comp Status Money
1 7 10 Ricky Rudd Tide Frd 160 Running 571,000
2 25 18 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries Pon 160 Running 242,275
3 3 88 W Dale Jarrett Quality Care/Frd Crd Frd 160 Running 223,900
4 24 24 W Jeff Gordon DuPont Refinishes Chv 160 Running 223,670
5 16 37 Jeremy Mayfield Kmart/RC Cola Frd 160 Running 142,445
6 31 6 Mark Martin Valvoline Frd 160 Running 125,960
7 20 30 Johnny Benson Jr Pennzoil Pon 160 Running 121,760
8 15 94 Bill Elliott McDonald's Frd 160 Running 110,460
9 6 31 #R Mike Skinner Lowe's Chv 160 Running 132,560
10 1 28 Ernie Irvan Texaco Havoline Frd 160 Running 143,560
11 8 33 Ken Schrader Skoal Chv 160 Running 95,235
12 27 9 Lake Speed Melling Engine Parts Frd 160 Running 83,135
13 39 44 Kyle Petty Hot Wheels Pon 160 Running 78,035
14 4 17 Darrell Waltrip Parts America Chv 160 Running 85,085
15 33 99 Jeff Burton Exide Batteries Frd 160 Running 96,885
16 41 25 Ricky Craven Budweiser Chv 160 Running 82,135
17 35 98 John Andretti RCA Frd 160 Running 80,095
18 42 11 Brett Bodine Close Call Frd 160 Running 79,535
19 36 22 Ward Burton MBNA America Pon 160 Running 78,435
20 12 43 Bobby Hamilton STP Pon 160 Running 82,935
21 34 27 # Rick Wilson Indianapolis Colts Frd 160 Running 65,935
22 23 92 # Ron Barfield Jr New Holland Frd 160 Running 64,935
23 17 75 Rick Mast Remington Arms Frd 160 Running 74,335
24 40 23 Jimmy Spencer Camel Frd 159 Running 74,435
25 26 29 #R Jeff Green Cartoon Network Chv 159 Running 67,735
26 19 41 Steve Grissom Kodiak Chv 159 Running 71,010
27 30 95 # Ed Berrier Realtree Chv 159 Running 59,910
28 11 40 #R Robby Gordon Coors Light Chv 159 Running 68,910
29 5 3 W Dale Earnhardt GM Goodwrench Serv Chv 158 Running 76,310
30 29 81 Kenny Wallace SquareD Frd 158 Running 67,910
31 37 91 Greg Sacks Kruse International Chv 158 Running 57,410
32 2 42 Joe Nemechek BellSouth Chv 156 Running 67,910
33 22 16 Ted Musgrave Family Channel/PRIME Frd 155 Running 63,660
34 10 26 Rich Bickle KFC Team Twister Chv 153 Accident T3 56,410
35 9 96 #R David Green Caterpillar Chv 137 Engine 56,160
36 14 46 Wally Dallenbach Jr First Union Chv 120 Ignition 61,510
37 28 12 Jeff Purvis Gazelle/QVC Chv 112 Running 55,876
38 43 2 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Frd 91 Engine 72,755
39 18 21 Michael Waltrip CITGO Frd 89 Running 62,755
40 38 5 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Chv 83 Engine 77,755
41 32 36 Derrike Cope Skittles Pon 12 Accident T2 55,755
42 21 97 # Chad Little John Deere Pon 2 Accident T1 55,755
43 13 4 Sterling Marlin Kodak Film Chv 2 Engine 71,755
Time of Race: 3:03:26.841
Average Speed:130.828
Margin of Victory: 0.183 of a second
Fastest Lap: #24 Jeff Gordon, Lap 10 - 172.639
Fastest Leading Lap: #28 Ernie Irvan, Lap 22 - 172.506
Legend: W- Former Winner;
# - First-Time Brickyard 400 Starter;
R - NASCAR
Rookie
Lap Leaders:
1-39 #28 Ernie Irvan
40 #24 Jeff Gordon
41 #30 Johnny Benson, Jr.
42-54 #46 Wally Dallenbach, Jr.
55 #23 Jimmy Spencer
56 #5 Terry Labonte
57 #25 Ricky Craven
58-77 #88 Dale Jarrett
78-80 #24 Jeff Gordon
81 #30 Johnny Benson, Jr.
82-83 #23 Jimmy Spencer
84 #46 Wally Dallenbach, Jr.
85-88 #24 Jeff Gordon
89-109 #99 Jeff Burton
110-113 #24 Jeff Gordon
114 #10 Ricky Rudd
115-122 #31 Mike Skinner
123-135 #24 Jeff Gordon
136-146 #88 Dale Jarrett
147-160 #10 Ricky Rudd
19 changes among 11 drivers.
Lap Leader Recap:
Ernie Irvan 1 - 39
Dale Jarrett 2 - 31
Jeff Gordon 4 - 25
Jeff Burton 1 - 21
Ricky Rudd 2 - 15
Wally Dallenbach, Jr. 2 - 14
Mike Skinner 1 - 8
Jimmy Spencer 1 - 3
Johnny Benson, Jr. 1 - 2
Terry Labonte 1 - 1
Ricky Craven 1 - 1
NASCAR Winston Cup Points Report:
1 Jeff Gordon 2834
2 Mark Martin 2755
3 Dale Jarrett 2687
4 Terry Labonte 2603
5 Jeff Burton 2591
6 Dale Earnhardt 2491
7 Bobby Labonte 2411
8 Ricky Rudd 2309
9 Jeremy Mayfield 2255
10 Bill Elliott 2179
