| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway | |||||||||
| April 13, 1997 | Race 7 of 32 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 75.035 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 0.499 second | Time of Race: 3 hrs, 33 mins, 06 seconds | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 13 | |||||||||
| Cautions: | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 5 | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 180/5 | 500 | Running | $83,640 |
| 2 | 1 | #2 | Rusty Wallace | Ford | Miller Lite | 180/10 | 500 | Running | $64,090 |
| 3 | 17 | #5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Corn Flakes | 165/0 | 500 | Running | $51,490 |
| 4 | 6 | #88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | Quality Care/ Ford Credit | 160/0 | 500 | Running | $39,265 |
| 5 | 23 | #6 | Mark Martin | Ford | Valvoline | 155/0 | 500 | Running | $37,520 |
| 6 | 29 | #3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service | 150/0 | 500 | Running | $32,970 |
| 7 | 18 | #94 | Bill Elliott | Ford | McDonald's | 151/5 | 500 | Running | $27,770 |
| 8 | 21 | #97 | Chad Little | Ford | John Deere | 142/0 | 500 | Running | $18,370 |
| 9 | 32 | #37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Ford | Kmart/RC Cola | 138/0 | 500 | Running | $21,565 |
| 10 | 12 | #11 | Brett Bodine | Ford | Close Call Phone Card | 134/0 | 500 | Running | $28,215 |
| 11 | 19 | #90 | Dick Trickle | Chevrolet | Heilig-Meyers/Simmons | 130/0 | 500 | Running | $18,745 |
| 12 | 16 | #33 | Ken Schrader | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit | 127/0 | 500 | Running | $25,390 |
| 13 | 34 | #43 | Bobby Hamilton | Pontiac | STP | 124/0 | 500 | Running | $29,015 |
| 14 | 15 | #29 | Robert Pressley | Ford | Cartoon Network | 126/5 | 500 | Running | $17,965 |
| 15 | 10 | #23 | Jimmy Spencer | Ford | Camel Cigarettes | 123/5 | 499 | Running | $25,965 |
| 16 | 36 | #36 | Derrike Cope | Ford | Skittles | 115/0 | 499 | Running | $13,640 |
| 17 | 25 | #75 | Rick Mast | Pontiac | Remington Arms | 112/0 | 499 | Running | $24,390 |
| 18 | 35 | #22 | Ward Burton | Pontiac | MBNA America | 109/0 | 499 | Running | $17,240 |
| 19 | 24 | #73 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | BellSouth | 106/0 | 499 | Running | $17,130 |
| 20 | 2 | #4 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Kodak Films | 108/5 | 498 | Running | $32,421 |
| 21 | 39 | #21 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | CITGO | 100/0 | 497 | Running | $23,765 |
| 22 | 27 | #96 | David Green * | Ford | Caterpillar | 97/0 | 496 | Running | $14,215 |
| 23 | 30 | #95 | Ed Berrier | Chevrolet | Feed the Children | 94/0 | 495 | Running | $13,165 |
| 24 | 26 | #98 | John Andretti | Pontiac | RCA | 91/0 | 491 | Running | $23,490 |
| 25 | 43 | #17 | Darrell Waltrip | Ford | Parts America | 88/0 | 485 | Running | $23,595 |
| 26 | 7 | #8 | Hut Stricklin | Ford | Circuit City | 85/0 | 484 | Running | $23,215 |
| 27 | 22 | #10 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | Tide | 82/0 | 483 | Running | $27,991 |
| 28 | 41 | #1 | Morgan Shepherd | Pontiac | Cruisin' America Phone Card | 79/0 | 479 | Running | $23,040 |
| 29 | 14 | #44 | Kyle Petty | Pontiac | Hot Wheels | 76/0 | 477 | Running | $12,910 |
| 30 | 42 | #71 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | Realtree Camouflage | 73/0 | 468 | Running | $15,585 |
| 31 | 33 | #30 | Johnny Benson | Pontiac | Pennzoil | 70/0 | 455 | Running | $21,815 |
| 32 | 9 | #41 | Steve Grissom | Pontiac | Kodiak | 67/0 | 441 | Accident | $22,795 |
| 33 | 8 | #7 | Geoffrey Bodine | Chevrolet | QVC | 64/0 | 432 | Accident | $18,775 |
| 34 | 13 | #18 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | Interstate Batteries | 61/0 | 425 | Running | $26,735 |
| 35 | 28 | #31 | Mike Skinner * | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 58/0 | 365 | Engine | $11,715 |
| 36 | 31 | #9 | Lake Speed | Ford | Melling Auto Parts | 55/0 | 325 | Accident | $18,695 |
| 37 | 37 | #19 | Gary Bradberry | Chevrolet | Child Support Recovery International | 52/0 | 317 | Running | $11,675 |
| 38 | 3 | #16 | Ted Musgrave | Ford | The Family Channel/PRIMESTAR | 49/0 | 296 | Accident | $18,950 |
| 39 | 38 | #28 | Ernie Irvan | Ford | Texaco/Havoline | 46/0 | 281 | Engine | $26,650 |
| 40 | 40 | #25 | Jack Sprague | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 43/0 | 256 | Accident | $18,650 |
| 41 | 4 | #81 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Square D | 40/0 | 223 | Accident | $18,750 |
| 42 | 11 | #99 | Jeff Burton | Ford | Exide Batteries | 37/0 | 157 | Engine | $26,650 |
| 43 | 20 | #40 | Robby Gordon * | Chevrolet | Coors Light | 34/0 | 91 | Accident | $18,650 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||