| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway | |||||||||
| August 30, 1997 | Race 23 of 32 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 121.149 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 0.144 second | Time of Race: 4 hrs, 06 mins, 17 seconds | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 9 | |||||||||
| Cautions: | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 7 | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 180/5 | 367 | Running | $131,330 |
| 2 | 16 | #99 | Jeff Burton | Ford | Exide Batteries | 175/5 | 367 | Running | $57,280 |
| 3 | 3 | #88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | Quality Care/ Ford Credit | 170/5 | 367 | Running | $47,505 |
| 4 | 2 | #94 | Bill Elliott | Ford | McDonald's | 170/10 | 367 | Running | $49,965 |
| 5 | 21 | #10 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | Tide | 155/0 | 367 | Running | $39,345 |
| 6 | 17 | #5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Corn Flakes | 150/0 | 367 | Running | $41,315 |
| 7 | 1 | #18 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | Interstate Batteries | 151/5 | 367 | Running | $42,240 |
| 8 | 4 | #6 | Mark Martin | Ford | Valvoline | 142/0 | 367 | Running | $33,550 |
| 9 | 14 | #21 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | CITGO | 143/5 | 367 | Running | $29,020 |
| 10 | 5 | #33 | Ken Schrader | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit | 134/0 | 366 | Running | $32,280 |
| 11 | 37 | #97 | Chad Little | Ford | John Deere | 130/0 | 366 | Running | $22,515 |
| 12 | 12 | #7 | Geoffrey Bodine | Chevrolet | QVC | 127/0 | 366 | Running | $27,220 |
| 13 | 8 | #90 | Dick Trickle | Chevrolet | Heilig-Meyers/Simmons | 124/0 | 366 | Running | $19,930 |
| 14 | 24 | #36 | Derrike Cope | Ford | Skittles | 121/0 | 365 | Running | $19,640 |
| 15 | 11 | #11 | Brett Bodine | Ford | Close Call Phone Card | 118/0 | 365 | Running | $27,800 |
| 16 | 19 | #37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Ford | Kmart/RC Cola | 115/0 | 365 | Running | $18,980 |
| 17 | 6 | #8 | Hut Stricklin | Ford | Circuit City | 112/0 | 365 | Running | $25,710 |
| 18 | 23 | #9 | Lake Speed | Ford | Melling Auto Parts | 109/0 | 365 | Running | $18,435 |
| 19 | 18 | #30 | Johnny Benson | Pontiac | Pennzoil | 106/0 | 365 | Running | $25,155 |
| 20 | 40 | #43 | Bobby Hamilton | Pontiac | STP | 103/0 | 365 | Running | $30,485 |
| 21 | 29 | #41 | Steve Grissom | Pontiac | Kodiak | 100/0 | 365 | Running | $24,525 |
| 22 | 34 | #40 | Robby Gordon * | Chevrolet | Coors Light | 97/0 | 363 | Running | $25,305 |
| 23 | 20 | #73 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | BellSouth | 94/0 | 359 | Running | $17,060 |
| 24 | 25 | #81 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Square D | 91/0 | 354 | Running | $23,785 |
| 25 | 27 | #78 | Gary Bradberry | Chevrolet | Child Support Recovery International | 88/0 | 354 | Running | $13,575 |
| 26 | 38 | #17 | Darrell Waltrip | Ford | Parts America | 85/0 | 353 | Handling | $23,415 |
| 27 | 13 | #22 | Ward Burton | Pontiac | MBNA America | 82/0 | 350 | Handling | $23,305 |
| 28 | 30 | #23 | Jimmy Spencer | Ford | Camel Cigarettes | 79/0 | 341 | Running | $22,695 |
| 29 | 15 | #16 | Ted Musgrave | Ford | The Family Channel/PRIMESTAR | 81/5 | 296 | Handling | $20,085 |
| 30 | 36 | #3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service | 73/0 | 282 | Running | $30,925 |
| 31 | 31 | #25 | Ricky Craven * | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 70/0 | 236 | Engine | $19,840 |
| 32 | 39 | #44 | Kyle Petty | Pontiac | Hot Wheels | 67/0 | 202 | Engine | $12,750 |
| 33 | 10 | #28 | Ernie Irvan | Ford | Texaco/Havoline | 64/0 | 183 | Engine | $27,685 |
| 34 | 28 | #75 | Rick Mast | Pontiac | Remington Arms | 61/0 | 177 | Accident | $19,650 |
| 35 | 41 | #1 | Lance Hooper | Pontiac | Hardee's | 58/0 | 175 | Accident | $19,540 |
| 36 | 33 | #31 | Mike Skinner * | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 55/0 | 130 | Accident | $12,480 |
| 37 | 32 | #98 | John Andretti | Pontiac | RCA | 52/0 | 117 | Accident | $19,416 |
| 38 | 22 | #12 | Jeff Purvis | Chevrolet | Opryland USA | 49/0 | 114 | Accident | $12,270 |
| 39 | 42 | #29 | Jeff Green * | Chevrolet | Cartoon Network | 46/0 | 104 | Electrical | $12,270 |
| 40 | 9 | #4 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Kodak Films | 43/0 | 102 | Engine | $28,270 |
| 41 | 26 | #46 | Wally Dallenbach | Ford | First Union | 40/0 | 85 | Radiator | $12,270 |
| 42 | 35 | #96 | Todd Bodine | Ford | Caterpillar | 37/0 | 5 | Accident | $12,270 |
| 43 | 43 | #2 | Rusty Wallace | Ford | Miller Lite | 34/0 | 5 | Accident | $29,270 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||