| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| Pontiac Excitement 400 | Richmond International Raceway | |||||||||
| March 02, 1997 | Race 3 of 32 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 108.499 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 0.453 second | Time of Race: 2 hrs, 45 mins, 54 seconds | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 15 | |||||||||
| Cautions: | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 7 | #2 | Rusty Wallace | Ford | Miller Lite | 180/5 | 400 | Running | $86,775 |
| 2 | 18 | #7 | Geoffrey Bodine | Chevrolet | QVC | 175/5 | 400 | Running | $56,875 |
| 3 | 3 | #88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | Quality Care/ Ford Credit | 175/10 | 400 | Running | $50,750 |
| 4 | 2 | #24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | DuPont | 165/5 | 399 | Running | $46,200 |
| 5 | 9 | #43 | Bobby Hamilton | Pontiac | STP | 160/5 | 399 | Running | $35,595 |
| 6 | 6 | #10 | Ricky Rudd | Ford | Tide | 150/0 | 399 | Running | $30,770 |
| 7 | 1 | #5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | Kellogg's Corn Flakes | 146/0 | 399 | Running | $35,845 |
| 8 | 11 | #18 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | Interstate Batteries | 147/5 | 399 | Running | $28,945 |
| 9 | 23 | #30 | Johnny Benson | Pontiac | Pennzoil | 138/0 | 399 | Running | $25,745 |
| 10 | 37 | #44 | Kyle Petty | Pontiac | Hot Wheels | 134/0 | 398 | Running | $18,545 |
| 11 | 21 | #41 | Steve Grissom | Pontiac | Kodiak | 130/0 | 398 | Running | $24,345 |
| 12 | 26 | #9 | Lake Speed | Ford | Melling Auto Parts | 127/0 | 398 | Running | $24,045 |
| 13 | 5 | #6 | Mark Martin | Ford | Valvoline | 124/0 | 398 | Running | $23,870 |
| 14 | 12 | #25 | Ricky Craven * | Chevrolet | Budweiser | 121/0 | 398 | Running | $23,670 |
| 15 | 17 | #94 | Bill Elliott | Ford | McDonald's | 123/5 | 398 | Running | $25,330 |
| 16 | 30 | #17 | Darrell Waltrip | Ford | Parts America | 115/0 | 398 | Running | $16,215 |
| 17 | 33 | #37 | Jeremy Mayfield | Ford | Kmart/RC Cola | 112/0 | 398 | Running | $15,415 |
| 18 | 20 | #75 | Rick Mast | Pontiac | Remington Arms | 109/0 | 398 | Running | $22,265 |
| 19 | 8 | #4 | Sterling Marlin | Chevrolet | Kodak Films | 106/0 | 397 | Running | $27,540 |
| 20 | 16 | #16 | Ted Musgrave | Ford | The Family Channel/PRIMESTAR | 103/0 | 397 | Running | $24,565 |
| 21 | 39 | #29 | Robert Pressley | Ford | Cartoon Network | 100/0 | 397 | Running | $16,965 |
| 22 | 15 | #23 | Jimmy Spencer | Ford | Camel Cigarettes | 97/0 | 397 | Running | $21,840 |
| 23 | 27 | #11 | Brett Bodine | Ford | Close Call Phone Card | 94/0 | 397 | Running | $21,665 |
| 24 | 31 | #22 | Ward Burton | Pontiac | MBNA America | 91/0 | 397 | Running | $14,540 |
| 25 | 4 | #3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | GM Goodwrench Service | 88/0 | 397 | Running | $27,940 |
| 26 | 36 | #31 | Mike Skinner * | Chevrolet | Lowe's | 85/0 | 397 | Running | $12,265 |
| 27 | 14 | #21 | Michael Waltrip | Chevrolet | CITGO | 82/0 | 396 | Running | $21,340 |
| 28 | 24 | #40 | Robby Gordon * | Chevrolet | Coors Light | 79/0 | 396 | Running | $21,215 |
| 29 | 40 | #90 | Dick Trickle | Chevrolet | Heilig-Meyers | 76/0 | 395 | Running | $14,190 |
| 30 | 38 | #36 | Derrike Cope | Ford | Skittles | 73/0 | 395 | Running | $11,160 |
| 31 | 22 | #98 | John Andretti | Pontiac | RCA | 70/0 | 395 | Running | $20,615 |
| 32 | 25 | #8 | Hut Stricklin | Ford | Circuit City | 67/0 | 395 | Running | $18,090 |
| 33 | 41 | #96 | David Green * | Ford | Caterpillar | 64/0 | 395 | Running | $11,075 |
| 34 | 42 | #97 | Chad Little | Ford | John Deere | 61/0 | 395 | Running | $19,304 |
| 35 | 28 | #33 | Ken Schrader | Chevrolet | Skoal Bandit | 58/0 | 393 | Running | $18,065 |
| 36 | 10 | #28 | Ernie Irvan | Ford | Texaco/Havoline | 55/0 | 391 | Accident | $26,065 |
| 37 | 34 | #71 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | Realtree Camouflage | 52/0 | 391 | Running | $11,065 |
| 38 | 43 | #19 | Gary Bradberry | Chevrolet | Child Support Recovery International | 49/0 | 389 | Running | $19,504 |
| 39 | 32 | #42 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | BellSouth | 46/0 | 380 | Running | $11,065 |
| 40 | 29 | #81 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Square D | 43/0 | 376 | Engine | $18,065 |
| 41 | 35 | #77 | Bobby Hillin | Ford | Jasper Engines & Transmissions | 40/0 | 336 | Rear End | $11,065 |
| 42 | 13 | #99 | Jeff Burton | Ford | Exide Batteries | 37/0 | 248 | Running | $19,065 |
| 43 | 19 | #1 | Morgan Shepherd | Pontiac | Delco Remy America | 34/0 | 131 | Engine | $11,965 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||