1997 Winchester 400

The twenty-eighth annual Roger Holdeman Memorial Winchester 400 was held under All-Pro Series sanction on September 28, 1997, at the Winchester Speedway.

Making only his second appearance at the famed Winchester Speedway, Hank Parker, Jr. led the final 54 laps to capture the 28th annual “Winchester 400.” Parker, Jr. of Denver, North Carolina, passed Wayne Anderson on the 348th circuit and bagged $13,975 for the victory.

Setting the pace in qualifying with a lap of 15.802 seconds (113.910 MPH), Nipper Alsup jumped into the green at the start with Parker, Jr., Derrick Gilchrist, Mike Harmon, and defending “400” Champion Scot Walters all giving chase. On lap 17, trouble at the back of the field became a problem for the race leader. Ken Alexander and Tony Ridner made contact and spun directly in front of the leaders. Forced to stop on the racetrack to avoid contact, Alsup was relegated to 20th position in the field. That handed the lead to Gilchrist for 16 laps until Parker, Jr. went out from for the first time on lap 34. Parker, Jr. would remain in front until stopping for tires on lap 114 which handed the lead over to Anderson, who held it until he stopped on lap 179 and the lead cycled back to Parker, Jr. Trying to work his way back to the front, Alsup’s day would end when he hit the fourth turn wall on lap 69.

The seventh caution period waved when Steven Christian hammered the third turn wall. Under the yellow, all the lead lap cars dove onto pit road for service. Anderson’s crew won the race off pit road and he paced the field as it went back to green on lap 298. Just as things looked to be going in his favor, Anderson suddenly slowed on lap 347 as he ran out of fuel. His misfortune handed the lead back to Parker, Jr. who held off a hard-charging Jeff Fultz by 0.77 seconds. Mike Harmon finished third with Ron Young and rookie Carl Long rounding out the top-five finishers.

External links

* [http://www.winchesterspeedway.com/ Winchester Speedway website]
* [http://www.craracing.net/ Official CRA Website]