1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300
The 1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 was the ninth stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the third race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston West Series, and the ninth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 4, 1997, in Sonoma, California, at the Grand Prix layout of Sears Point Raceway, a permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 74 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would dominate the majority of the race to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte, both driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second and third, respectively. Background Sears Point Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Sears Point Raceway is a 12-turn course that is long; the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to . The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred