1997 Interstate Batteries 500 - Multi-Car Wreck

[Shanco4688]

ernie irvan=fail...he cut his chin good right here..

[sethcorn]

We had HUGE ice storms this weekend, lost power for 3 days. Was so mad we couldn't see the Texas debut. Then power came back almost a lap before this wreck happened!

[ToroRosso20]

Why can't most inaugural races be like this.

Lots of crazy s***

[blackjack21211]

Good ol' days.... when it took five replays for the announcers to realize what happened. What were they watching when the wreck happened? What were they doing the first few times they saw the replays?!?!

[MidniteHaze1]

I can see people cheering when Kyle Busch wrecks because he insults other drivers, and whines way too much. Jeff did nothing but race really well. People were just jealous.

[jwdogfst]

@MidniteHaze1, that's not entirely true. Jeff was a prima donna in the mid 90's, growing a lot of resentment from the fans. There were countless times of Jeff whining when things didn't go his way and several examples of Jeff ripping his crew when he was given a car slightly less than perfect. The mature Jeff of today is nowhere near the same Jeff from the mid 90's.

[erasetoimprove]

@jwdogfst same thing happens to all drivers. Earnhardt used to be a very arrogant personality, then by the end he was one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR. Same thing with DW. Kyle Busch will likely turn out the same way.

[AutoRockinRacing94]

That's why they don't race back to the line and here's a great example of it

[Porygonseizureman]

Those cars make IndyCars look durable!

[erasetoimprove]

@Porygonseizureman Indycars are actually really durable, considering they're open wheel and can withstand quite a bit. 

[C0LL1N]

if i remember correctly Ernie Irvan had cut his chin or his lip or something and thats why he shoved off when the guy tried to interview him and later in the race Ernie did talk to them after he got medical attention, and explained that.

[TaGx43]

these cars got so much more damaged than the current ones

[thosepeeps1234554321]

@highway955 lol some jeff gordon hater arent you?

[acenace24]

Yeah but they cheer Jr. i dont have a problem with that, but Earnhardt Sr. said if they are cheering or booing they still respect u

[BadBooking]

Irony is that Ted really DID lose the engine, but in a much quieter way a little later on.

[JPH315]

Ah the good ol days of the CBS broadcast team and racing back to the caution

[MIBFreakPack]

i wish the line layout on the track had stayed the same. it was pretty unique.

[jrfan07]

@MIBFreakPack it has stayed the same. other than being resurfaced, the track is the same shape and has the same banking as it always did,

[bduddy55555]

@jrfan07 The part of the track below the solid white line was banked a lot less; it was intended to be used for Indy car racing. Of course, the obvious flaw is that each series could only really use half the track, so they redid the track after this year.

[Cooley24485]

@jrfan07 nope wrong, they opened up the radius of turn 4, it added a whole another lane on the frontstraightaway, also gave the turn 2 exit a more curved transition.

[erasetoimprove]

@jrfan07 actually that's not true. The transition between the bankings in the turns and the flat on the straights was significantly smoothed out. The Texas of today is far easier than the Texas of '97 and '98. Between 1998 and 2000, the track underwent several changes to make the transition less "sudden."

[jrfan07]

@erasetoimprove i guess when i wrote that (a year ago :p) i was referring to the 24 degrees of banking and the tri oval shape, not the transitions lol

[erasetoimprove]

@jrfan07 sorry, I always forget to even look at when comments are posted

[jrfan07]

@erasetoimprove no worries bud, were good :)

[jrfan07]

@MIBFreakPack wait line layout? i misunderstood, sorry.

[MIBFreakPack]

@jrfan07 the painted lines. Like how at Talladega has the dashed lines on the track, and with the yellow lines. How the lines were painted at Texas in 97 was unique and i found it neat.

[TheCougarFrom1983]

I have always wondered what was Ernie & Texas Terry thinking here! Def the good o'l days of NASCAR

[nascarkidinny]

texas had a run of good races...now it sucks there they spread out to fast for alot of real racing

[fifistinks]

well just like everything else even wrecks are bigger in texas

[djwick50]

its so crazy cuz now days the track saftey crew wouldnt let those drivers walk 10ft before trying to get them into the ambulance and into the care center.

[jlogano20]

How the hell does Irvin hit a slow car!!

[cmujazzbone]

Irvan's spotter didn't tell him there was a crash on the frontstretch. He came off turn 4 trying to get his lap back before the caution and Greg Sacks was practically parked on the frontstretch.

[h4x1r053]

Anyone else notice how when Jeff Gordon crashes, the crowd cheers?:P

[jlogano20]

Wow he got pwned!!

[dalejramped88]

@h4x1r053 lol

[cookieacdc24]

@h4x1r053 yea just like they do now when jimmie wrecks.

[Colddeed]

@h4x1r053

Yep, the good ol' days when people hated JG because he won too much.

[PYLrulz1984]

Now remember people, this one of the reasons (not the reason though, and that would happen nearly 10 years later) NASCAR eventually stopped racing to the line, because of stuff like that

[bunchacows]

Irvan was always an idiot

[koopashells21]

0:28 agreed, a 'close call'

[highway955]

fukin asswipe gordon wrecks and then takes the time to put shades on. what a show-boat. no wonder he can't win shyt these days.

[jrfan07]

he might not be winning races but hes doing damn good, he is the points leader. and about the sunglasses know anyone else who wears them seemingly at all times?:P

[kidd1023]

he's the points leader and he just won at texas =]

[guyonutube123]

go gordon! its sunny! god i would be putten sunglasses on so sut up!

[jeffg24LT21]

@highway955 shutup troll

[erasetoimprove]

@highway955 if that makes a driver an asswipe then they're all asswipes

[mastershak3416]

i accept that people dont like him but i did

[dirtymoposse8815]

I like the sponsor for 11 (Brett Bodine??) being "Close Call"...fail irony...

[nintendoboy90091]

This is kinda one of the reasons for the Slowing down on caution.

[kidd1023]

no this is one of the reasons irvan is an idiot. he should have slowed down but nope not irvan he just runs into the back of a car.

[nintendoboy90091]

but its both though, now a days you cant do that which is a good thing

[kidd1023]

its good cause its safer but i hate how at the end of a race if the caution comes out its over. its better if its a race to the finish

[RichieWilliams97]

Its hilarious how the crowd roars when Gordon wrecks. Its awesome!

[mastershak3416]

no people are just stupid and jealous of his sucess

[RichieWilliams97]

people dont boo jeff gordan because they are jealous of him you loser

[mastershak3416]

then why do they boo him you loser

[RichieWilliams97]

because they don't like him

[bostonbobby4327]

who won the race

[bknightshadow45]

Jeff Burton

[TGTAP]

Jeff looks REALLY young here

[rockypc24]

what is sacks doing he is going 50 mph everone is racing back

[penneyboy245]

ohh gaynesss

[penneyboy245]

funny how atlanta use to have huge crowds back then

[jrfan07]

interesting how you make a comment like that on a texas video:P:P:P:P:P

[penneyboy245]

funny how it looks just like atlanta

[AAAmartin6fan]

Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte look the same.

[smmikeman]

to the untrained eye, yes.

[xXSCREEMOORDEATHXx]

i agree, i didnt kno wat track it was until i watched the vid, Texeas's little, \_/ thing on the front stretch is more defined than Lowes and Atlanta, and Atlanta is more wide, and Lowes is skinny.

[dalejramped88]

@AAAmartin6fan the only difference is the speeds

[SkittlesRacing]

no it doesn't

[TGTAP]

lol

[davidd2172]

Precisouly why we don't race back to the yellow anymore. you could see Rusty trying to get out of the way, he knew he was in a bad spot. If Sacks hadn't gotten plowed into it would have been Wallace getting run over instead.

[sethcorn]

I remeber this race.... MASSIVE ice storm hit and we had no power for 2 days and it came back on just to see the start of the Texas debut. :D

[OlsonFan]

I never understood why Sacks was going as slow as he was. He was practically stopped compared to the other drivers.

[ghostfan84]

I dont believe that Gordon has had so much problems with this track, up til 2000 he crashed every race, this track is also the scene of his onlly last place finish of his career back in 1999

[BadBooking]

That was a chain-reaction and you know it. Irvan hit sacks and Jeff had nowhere to go. As Ken Squier said, "It's as if the sky fell on Jeff Gordon!"

[BadBooking]

I made a reply on a video from the same race, different uploader. Jeff Gordon wrecked out Jimmy Spencer earlier, so I guess the sky was not too happy with Jeff.

[JoeytheHDK]

Wrong.

Irvan had bounced into Sacks' car (going that fast, tho was stupid to begin with), and he lost his steering, from what it looked like. Jeff was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[wildbeemer]

exactly dthornton, what a whack those cars took

i dont remember it being that hard of a crash when i was watching this back in '97 lol

that first Texas race was a damn demolition derby

[nintendoboy90091]

yep that is true, at least now a days that bc they wont let you race back to the line, there wont be any more serious incidents

[bknightshadow45]

The first two Texas races were demolition derby.

[jamespic]

Good In-Car from Gordon!!!

[Senninha70]

Ernie Irvan was an above-average driver, but he wasn't the smartest peanut in the turd.

[Randildo]

and anyone wanna ask why they dont race back to the line?

[SkittlesRacing]

Thanks for posting man, i've been looking for this

[JakeTV248]

Pause at 3:24, you can see Ernie Irvan's right-front wheel come right off and jumps over the back-end of Ernie's car. Also, at 3:19 you can see lines come out of Terry Labonte's Car and Ernie Irvan's Car

[trouble192]

Big thanks for the oil.

[wolves16]

A big cheer goes up from the crowd when Gordon wrecks.

[JBOreo]

thanks for posting. i havent seen this in awhile

[JBOreo]

the first of many misfortunes for gordon at texas

[Alexander032691]

Man I wish Jeff Gordon won that race, hopefully he'll win at Texas and Homestead next year! At least he did win at tracks that had their first races!

[kingofrunescapepking]

yes he won at indy cali and kansas in the inaugural event

[lostfreakadam]

And California.

[kingofrunescapepking]

i sed cali

[lostfreakadam]

Sheesh!

Texas had so many wrecks that year.

And this is why we don't race to the yellow anymore.

[Alexander032691]

No, the reason why we don't race to the yellow flag anymore is because of the incident with Casey Mears and Dale Jarrett at New Hampshire in 2003!

[kingofrunescapepking]

yup

[Randildo]

The thing i love about texas is its so narrow which makes the racing so exciting, now i know we dont need crashes, but texas is one of the best tracks in nascar

[rustyshackleford01]

lol now i know why they redid texas