The 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Season began on January 19 and ended on November 19. Jack Sprague of Hendrick Motorsports won the title.
See Also: 1997 in NASCAR
The inaugural Chevy Trucks Challenge was held January 19 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Jack Sprague won the pole.
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The NAPA 200 was held March 1 at Tuscon Raceway Park. Michael Dokken won the pole.
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The Florida Dodge Dealers 400K was held March 16 at Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex. Joe Ruttman won the pole. Tragedy struck during this race, when on lap 144, John Nemechek struck the wall in turn 2, suffering massive head injuries. He died five days later.
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The Desert Star Classic was held April 20 at Phoenix International Raceway. Jack Sprague won the pole.
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The Craftsman 200 was held May 3 at Portland International Raceway. Rich Bickle won the pole.
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The NAPACARD 200 was held May 10 at Evergreen Speedway. Rich Bickle won the pole.
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The Western Auto/Parts America 200 was held May 24 at I-70 Speedway. Rich Bickle won the pole.
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The Pennzoil Discount Center 200 was held May 31 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Jack Sprague won the pole.
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The inaugural Pronto Auto Parts 400K was held June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The Loadhandler 200 was held June 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Ron Hornaday won the pole.
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The NAPA Autocare 200 was held June 29 at Nazareth Speedway. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The Sears DieHard 200 was held July 5 at The Milwaukee Mile. Jack Sprague won the pole.
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The Link-Belt Construction Equipment 225 was held July 12 at Louisville Motor Speedway. Jimmy Hensley won the pole.
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The Colorado 250 By Snap-On Tools was held July 19 at Colorado National Speedway. Ron Hornaday won the pole.
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The Lund Look 275K was held July 27 at Heartland Park Topeka. Joe Ruttman won the pole.
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The Cummins 200 was held July 31 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Jimmy Hensley won the pole.
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The Stevens Beil/Genuine Parts 200 was held August 9 at Flemington Speedway. Terry Cook won the pole.
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The Federated Auto Parts 250 was held August 16 at Nashville Speedway USA. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The Parts America 150 was held August 24 at Watkins Glen International Raceway. Ron Fellows won the pole.
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The Virginia Is For Lovers 200 was held September 4 at Richmond International Raceway. Ron Hornaday won the pole.
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The Hanes 250 was held September 27 at Martinsville Speedway. Rich Bickle won the pole.
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The Kragen/Exide 151 was held October 5 at Sears Point International Raceway. Dave Rezendes won the pole.
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The Dodge California Truckstop 300 was held October 12 at Mesa Marin Raceway. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The No Fear Challenge was held October 18 at California Speedway for the first time. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The GM Goodwrench/Delco 300 was held November 1 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Bliss won the pole.
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The Carquest Auto Parts 420K was held November 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jack Sprague won the pole.
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Final Points Standings
- Jack Sprague - 3969
- Rich Bickle - 3737
- Joe Ruttman - 3736
- Mike Bliss - 3611
- Ron Hornaday - 3574
- Jay Sauter - 3467
- Rick Carelli - 3461
- Jimmy Hensley - 3385
- Chuck Bown - 3320
- Kenny Irwin, Jr. - 3220
- Butch Miller - 3186
- Rick Crawford - 3149
- Stacy Compton - 3057
- Bob Keselowski - 2915
- Tony Raines - 2773
- Boris Said - 2657
- Dave Rezendes - 2613
- Tony Roper - 2604
- Bryan Reffner - 2433
- Tammy Jo Kirk - 2174
- Doug George - 2057
- Randy Tolsma - 1802
- Mike Wallace - 1788
- Terry Cook - 1651
- Lance Norick - 1620
- Kevin Harvick - 1355
- Tobey Butler - 1355
- Michael Dokken - 1331
- Rob Rizzo - 1306
- Brian Cunningham - 1265
- Dan Press - 1189
- Lonnie Rush, Jr. - 1087
- Bill Sedgwick - 928
- Kenny Allen - 911
- Kelly Denton - 764
- Barry Bodine - 688
- Bobby Dotter - 677
- Curtis Markham - 651
- Ron Barfield - 618
- Mike Cope - 613
- Ron Fellows - 559
- Eric Norris - 553
- Tom Hubert - 543
- Toby Porter - 451
- Andy Houston - 441
- Billy Pauch - 441
- Mike Skinner - 437
- Rick Johnson - 414
- Wayne Grubb - 410
- Brad Teague - 409
Former sprint car driver Kenny Irwin, Jr., driving the #98 for Liberty Racing, took home Rookie of the Year honors in 1997, winning two of the first nine races of the season, and finishing tenth in points. Runner-up was Rick Crawford, who had made his debut in a major NASCAR series that season and posted ten top-tens, while Stacy Compton finished 92 points behind him in the new Impact Motorsports ride. Tony Raines finished 15th in points and picked up a win as well, while Tony Roper had two top-tens, and Tammy Jo Kirk became the first female to make a start in the series. The rest of the candidates only made part-time bids at the award, the most notable being Rob Rizzo, who had one top-ten finish.