The 1997 DieHard 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event.

In the final three laps of the race, with help from brother Bobby Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a late-race charge through the field to take his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.

The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family.

Ernie Irvan, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 49.547 and an average speed of 193.271 miles per hour (311.040 km/h).

[4] Five drivers would fail to qualify: Ward Burton, Hut Stricklin, Gary Bradberry, Jeff Green, and Ed Berrier.

Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side.