It consisted of one race, scheduled for 499.744 kilometres in length (161 laps), it was shortened to 388 kilometres in length because of a time limit (4:48 p.m. local time) imposed by Supercars.

It was the tenth event of fourteen in the 2017 Supercars Championship and hosted Race 19 of the season.

The event was the 47th running of the Sandown 500, which was first held in 1964 as a six-hour race for series production touring cars.

The defending winners of the race were Garth Tander and Warren Luff.

The event was promoted as a "retro round", with teams encouraged to use adaptations of Australian touring car liveries from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, although some teams extended beyond these parameters when devising a livery, using sponsors and manufacturer heritage.