Geoff Bodine led from the pole in the QVC Ford #7, but Ward Burton was faster in the MBNA America #22 and took the lead.

Then Dale Earnhardt showed the strength of the #3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet as he challenged Burton for the lead, then took first place away.

Meanwhile, championship contender Dale Jarrett had trouble all day in the Ford Credit Thunderbird #88. Gearing and ignition problems slowed Jarrett and, even though he led a few laps, Jarrett was never a major factor to win the race.

Earnhardt got a surprise when Joe Nemechek steered the Bellsouth Chevrolet #42 into the lead. However, Nemechek never showed this strength again while Earnhardt brought out a caution when his #3 bounced off the concrete.

Around this time, Bobby Labonte started to dominate the race, but he had trouble on a mid-race restart and lost the lead to the #36 Skittles Pontiac driven by Derrike Cope in his last drive of that car. Look at the white Ford nose on the right...

...it belonged to Mark Martin, whose #6 Valvoline Ford was the only car capable of running with Bobby Labonte. Late in the race, Martin's crew gained the lead by changing only two tires while other crews changed four. It would have worked...

...except that Martin's engine went sour a few laps later. That returned Labonte to his dominant position over the field, and he won the NAPA 500 going away.

Martin and Jarrett needed to win the race while Winston Cup points leader Jeff Gordon had a bad day. Gordon had his share of bad luck at the refurbished Atlanta track - losing laps to an ill-handling car - but Gordon ran the #24 DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet (just barely) well enough to win the 1997 Winston Cup title.