Gateway International Raceway is doing a countdown to the Nationwide Series race there on July.

Here’s Part 1 of their series — 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Hot Temps, Hot Racing for NASCAR Debut at GIR
by Josh Weinrich

July 26, 1997, was a hot day in the St. Louis area with near-record temperatures. Loyal St. Louis area race fans had been long awaiting this day which brought NASCAR’s Busch Series to the new Gateway International Raceway. While highs in the upper 90’s in the middle of summer aren’t anything new to Midwesterners, race teams and fans alike persevered through the elements and took part in an unforgettable introduction of NASCAR to the area.

In 1997, Gateway was one of three inaugural events on the Busch Series schedule, along with a mid-spring date at the Texas Motor Speedway and a mid-October date at California Speedway. With a brand-new racetrack and Gateway’s longest event, it was a recipe for the wildest race Gateway has ever seen, with Elliott Sadler scoring his 3rd win of 1997.

There were a number of storylines coming out of that historic day in local racing history. One of those includes the St. Louis debut of a legendary name and a future star.

Some of the drivers were bothered by the temperatures all afternoon. One of those competitors was series regular, Glenn Allen Jr. Allen Jr. was driving the #99 Luxaire Chevrolet for longtime series owner Bill Papke and started on the inside of row two.

Throughout the 300-mile event, Allen Jr. became sick and needed a relief driver for the rest of the event. The young man who replaced him was none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt was making just his fourth start in the Busch Series driving the #31 Sikken’s Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Jr. was caught up in an accident and retired from the race on lap 61.

When Allen Jr. became ill, Earnhardt filled the seat in the #99 Chevrolet and drove it to a respectable 14th-place finish. Glenn Allen Jr. competed full time for three seasons in the Busch Series from 1996-1998 and partial schedules in 1999 and 2000 scoring 17 top-ten finishes. Currently, Allen has a partial ownership in Allen-Hock Racing which house cars for three ASA Late Model Series Challenge Divsion teams. The ASA Challenge Series will compete at Gateway on September 6th.

Longtime racer Dale Shaw was one of the feelgood stories that July afternoon. Shaw never competed in more than 13 events in any single season in the NASCAR Busch Series, but found great success in his only trip to Gateway. Shaw turned a 19th-place qualifying effort into a third-place finish. In his Busch Series career, Shaw scored three top five finishes, all in 1997. In fact, in the race before at South Boston Speedway, Shaw finished a career-best second before coming to Gateway. Currently, Shaw serves as the crew chief for his son D.J. Shaw in the PASS Super Late Model division in the northeast.

In 2008, it is not uncommon to see upwards of twenty NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers participating in Nationwide Series events on any given weekend. Ten years ago when the Busch Series first came to Gateway, only a handful of Cup drivers were expected to compete in Busch Series events. The 1997 Busch race at Gateway saw one of the most accomplished lineups in track history. Present and past Sprint Cup race winners that competed in the 300-miler included Elliott Sadler, Steve Park, Kyle Petty, Ricky Craven, Joe Nemechek, and Jimmy Spencer along with Sprint Cup Champions Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, and two-time GIR winner and Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. This group of drivers that were in the Gateway 300 represent 97 Cup Series wins, 185 Busch/Nationwide Series wins, four Cup Championships, three Nationwide Championships, and one Daytona 500.

More excitement is sure to come on July 19th when the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to Gateway International Raceway for the Missouri Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. Fans can order tickets by calling 1-866-35-SPEED or logging onto GatewayRaceway.com.

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