Begins at Business US 64 northwest of Wendell. Leaves Wake County just east of the intersection with NC 39.
Major Intersections:	Business 64 twice-northwest of Wendell and just inside Zebulon. M-Bus. 64 through Zebulon. NC 96 in the center of Zebulon. US 264 east of Zebulon.
History:	NC 97 was originally numbered NC 95, and it ended at US 264 east of Zebulon.  95 conflicted with the similarly-numbered interstate, though, and so the renumbering to 97 was required in 1958. 97 stayed along its original route until 1975, when the US 64 freeway bypass of Wendell and Zebulon was completed and 97 was extended along the former two-lane US 64 Wendell bypass to its current terminus at Business 64 west of town.
Attractions:	NC 97 goes through the best-named crossroads in Wake County. Lizard Lick, at the intersection of NC 97 and Lizard Lick Road north of Wendell, features a town hall, its own Grand Ole Opry, and even the local weather forecast. All of these are housed...you guessed it, at a used car lot. North Carolina at its finest.
Comments:	NC 97 serves little to no purpose these days, as it's paralleled by US 64 in Wake, Franklin and Nash counties. It's purely a road for local traffic.