1972 World 600

1972 World 600
Race details
Race 12 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Mr. Richard Petty is making a historical pit stop in his Dodge Charger automobile. He would later withdraw from the race due to engine concerns.
Date May 28, 1972 (1972-May-28)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.410 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Avg Speed 142.255 miles per hour (228.937 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Bobby Allison Richard Howard
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Richard Howard
Laps 239
Winner
11
 Buck Baker
 Petty Enterprises
Television
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1972 World 600 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 28, 1972 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the American community of Concord, North Carolina.[1][2][3]

Summary

South Carolina's blue laws were in full force during the era of the race and bull-baiting was considered to be illegal on a Sunday along with several other things that were considered to be prohibited.[4] The pace car driver was Robert "Bob" Colvin who nearly got arrested for violating the "blue laws" before he found out that they were for someone else's bad checks.[4]

It took four hours and thirteen minutes to resolve 400 laps of action spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km) per lap.[1][2][3] Three cautions were handed by NASCAR for 24 laps.[1][2][3] More than 80000 live spectators would see Buddy Baker defeat Bobby Allison by 23.7 seconds while going at speeds of up to 142.555 miles per hour (229.420 km/h).[1][2][3] The pole position speed would be 158.162 miles per hour (254.537 km/h).[1][2] Jim Vandiver would become the last-place finisher due to a transmission problem on lap 11.[1][2] James Hylton became the lowest-finishing driver to finish this race.[1][2][3] Even the mighty Richard Petty would suffer an engine problem.[1][2][3] His first win from the World 600 (now Coca-Cola 600) series of racing events would come in 1975. Larry Smith, who would go on to become NASCAR's Rookie of the Year, finished sixth in this race.[1][2][3] A Rookie of the Year from 1957, Mr. Ken Rush, would make his final NASCAR Cup Series appearance in this racing event. He would only make a 29th place finish out of a 31st place start.[1]

Out of the 40-car grid, all except one (Jackie Oliver) were born in the United States.[1] Oliver was born in Walton-on-Thames, England.[5] More notable for his Formula One appearances, he was like the Juan Pablo Montoya of the late 1960s and the early 1970s.[5]

Finishing order

  1. Buddy Baker
  2. Bobby Allison
  3. Charlie Glotzbach
  4. Benny Parsons
  5. LeeRoy Yarbrough
  6. Larry Smith
  7. Buddy Arrington
  8. Cecil Gordon
  9. Frank Warren
  10. Ben Arnold
  11. Elmo Langley
  12. Ron Keselowski
  13. Raymond Williams
  14. Jabe Thomas
  15. Walter Ballard
  16. Jim Paschal*
  17. Dean Dalton
  18. Fred Lorenzen*
  19. Richard Petty*
  20. James Hylton
  21. Joe Frasson*
  22. Wendell Scott*
  23. Bobby Isaac*
  24. John Sears*
  25. David Pearson*
  26. Bill Champion*
  27. Clarence Lovell*
  28. Coo Coo Marlin*
  29. Ken Rush*
  30. Richard D. Brown*
  31. Dave Marcis*
  32. Jackie Oliver*
  33. J.D. McDuffie*
  34. Donnie Allison*
  35. Neil Castles*
  36. Dick Brooks*
  37. Wayne Smith*
  38. David Ray Boggs*
  39. G.C. Spencer*
  40. Jim Vandiver*

* Driver failed to finish race

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "1972 World 600 information". Racing Reference. http://racing-reference.info/race/1972_World_600/W. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1972 World 600 information (second reference)". Stat Sheet. http://statsheet.com/nascar/races/1972-05-28-world-600. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1972 World 600 information (third reference)". Ultimate Racing History. http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=9558. Retrieved 2011-02-26. 
  4. ^ a b "1972 South Carolina "Blue Laws"". Legends of NASCAR. http://www.legendsofnascar.com/Jim_Paschal.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  5. ^ a b "Jackie Oliver information". Racing Reference. http://racing-reference.info/driver/Jackie_Oliver. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
Preceded by
1972 Winston 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1972		 Succeeded by
1972 Mason-Dixon 500