1973 Richmond 500

1973 Richmond 500
Race details
Race 3 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date February 25, 1973 (1973-February-25)
Location Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (Richmond, Virginia)
Course Permanent racing facility
0.542 mi (0.872 km)
Distance 500 laps, 271 mi (436 km)
Weather Temperatures ranging between 26.1 °F (−3.3 °C) and 57.9 °F (14.4 °C)[1]
Avg Speed 74.764 miles per hour (120.321 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Bobby Allison Bobby Allison
Time 21.453 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 227
Winner
475
 Richard Petty
 Petty Enterprises
Television
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1973 Richmond 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) racing event that took place on February 25, 1973 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (now Richmond International Raceway) in the American community of Richmond, Virginia.[2][3]

Five hundred laps took place on a paved oval track spanning .542 miles (0.872 km) for a grand total of 271.0 miles (436.1 km).[2][3][4] It took three hours and thirty-seven minutes for the race to reach its full conclusion in front of eighteen thousand audience members.[2][3][4] Richard Petty defeated Buddy Baker by 13.6 seconds.[2][4] Eight cautions were given for seventy-eight laps.[2][3][4] The other drivers in the top ten were: Cale Yarborough, Bobby Isaac, Dave Marcis, Bill Dennis, Lennie Pond, Cecil Gordon, James Hylton, and Benny Parsons.[2][3][4] Notable speeds were: 74.764 miles per hour (120.321 km/h) as the average speed[4] and 90.952 miles per hour (146.373 km/h) as the pole position speed.[2] Canadian driver Vic Parsons started in 27th place and ended the race in 30th place (out of 30 drivers).[2][3][4]

Total winnings for this race were $35,600 ($175,940.5 in today's money).[3][5][4]

Finishing order

  1. Richard Petty
  2. Buddy Baker
  3. Cale Yarborough
  4. Bobby Isaac†
  5. Dave Marcis
  6. Bill Dennis
  7. Lennie Pond
  8. Cecil Gordon
  9. James Hylton
  10. Benny Parsons†
  11. Walter Ballard
  12. Elmo Langley†
  13. Jabe Thomas
  14. Bill Champion
  15. Bobby Allison
  16. Henley Gray
  17. Buddy Arrington
  18. Charlie Roberts
  19. John Sears†
  20. Richard D. Brown*
  21. Sonny Hutchins*†
  22. Frank Warren*†
  23. Tiny Lund*†
  24. Neil Castles*
  25. Donnie Allison*
  26. Ray Hendrick*†
  27. Dean Dalton*
  28. David Sisco*
  29. J.D. McDuffie*†
  30. Vic Parsons*

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Preceded by
1973 Daytona 500		 Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960-1984		 Succeeded by
1973 Gwyn Staley 400

References

  1. ^ "1973 Richmond 500 weather information". Almanac. http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/zipcode/23227/1973-02-25. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "1973 Richmond 500 information". Racing Reference. http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1973-03/W. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1973 Richmond 500 information (third reference)". Ultimate Racing History. http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=9604. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "1973 Richmond 500 information (fourth reference)". Race Database. http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1973&race=3&series_id=2. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
  5. ^ "1973 Richmond 500 information (second reference)". Stat Sheet. http://statsheet.com/nascar/races/1973-02-25-richmond-500. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
Richard Petty's Milestone Wins
Win number/TV network coverage
Petty's 25th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 50th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 75th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 100th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 125th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 150th Win (untelevised) • Petty's 200th Win (ABC)