1972 Old Dominion 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway | |||
| Date | September 24, 1972 | ||
| Location | Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, Virginia) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 0.525 mi (0.844 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 69.989 miles per hour (112.636 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Laps | 432 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 |
Richard Petty |
Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1972 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on September 24, 1972, at Martinsville Speedway in the American community of Martinsville, Virginia.[2]
Summary
Five hundred laps were done on a paved track spanning 0.525 miles (0.845 km) in a time of three hours and forty-five minutes.[2] Richard Petty would defeat Bobby Allison by a time of six seconds in front of 31,000 live audience members.[2] Exactly ten minutes from the race along with a flyover by the local military jets were used in the 1973 American film The Last American Hero. While Richard Petty and Bobby Allison got filmed most of the time, a moment involving Ray Hendrick's #2 vehicle crashing on lap 311 was also a notable event during the filming.
Allison would earn the pole position with a speed of 85.89 miles per hour (138.23 km/h).[2] The average speed of the race, however, would be a mere 69.989 miles per hour (112.636 km/h).[2] Eight cautions were given out for 58 laps in the entire race.[2] All thirty-six of the qualifying drivers on the grid were male and born somewhere in the United States of America.[2] Originally, 56 drivers auditioned for this race; including Joe Frasson, who was one of the ones who failed to qualify. Bill Shirey would be the unfortunate last-place finisher due to an overheating issue on lap 19.[2] LeeRoy Yarbrough and Fred Lorenzen would retire from NASCAR after this race.[3]
Richard Petty would go on to win the championship shortly after this race was over while Bobby Allison would find a new employer named Ralph Moody for the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[4] The total purse of this racing event was $46,650 ($263,013.96 when considering inflation); the first-place finisher received $7,350 ($41,439.5 when considering inflation) while the last-place finisher received $425 ($2,396.16 when considering inflation).[5]
Top twenty finishers
- Richard Petty
- Bobby Allison
- David Pearson
- Buddy Baker
- Jimmy Hensley
- Benny Parsons
- Buddy Arrington
- James Hylton
- Elmo Langley
- Cecil Gordon
- Coo Coo Marlin
- Bill Champion
- Raymond Williams
- J.D. McDuffie
- John Sears
- Ben Arnold
- Neil Castles
- Ed Negre
- Charlie Roberts
- Walter Ballard
References
- ↑ "1972 Old Dominion 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "1972 Old Dominion 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ↑ "1972 Old Dominion 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ↑ "Results of the Petty/Allison battle". World Motorsports 101. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
- ↑ "1972 Old Dominion 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-10-30.
| Preceded by 1972 Delaware 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1972 |
Succeeded by 1972 Wilkes 400 |