1973 National 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 27 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Map of Charlotte Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | October 7, 1973 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi (2.414 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 145.240 miles per hour (233.741 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Cale Yarborough | Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Laps | 257 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 |
Cale Yarborough |
Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1973 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 7, 1973, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the American community of Concord, North Carolina.[2][3]
Summary
334 laps took place on a paved track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km) with two cautions given out for sixteen laps.[2][3] However, the race took three hours and twenty-six minutes to finish with Cale Yarborough defeating Richard Petty by a time of 1.4 seconds.[2][3] Yarborough and Petty would lap the field three times before retrieving the checkered flag.[4] David Pearson won the official pole position with a speed of 158.315 miles per hour (254.783 km/h) - which was equivalent to 34.109 seconds.[2][3] Sixty-four thousand people attended this live racing event.[2][3]
Harry Gant would make his racing debut here; ultimately finishing in 11th place.[2][3] Dick Trickle also made his debut here, finishing an impressive fifth. Wendell Scott would retire after this race; making a 12th place finish in this event.[2][3] Buddy Baker would become the last-place finisher here due to a disqualification on lap 228.[2][3] What made this race extra important to drivers was that $100 was given out for every lap that a driver led ($531.26 when adjusted for inflation). Yarborough and Petty were said to have engines in their cars that exceeded the horsepower permitted by NASCAR during that era. Bobby Allison filed a complaint with Bill France, Jr. which resulted in a 6-hour meeting and "satisfactory restitution."
Wind speeds at this race would reach an average of 6.9 miles per hour (11.1 km/h).[1] There were no signs of precipation from midnight on October 7 to midnight on October 8.[1]
Top twenty finishers
Timeline
- Start of race: David Pearson started the race with the pole position
- Lap 5: Wayne Andrews' engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 13: G.C. Spencer's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 46: A terminal crash involving David Pearson, Charlie Glotzbach and Darrell Waltrip forced them to exit the race early
- Lap 47: Frank Warren's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 49: Dick Brooks' engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 58: Raymond Williams would develop problems with his steering; forcing him out of the race
- Lap 61: Donnie Allison's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 64: Neil Castles developed problems with his vehicle's suspension; ending his day on the track
- Lap 223: Dave Marcis' engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 230: Walter Ballard's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 233-313: Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough would jointly share the race lead until Yarborough powered through on lap 313
- Lap 264: Joe Frasson's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 281: Eddie Bond's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 282: Coo Coo Marlin's engine problem forced him out of the race
- Lap 284: Richard Childress' engine problem forced him out of the race
- End of race: Cale Yarborough won the race
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "1973 National 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "1973 National 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "1973 National 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
- ↑ "Yarborough's and Petty's struggle for the flag". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
| Preceded by 1973 Old Dominion 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1973 |
Succeeded by 1973 American 500 |
| Preceded by 1972 |
National 500 races 1973 |
Succeeded by 1974 |