1974 American 500
Race details[1] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 29 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
Date | October 20, 1974 | ||
Official name | American 500 | ||
Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km) | ||
Distance | 492 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
Weather | Chilly with temperatures of 66.9 °F (19.4 °C); wind speeds of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 118.493 mph (190.696 km/h) | ||
Attendance | 35,000[2] | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Cale Yarborough | Junior Johnson & Associates | |
Laps | 231 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 21 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | untelevised | ||
Announcers | none |
The 1974 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 20, 1974, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina.
Background
North Carolina Motor Speedway was the project of
The speedway was built as a one-mile oval with flat turns. North Carolina Motor Speedway opened on October 31, 1965, holding its first race on the same day. The American 500
The speedway held two
Race report
There were 36 drivers who competed in this 492-lap racing event. All except for Canadian native Earl Ross were born and bred in the United States of America.[2]
A faulty vehicular water pump ended Ed Negre's day on lap 240 while terminal vehicle damage on lap 317 would end Richie Panch's race weekend. David Sisco noticed that his vehicle's suspension was giving him problems on lap 357; forcing him to accept a 26th-place finish.[2]
The model years of the vehicles ranged from 1972 to 1974; with most of the field driving Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles.[2]
After four hours and thirteen minutes of racing, David Pearson would defeat Cale Yarborough by slightly more than two seconds in front of an eager audience of 35,000 NASCAR followers. While Richard Petty, Buddy Baker and David Pearson would dominate the opening laps of this event, the final laps would become a "Cale Yarborough and David Pearson show." The average speed of the vehicles in this racing event was 118.493 miles per hour (190.696 km/h) while Richard Petty would metaphorically scorch the track with his solo qualifying speed of 135.297 miles per hour (217.739 km/h).[2]
Individual earnings for each driver ranged for the winner's share of $16,350 ($101,013 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $550 ($3,398 when adjusted for inflation). NASCAR officials permitted the handover of $99,465 for all the qualifying drivers of this racing event ($614,508 when adjusted for inflation).[6]
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
Qualifying
Grid[2] | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Owner |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 43 | Richard Petty | '74 Dodge | Petty Enterprises |
2 | 15 | Buddy Baker | '74 Ford | Bud Moore |
3 | 21 | David Pearson | '73 Mercury | Wood Brothers |
4 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | '74 Chevrolet | Junior Johnson |
5 | 28 | Dick Brooks | '74 Chevrolet | Dick Brooks |
6 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '74 AMC Matador | Roger Penske |
7 | 52 | Earl Ross | '74 Chevrolet | Junior Johnson |
8 | 88 | Donnie Allison | '74 Chevrolet | DiGard Racing |
9 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | '72 Chevrolet | Darrell Waltrip |
10 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '74 Chevrolet | L.G. DeWitt |
11 | 71 | Dave Marcis | '74 Dodge | Nord Krauskopf |
12 | 98 | Richie Panch | '72 Chevrolet | Roy Thornley |
13 | 54 | Lennie Pond | '74 Chevrolet | Ronnie Elder |
14 | 90 | Jody Ridley | '72 Ford | Junie Donlavey |
15 | 97 | Harry Jefferson | '72 Ford | George Jefferson |
16 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | '73 Chevrolet | Cecil Gordon |
17 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | '73 Chevrolet | H.B. Cunningham |
18 | 07 | Jerry Schild | '72 Chevrolet | Rush Johnson |
19 | 96 | Richard Childress | '73 Chevrolet | Tom Garn |
20 | 30 | Walter Ballard | '74 Chevrolet | Vic Ballard |
21 | 93 | Jackie Rogers | '74 Chevrolet | Ray Frederick |
22 | 05 | David Sisco | '74 Chevrolet | David Sisco |
23 | 2 | Dick Trickle | '73 Mercury | Dave Marcis |
24 | 19 | Bob Burcham | '73 Chevrolet | Henley Gray |
25 | 49 | G.C. Spencer | '74 Dodge | G.C. Spencer |
Top 10 finishers
Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Time/Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | 492 | 169 | 4:13:21 |
2 | 4 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet | 492 | 231 | +2.2 seconds |
3 | 1 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | 490 | 79 | +2 laps |
4 | 6 | 12 | Bobby Allison | AMC Matador | 487 | 1 | +6 laps |
5 | 9 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | 487 | 0 | +6 laps |
6 | 8 | 88 | Donnie Allison | Chevrolet | 486 | 0 | +7 laps |
7 | 23 | 2 | Dick Trickle | Mercury | 483 | 0 | +10 laps |
8 | 7 | 52 | Earl Ross | Chevrolet | 482 | 0 | +11 laps |
9 | 10 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 479 | 0 | +14 laps |
10 | 21 | 93 | Jackie Rogers | Chevrolet | 479 | 0 | +14 laps |
References
- ^ Weather information for the 1974 American 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ a b c d e f g h 1974 American 500 racing information at Racing Reference
- ^ "1965 American 500". Racing-Reference.info. 1965-10-31. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ "Race Results at Rockingham Speedway". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ Prize winnings information for the 1974 American 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet