1977 Talladega 500

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1977 Talladega 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 19 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date August 7, 1977 (1977-August-07)
Official name Talladega 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Temperatures of 100.9 °F (38.3 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 162.524 miles per hour (261.557 km/h)
Attendance 65,000[4]
Pole position
Driver
DeWitt Racing
Time 49.698 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Donnie Allison
Ellington Racing
Laps 92
Winner
No. 1 Donnie Allison Ellington Racing
Television in the United States
Network
 CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Lee Petty

The 1977 Talladega 500 was a

Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 7, 1977, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama
.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a

Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.[5]

Race report

Hank Williams, Jr. served as the honorary starter of this race; joining a list of celebrities that came before and after him like Bart Starr and Will Ferrell.[6]

Notable crew chiefs for this race included Tex Powell, Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Inman, Harry Hyde, and Tim Brewer.[7]

The race covered 188 laps on the paved oval spanning 2.66 miles (4.28 km) on a very hot weekend,[2] and it was completed in three hours and four minutes with the lead changing hands 49 times among ten drivers.[4] Donnie Allison (who would lead 92 laps overall) needed relief after drinking a soda during a pitstop and falling ill soon after. Darrell Waltrip relieved Allison and defeated Cale Yarborough by less than a lap under the caution flag; Yarborough had only the high gear remaining his vehicle.[2][3][4] Cale Yarborough would re-take the points lead after this race while a NASCAR acolyte named Steve Moore would make his defining moment of his entire career by finishing 19th after qualifying in 40th place.[2][3][4]

Speeds were: 162.524 miles per hour (261.557 km/h) for the winner's speed and 192.684 miles per hour (310.095 km/h) for the pole position speed.[4] Sixty-five thousand people would attended. The race ended under a yellow flag.[4]

Benny Parsons and Donnie Allison battled for the lead early; it changed twenty times.[4] David Sisco allowed Bruce Hill to take over his car when he learned that his mother had been struck by a camper in the infield.[4] The race continued under mainly green flag conditions, with engine failures taking out most of the competition.[4]

Skip Manning would lead the only 13 laps in his Winston Cup Series career at this race.[4] This was the only Talladega race without Dave Marcis entering until his retirement in 2002.[4]

Most of the entries were Chevrolets.[2][4] There were 39 males and one female participant (Ms. Janet Guthrie).[2][3][4] Ms. Guthrie suffered an engine problem[2][3] on lap 61 and did not finish the race.[4] Country music star Marty Robbins did not qualify in his own vehicle; Freddy Fryar did that for him.[8]

Qualifying

Grid[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt
2 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet Hoss Ellington
3 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet M.C. Anderson
4 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet Junior Johnson
5 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet Richard Childress
6 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet Billy Hagan
7 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet DiGard
8 47 Bruce Hill Chevrolet Bruce Hill
9 68 Janet Guthrie Chevrolet Lynda Ferreri
10 14 Coo Coo Marlin Chevrolet H.B. Cunningham

Finishing order

Section reference:[4]

  1. Donnie Allison
  2. Cale Yarborough
  3. Skip Manning
  4. Ricky Rudd
  5. Lennie Pond
  6. Buddy Baker†
  7. Bobby Allison
  8. J.D. McDuffie
    †
  9. James Hylton†
  10. Frank Warren
  11. Richard Petty
  12. Buddy Arrington
  13. Harold Miller
  14. Tommy Gale†
  15. Grant Adcox*†
  16. Cecil Gordon†
  17. Dick May*†
  18. D.K. Ulrich
  19. Steve Moore*
  20. Richard Childress*
  21. Johnny Rutherford*
  22. Darrell Waltrip*
  23. Bill Elliott*
  24. Benny Parsons*†
  25. Neil Bonnett*†
  26. Sam Sommers*
  27. Tighe Scott*
  28. David Sisco*
  29. Butch Hartman*†
  30. Jim Raptis*
  31. G.C. Spencer
    *†
  32. Joe Mihalic*
  33. Peter Knab*
  34. Janet Guthrie*
  35. Bruce Hill*
  36. Jimmy Means*
  37. David Pearson*
  38. Marty Robbins*† (his engine froze during a pit stop[9])
  39. Dick Brooks*†
  40. Coo Coo Marlin*†

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

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[4] Differential
1 Increase Cale Yarborough 3125 0
2 Decrease Richard Petty 3093 -32
3 Benny Parsons 2819 -306
4 Darrell Waltrip 2772 -353
5 Buddy Baker 2583 -542
6 Dick Brooks 2348 -777
7 Cecil Gordon 2251 -874
8 Increase Bobby Allison 2181 -944
9 Decrease Richard Childress 2153 -972
10 James Hylton 2104 -1021

References

  1. ^ "1977 Talladega 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "1977 Talladega 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  3. ^ a b c d e "1977 Talladega 500 information (third reference)". Everything Stock Car. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "1977 Talladega 500 information (fourth reference)". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  5. ^ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  6. ^ "1977 Talladega 500 honorary starter information". Talladega Superspeedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  7. ^ "1977 Talladega 500 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  8. ^ "Quirky fact about NASCAR driver Marty Robbins". MartyRobbins.net. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  9. ^ "Marty Robbins' engine information". Cottonowens.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Talladega 500 races
1977 		Succeeded by
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