1973 Capital City 500
Race details[1][2] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 23 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
Date | September 9, 1973 | ||
Official name | Capital City 500 | ||
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 reaching up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) | ||
Average speed | 63.215 miles per hour (101.735 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Bobby Allison Motorsports | ||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
Laps | 429 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | untelevised | ||
Announcers | none |
The 1973 Capital City 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing event that took place on September 9, 1973, at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway (now Richmond International Raceway) in Richmond, Virginia.
The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power any more.
Summary
Richard Petty defeated Cale Yarborough by at least two laps in front of 18000 live spectators.[2][3][4] It took four hours and thirteen minutes to finish the 500-lap race with the track spanning exactly 0.542 miles (0.872 km).[2] Petty had won six other races at this track before extending his lucky streak to 7 at the end of this event.
Bobby Allison acquired the pole position with a qualifying speed of 90.245 miles per hour (145.235 km/h) while the average race speed was 63.215 miles per hour (101.735 km/h).[2] Five cautions were given out for 123 laps in this racing event.[2] Baxter Price received the last-place finish due to a crash on lap that also took out nine other guys that were starting lap 4.[2][4] Out of the 34 races on the grid, 33 were born in the United States while Vic Parsons was born in Canada.[2] J.D. McDuffie and Darrell Waltrip were also two notable figures that participated in this race.[2][3][4] The future owner of Richard Childress Racing (Richard Childress) would also make a racing appearance here.[2][3][4]
There were threatening skies from the green flag; causing most of the race to be done under the yellow flag. No attempt was made to postpone the race or to call it "official." A record amount of 86 laps were done under caution until the skies became blue again. Besides the weather, a red flag also held up the race for 70 minutes as Price and Bill Champion had to go to the hospital for their respective injuries.
Top ten finishers
- Richard Petty – #43
- Cale Yarborough – #11
- Bobby Allison – #12
- Benny Parsons – #72
- Buddy Arrington – #67
- Walter Ballard – #30
- Cecil Gordon – #24
- James Hylton – #48
- Henley Gray – #19
- Raymond Williams – #47
Timeline
- Start of race: Bobby Allison had the pole position to start the event
- Lap 51: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Lap 64: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 66: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- Lap 83: Richard Petty took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
- Lap 179: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 181: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison
- End of race: Richard Petty won the race
References
- ^ "1973 Capital City 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "1973 Capital City 500 race information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ^ a b c "1973 Capital City 500 race information (second reference)". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
- ^ a b c d "1973 Capital City 500 race information (third reference)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2011-04-06.