1976 Los Angeles Times 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 30 in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Official racing program of the 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 | |||
| Date | November 21, 1976 | ||
| Official name | Los Angeles Times 500 | ||
| Location | Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures reaching a high of 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 137.101 miles per hour (220.643 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers | |
| Laps | 121 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers |
Ken Squier Lee Petty | ||
The 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 21, 1976, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.[2][3] Each copy of the souvenir magazine was an inexpensive $2 USD per copy ($10.71 when adjusted for inflation).
The five drivers that dominated the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season were David Pearson (average finish of 7th place), Cale Yarborough (average finish of 8th place), Richard Petty (average finish of 9th place), Benny Parsons (average finish of 10th place) and Bobby Allison (average finish 12th place).
Summary
There were 40 drivers on the racing grid;[3][4] 39 of them were born in the United States of America while Roy Smith was born in Canada.[2] Darrell Waltrip would earn the last-place finish of the race due to an engine issue on lap 10 out of 200.[2][3][4] A grand total of $155,639 was handed out after this race was over ($833,351.28 in when adjusted for inflation); Pearson received a handsome $27,715 ($148,396.81 when adjusted for inflation) while Waltrip walked away only $3,660 wealthier ($19,597.05 when adjusted for inflation).[4]
David Pearson managed to defeat Lennie Pond by at least one lap in front of 44,702 people.[2][3] There were four lead changes and two cautions for 19 laps in this three-hour-and-thirty-eight-minute race.[2][3][4][5] Pearson would earn the pole position with a top speed of 153.964 miles per hour (247.781 km/h) while the average speed of the race would only be 137.101 miles per hour (220.643 km/h).[2][3][4]
Former IndyCar driver Mike Hiss would make his only NASCAR start here. This race helped to revitalize the state of California (and the spirit of American motorsports) after the 1976 swine flu outbreak ended. What started out as a strain of the H1N1 influenza virus found inside Fort Dix[6] resulted in mass immunization even as far away as California. Since the previous race at Ontario Motor Speedway took place the year prior to the influenza outbreak, none of the drivers were affected by the illness.
Qualifying
| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury |
| 2 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Dodge |
| 3 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet |
| 4 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford |
| 5 | 2 | Bobby Allison | Mercury |
| 6 | 88 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet |
| 7 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge |
| 8 | 28 | Donnie Allison | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet |
| 10 | 67 | Sonny Easley | Ford |
| 11 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Ford |
| 13 | 01 | Chuck Bown | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 81 | Terry Ryan | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 50 | Terry Bivins | Chevrolet |
Failed to qualify: Bill Osborne (#94), Hugh Pearson (#76), Buddy Arrington (#67), Tom Williams (#52), Don Graham (#52), Jimmy Means (#52), Travis Tiller (#46), Gary Johnson (#44), Marty Robbins (#42), John Weibel (#80), Sumner McKnight (#82), Jack Simpson (#53), Perry Cottingham (#99), Jerry Barnett (#99), Harry Jefferson (#95), Norm Palmer (#93), Chris Monoleos (#92), Don Reynolds (#89), Dick Whalen (#86), Ernie Stierly (#41), Terry Wood (#39), Arlene Hiss (#38), Coo Coo Marlin (#14), Leon Fox (#10), Eddie Bradshaw (#09), Dean Dalton (#7), Doc Faustina (#5), Ross Kusah (#4), Richard White (#2), Earle Canavan (#01), Dennis Wilson (#16), John Dineen (#18), Bruce Jacobi (#37), Chuck Wahl (#37), Ray Elder (#32), Walter Ballard (#30), Sue Williams (#25), Bryce Mann (#24), John Hamson (#22), Ron Esau (#20) and Steve Pfeifer (#0).[7]
Top ten finishers
- David Pearson (No. 21)
- Lennie Pond (No. 54), 1 lap behind
- Benny Parsons (No. 72), 2 laps behind
- Dick Brooks (No. 90), 2 laps behind
- James Hylton (No. 48), 4 laps behind
- Bobby Wawak (No. 36), 4 laps behind
- Terry Bivins (No. 50), 6 laps behind
- Skip Manning (No. 92), 8 laps behind
- Terry Ryan (No. 81), 8 laps behind
- Bruce Hill (No. 47), 8 laps behind
Timeline
Section reference: [2]
- Start of race: David Pearson started the race but Cale Yarborough quickly overtook him
- Lap 10: Darrell Waltrip managed to blow his engine while racing
- Lap 12: Buddy Baker managed to wreck his vehicle's transmission
- Lap 23: Roy Smith managed to blow an engine while racing
- Lap 24: Richard Petty took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
- Lap 35: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Richard Petty
- Lap 48: Henley Gray suffered through some transmission issues with forced him out of the race
- Lap 54: Richard Childress managed to overheat his vehicle
- Lap 80: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
- Lap 111: Carl Joiner, Jr. had a terminal crash, forcing him to exit the race
- Lap 168: Cale Yarborough had troubles dealing with his vehicle's clutch
- Lap 171: The battery inside Jimmy Insolo's vehicle no longer worked properly
- Lap 177: Janet Guthrie experiences problems with her vehicle's hub
- Lap 178: Chuck Bown managed to blow an engine while racing
- Finish: Cale Yarborough was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1 
|
Cale Yarborough | 4644 | 0 |
| 2
|
Richard Petty | 4449 | -195 |
| 3
|
Benny Parsons | 4304 | -340 |
| 4
|
Bobby Allison | 4097 | -547 |
5 
|
Lennie Pond | 3930 | -714 |
6 
|
Dave Marcis | 3785 | -769 |
| 7
|
Buddy Baker | 3745 | -899 |
| 8
|
Darrell Waltrip | 3505 | -1139 |
| 9
|
David Pearson | 3483 | -1161 |
| 10
|
Dick Brooks | 3447 | -1197 |
References
- ^ "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ a b c d e f "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ a b c d e "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 racing information". Decades of Racing. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
- ^ Gaydos JC, Top FH, Hodder RA, Russell PK (January 2006). "Swine influenza a outbreak, Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1976". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 12 (1): 23–8. doi:10.3201/eid1201.050965. PMID 16494712. Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "1976 Los Angeles Times 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-08.