1974 Southern 500

1974 Southern 500

Race details
Race 23 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Darlington Raceway
Date	September 2, 1974 (1974-September-02)
Official name	Southern 500
Location	Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.375 mi (2.212 km)
Distance	367 laps, 500.5 mi (805.4 km)
Weather	Extremely hot with temperatures reaching 91.9 °F (33.3 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed	111.075 miles per hour (178.758 km/h)
Attendance	65,000
Pole position
Driver	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Time	32.755 seconds
Most laps led
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	159
Winner
No. 11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network	n/a
Announcers	n/a

The 1974 Southern 500, the 25th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event on September 2, 1974, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

Jerry Schild would make his only "top-ten" finish at this event. The 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was dominated by three drivers: Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson.

Had David Sisco had finished below third place at this event, his career would have been shortened due to financial reasons.

Background

Layout of Darlington Raceway, the track where the race was held.

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 miles (2.198 km) oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.

Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black. Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car.

Summary

A crowd of 65,000 people would see a race lasting four hours and thirty minutes. There were eleven cautions for 101 laps; which has become the longest duration under the yellow flag in Darlington Raceway history. The race itself lasted for 367 laps on a paved track spanning 1.366 miles per hour (2.198 km/h) in distance. Richard Petty was the pole winner at a speed of 150.132 miles per hour (241.614 km/h). There were 39 American and one Canadian competitor in the race; Earl Ross. Roy Mayne and Jerry Hansen would make their respective exits from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.

Bobby Allison climbed into the #24 Cecil Gordon car for a short period of time; falling out early and substituted for Gordon until his car fell out also. Allison did the smart thing, as the oil pressure was running dangerously low due to the hot air temperatures and the worn, single stage external oil pump. He did not want to blow the engine and possibly crash Cecil's only car.

Only twelve vehicles finished the race; Cale Yarborough defeated Darrell Waltrip by one lap. Yarborough became a three-time Southern 500 winner.

Last-place finisher Earl Brooks had a water pump issue on the first lap of the race, earning $1,100 ($6,795.95 when adjusted for inflation) while the race winner went home $28,000 richer ($172,987.85 when adjusted for inflation). Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles were the mainstay of the racing lineup; with racing models varying from 1972 to 1974. The average speed of the race was 111.075 miles per hour (178.758 km/h); with speeds improving measurably since the 1964 Southern 500. Not counting bonus money, this race counted as $15,000 to win and $10,000 for second. Petty had about $200,000 in season winnings and Cale was closer to accumulating $175,000 in his 1974 NASCAR season.

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, Bud Moore among others.

A lot of veterans might do well to take driving lessons from teen-aged Jerry Schild.

— Cale Yarborough

Thirteen of the 40 drivers on the starting grid would see their race end prematurely due to engine failures. Eight crashes were recorded by NASCAR; making a good portion of the starting grid not to finish the race. The total prize purse for this event was $132,435 ($818,201.66 when adjusted for inflation). While the 1974 Southern 500 had the fourth richest prize purse in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, the traditional Southern 500 started to lose the prestige and appeal with the younger drivers and NASCAR officials in the 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.

Qualifying

Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Speed	Qualifying time	Owner
1	43	Richard Petty	'74 Dodge	150.132	32.755	Petty Enterprises
2	15	Buddy Baker	'73 Ford	150.096	32.763	Bud Moore
3	21	David Pearson	'73 Mercury	149.552	32.882	Wood Brothers
4	11	Cale Yarborough	'74 Chevrolet	148.991	33.006	Junior Johnson
5	12	Bobby Allison	'74 AMC Matador	148.842	33.039	Roger Penske
6	95	Darrell Waltrip	'74 Chevrolet	148.388	33.140	Darrell Waltrip
7	90	Charlie Glotzbach	'72 Ford	148.071	33.211	Junie Donlavey
8	72	Benny Parsons	'74 Chevrolet	147.312	33.382	L.G. DeWitt
9	83	Ramo Stott	'74 Chevrolet	146.469	33.574	Norris Reed
10	52	Earl Ross	'74 Chevrolet	146.052	33.670	Junior Johnson

Failed to qualify: Rick Newsom (#20)
Withdrew from race: Dick Skillen (#78)

Top ten finishers

Pos	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Money	Laps	Laps led	Time/Status
1	4	11	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	$28,000	367	159	4:30:48
2	6	95	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	$11,000	366	44	+1 lap
3	21	05	David Sisco	Chevrolet	$7,575	365	24	+2 laps
4	14	2	Dave Marcis	Dodge	$5,850	362	0	+5 laps
5	31	48	James Hylton	Chevrolet	$4,650	360	2	+7 laps
6	12	49	G.C. Spencer	Dodge	$3,750	358	3	+9 laps
7	13	93	Jackie Rogers	Chevrolet	$3,025	358	0	+9 laps
8	26	07	Jerry Schild	Chevrolet	$3,100	354	0	+13 laps
9	16	18	Joe Frasson	Dodge	$2,850	353	0	+14 laps
10	38	67	Pee Wee Wentz	Plymouth	$2,500	342	0	+25 laps