1974 Winston 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Talladega Superspeedway | |||
| Date | May 5, 1974 | ||
| Official name | Winston 500 | ||
| Location | Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.660 mi (4.280 km) | ||
| Distance | 170 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 82.9 °F (28.3 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 130.220 miles per hour (209.569 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 58 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
The 1974 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on May 5, 1974, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.
David Pearson acquired one of his superspeedway victories for the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season at this event.[2] Tickets at this event sold at an average price of $10 ($61.78 when adjusted for inflation). The green flag was waved at 1:00 PM, the checkered flag was waved at 4:28 PM.
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the 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.[3]
Race report
Due to a fuel crisis, the first 18 laps of the event were not scored. Engine problems caused most of the drivers not to finish the race.[4] Jerry Schild made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut in this event; starting in 37th and finishing 40th. David Pearson defeated Benny Parsons by 0.2 seconds after racing for 210 minutes. Sixty of these 170 laps were raced under yellow; half of the yellow flag laps were due to rain. A crowd of forty thousand would see the lead change 53 times. Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles would dominate the race's grid while Fords led the most laps.[4] Iggy Katona would leave the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as a driver after this event.
Grant Adcox qualified for the event. With a hundred laps in the books, a caution came out as Donnie Allison's clutch burned out and David Sisco's motor went up in smoke. Gary Bettenhausen, who had pitted a lap after the leaders, and was up on jacks as young Adcox came down for service. Adcox's car hit an oil and water patch and slammed straight into the Bettenhausen Matador, causing catch can man Don Miller to be crushed between the cars. A young crew member of the Nord Krauskopf team who was pitted nearby, Buddy Parrott, came rushing down to help, while Penske crewmembers John Woodward and John Watson were also injured. Miller was taken to the hospital and eventually had his right leg amputated. Learning of the extent of Miller's injuries, an upset Adcox withdrew from the event.
Richard Petty was slow in qualifying; starting in 24th place.[4] Petty and Yarborough had brought out their big block engines thinking that the reliability would pay off, but Pearson running a 351 Cleveland held on for the win. Both of the Allisons ran the small-block Chevrolets but they didn't hold up as well as the Fords.
This was Charlie Roberts' last race as an owner.[4] He owned Neil Bonnett's car in this race.[4]
The entire prize purse of this race was $144,280 ($891,382 when adjusted for inflation); with the winner receiving $20,785 ($128,413 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher received $1,175 ($7,259 when adjusted for inflation). A 1973 Mercury Montego would become the winning vehicle at this race. David Pearson would earn the pole position at 186.086 miles per hour (299.476 km/h) during qualifying.[5] it was the slowest Talladega Cup pole speed until Jeremy Mayfield's pole speed at the 2000 DieHard 500.[6]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[4] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 21 | David Pearson | '73 Mercury | 188 | 58 | 3:28:09 |
| 2 | 11 | 72 | Benny Parsons | '74 Chevrolet | 188 | 9 | +0.17 seconds |
| 3 | 24 | 43 | Richard Petty | '74 Dodge | 188 | 0 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 4 | 19 | 90 | Charlie Glotzbach | '72 Ford | 188 | 1 | Lead lap under green flag |
| 5 | 26 | 54 | Lennie Pond | '74 Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | +1 lap |
| 6 | 22 | 2 | Dave Marcis | '73 Dodge | 187 | 0 | +1 lap |
| 7 | 13 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | '73 Chevrolet | 187 | 7 | +1 lap |
| 8 | 9 | 28 | Sam McQuagg | '74 Chevrolet | 187 | 1 | +1 lap |
| 9 | 5 | 11 | Cale Yarborough | '74 Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | +1 lap |
| 10 | 48 | 57 | Bob Burcham | '74 Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | +1 lap |
Failed to qualify
Section reference: [4]
| Name | Number | Car manufactuer |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Champion | 10 | Ford |
| Jimmy Crawford | 22 | Plymouth |
| Robert Brown | 58 | Chevrolet |
| Ramo Stott | 83 | Chevrolet |
| Darrell Waltrip | 95 | Chevrolet |
References
- ^ Weather information for the 1974 Winston 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- ^ 40 years of Talladega -- Birmingham News special report at AL.com
- ^ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g 1974 Winston 500 at Racing Reference
- ^ 1974 Winston 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
- ^ Pole speed comparions: 1974 vs 2000 at ESPN.com