1973 National 500

1973 National 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 27 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Map of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date October 7, 1973 (1973-October-07)
Official name National 500
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course 1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures approaching 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed 145.240 miles per hour (233.741 km/h)
Attendance 64,000[3]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Howard & Egerton Racing
Laps 257
Winner
No. 11 Cale Yarborough Howard & Egerton Racing
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Ken Squier, Marvin Panch
Turn Announcers Hill Overton, Barney Hall

The 1973 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 7, 1973, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the American community of Concord, North Carolina.

Qualifying

The first driver to qualify for pole, Charlie Glotzbach, was found in a post qualifying inspection to have modified his restrictor plate in an illegal fashion. Glotsbach's team was fined $500 and the $1,000 pole bonus he was to receive was rescinded. Glotsbach was forced to re-qualify after changes were made to the car to make it legal, and qualified 34th. Pole was then awarded to David Pearson, who had qualified second.

Dean Dalton, whose performance on Saturday did not qualify him for the race, was allowed into the race 41st on the grid, because of the above.[4]

Summary

334 laps took place on a paved track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km) with two cautions given out for sixteen laps.[3][2] However, the race took three hours and twenty-six minutes to finish with Cale Yarborough defeating Richard Petty by a time of 1.4 seconds.[3][2] Yarborough and Petty would lap the field three times before retrieving the checkered flag.[5] David Pearson won the official pole position with a speed of 158.315 miles per hour (254.783 km/h) - which was equivalent to 34.109 seconds.[3][2] Sixty-four thousand people attended this live racing event.[3][2]

Harry Gant would make his racing debut here; ultimately finishing in 11th place.[3][2] Dick Trickle also made his debut here, finishing an impressive fifth. Wendell Scott would retire after this race; making a 12th-place finish in this event.[3][2]

Buddy Baker retired his car on lap 228, and team owner Nord Krauskopf refused to allow NASCAR to inspect the car after this was done. NASCAR disqualified the team, and therefore, Buddy Baker officially finished 41st.[3][2][6]

What made this race extra important to drivers was that $100 was given out for every lap that a driver led ($533.96 when adjusted for inflation). Yarborough and Petty were said to have engines in their cars that exceeded the horsepower permitted by NASCAR during that era. Bobby Allison filed a complaint with Bill France, Jr. which resulted in a 6-hour meeting and "satisfactory restitution."

Wind speeds at this race would reach an average of 6.9 miles per hour (11.1 km/h).[1] There were no signs of precipation from midnight on October 7 to midnight on October 8.[1]

Finishing order

Timeline

References

  1. 1 2 3 "1973 National 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1973 National 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1973 National 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  4. ↑ "Classic Races - MRN.com". www.mrn.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
  5. ↑ "Yarborough's and Petty's struggle for the flag". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  6. ↑ "MRN Flashback: 1973 National 500 - Cale Yarborough Claims Controversial Victory - MRN.com". www.mrn.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
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Preceded by
1973 Old Dominion 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1973 		Succeeded by
1973 American 500
Preceded by
1972		 National 500 races
1973 		Succeeded by
1974
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