1973 Atlanta 500

The 1973 Atlanta 500 was the sixth race in the NASCAR 1973 Winston Cup Series, held on April 1, 1973, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia. The race took three hours and thirty-four minutes.

1973 Atlanta 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 6 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Layout of Atlanta Motor Speedway prior to 1996
Date April 1, 1973 (1973-April-01)
Official name Atlanta 500
Location Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia
Course 1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching of 72 °F (22 °C); wind speeds of 24.1 miles per hour (38.8 km/h)
Average speed 139.351 miles per hour (224.264 km/h)
Attendance 46,000[4]
Pole position
Driver
Ellington Racing
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 155
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Keith Jackson
Chris Economaki

Attendance to this event has varying estimates. Many racing statistic archives list it at 46,000 people; the Associated Press reported a figure of 72,000 the day after the race.[4][3][5]

There was no such thing as owners standings at that time, NASCAR just chose those drivers it considered the fastest ones using such criterion as 1972 performance and practice speeds.

Car flip world record

At this event, daredevil Dusty Russell flipped a stock car in the air and landed 157 feet after a five foot ramp, in what was then a world record. He suffered a broken nose.[6]

Race report

No time trials were conducted due to weather issues; the average speed of the race was 139.351 miles per hour (224.264 km/h).[4][2][3] Multiple-car teams were beginning to the de facto rule of NASCAR as complications from the increased level of national brand sponsorship made the sport more expensive to be a part of. Famous teams like Wood Brothers Racing, Nord Krauskopf's K&K Insurance Racing along with Penske Racing South would make their early impressions on the sport with their massive budgets and corporate sponsors paying for new tires and engines instead of an individual owner or driver. There were only five traditional single-car owners at this racing event.[7]

Souvenir programs were sold at this event for a then-inexpensive price of $2 USD ($11.52 when adjusted for inflation).

David Pearson defeated Bobby Isaac in his 1971 Mercury Cyclone by at least two laps; NASCAR officials were responsible for giving out four cautions that lasted a duration of 31 non-consecutive laps.[4][2][3] This would be David Pearson's second win in 1973 when he won 11 races of the 18 he entered, and was considered to be the best winning percentage ever for those amount of entries.[8]

Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. was the last-place finisher due to an oil leak on lap 9 out of 328.[4][2][3] This was a race when people really began to consider Darrell Waltrip a future star. After his car was eliminated from the race due to mechanical issues (he charged to the fifth place but then got involved in a crash with Richard Petty and Buddy Baker), he substituted for A.J. Foyt.[4][2][3] Pete Hamilton and Mark Donohue would retire from NASCAR after this race while Charles Barrett and Bettenhausen, Jr. would make their grand introductions to the Cup Series during this race.[9]

The winner received $16,625 in race winnings ($95,750 when adjusted for inflation) while the last place finisher received $900 in total race winnings ($5,183 when adjusted for inflation).[3][10] After combining all the race winnings from all 40 drivers, the total prize purse for this race was $103,485 ($596,008 when adjusted for inflation).[11]

Notable crew chiefs who participated in this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, and Bud Moore.[12]

Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

Qualifying
Grid[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 28Gordon Johncock'72 ChevroletHoss Ellington
2 15Bobby Isaac'72 FordBud Moore
3 31Jim Vandiver'72 DodgeO.L. Nixon
4 11Cale Yarborough'73 ChevroletRichard Howard
5 72Benny Parsons'72 ChevroletL.G. DeWitt
6 12Bobby Allison'73 ChevroletBobby Allison
7 18Joe Frasson'73 DodgeJoe Frasson
8 71Buddy Baker'73 DodgeNord Krauskopf
9 21David Pearson'71 MercuryWood Brothers
10 22Pete Hamilton'72 PlymouthCrawford Brothers

Failed to qualify: Eddie Bond (#0), Tony Bettenhausen Jr (#38), John Utsman (#49)[13]

Finishing order

Section reference: [4]

  1. David Pearson (No. 21)
  2. Bobby Isaac (No. 15)
  3. Benny Parsons (No. 72)
  4. Buddy Baker (No. 71)
  5. Cale Yarborough (No. 11)
  6. Coo Coo Marlin (No. 14)
  7. Dick Brooks (No. 90)
  8. Cecil Gordon (No. 24)
  9. Clarence Lovell (No. 61)
  10. Jim Vandiver (No. 31)
  11. Gordon Johncock (No. 28)
  12. Dave Marcis (No. 2)
  13. Richard Childress (No. 96)
  14. Walter Ballard (No. 30)
  15. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
  16. Frank Warren (No. 79)
  17. Raymond Williams (No. 47)
  18. Charles Barrett (No. 09)
  19. Johnny Barnes (No. 89)
  20. Larry Smith (No.92)
  21. James Hylton (No. 48)
  22. Earle Canavan (No. 01)
  23. Dean Dalton* (No. 7)
  24. Ed Negre (No. 8)
  25. Charlie Roberts (No. 77)
  26. Elmo Langley (No. 64)
  27. A. J. Foyt* (No. 50)
  28. Joe Frasson* (No. 18)
  29. Bill Champion* (No. 10)
  30. Mark Donohue* (No. 16)
  31. Ron Keselowski* (No. 88)
  32. Roy Mayne* (No. 25)
  33. Darrell Waltrip* (No. 95)
  34. Richard Petty* (No. 43)
  35. Bobby Allison* (No. 12)
  36. John Sears* (No. 4)
  37. Bobby Mausgrover* (No. 07)
  38. Tiny Lund* (No. 55)
  39. Pete Hamilton* (No. 22)
  40. Tony Bettenhausen Jr* (No. 84)

* Driver failed to finish race

gollark: And probably isn't smart enough to think very long-term, and isn't in charge of demonetization and stuff.
gollark: Which would be very bad.
gollark: An ad revenue maximizer.
gollark: I'm excited for Y2038, which will inevitably break another large batch of systems.
gollark: "Inside you there are two wolves. You should see a doctor. The recommended number of wolves inside you is zero."

References
  1. "1973 Atlanta 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
  2. "1973 Atlanta 500 race information (second reference)". Database Racing. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  3. "1973 Atlanta 500 race information (third reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  4. "1973 Atlanta 500 race information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-03-29.
  5. "The Index-Journal, Page 10 - at Newspapers.com". 72,000 Forget the Weather, Watch Pearson Claim Atlanta 500 Victory. 1973-04-02. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  6. "Kingsport Times Page 4 - at Newspapers.com". Russell flips 157 feet. 1973-04-02. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  7. "1973 Atlanta 500 race information". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  8. "Driver David Pearson's 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series results". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  9. "1973 Atlanta 500 race information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  10. "1973 Atlanta 500 earnings information". Everything Stock Car. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  11. "1973 Atlanta 500 total prize purse information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  12. "1973 Atlanta 500 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
  13. "1973 Atlanta 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
Preceded by
1973 Southeastern 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1973		 Succeeded by
1973 Gwyn Staley 400
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