1973 National 500
Race details
Race 27 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date October 7, 1973 (1973-October-07)
Official name National 500
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, North Carolina)
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Average speed 145.240 miles per hour (233.741 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Richard Howard
Laps 257
Winner
No. 11 Cale Yarborough Richard Howard
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

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.[1][2][3] Temperatures for the race would vary between 53.1 °F (11.7 °C) and 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); with 63.6 °F (17.6 °C) being the average temperature.[4]

Summary[edit]

334 laps took place on a paved track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km) with two cautions given out for sixteen laps.[1][2][3] 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.[1][2][3] 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.[1][2][3] Sixty-four thousand people attended this live racing event.[1][2][3] Amongst the other drivers who finished in the top ten were: Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, Dick Trickle, Lennie Pond, Buddy Arrington, Elmo Langley, Cecil Gordon, and Henley Gray.[1][2][3]

Harry Gant would make his racing debut here; ultimately finishing in 11th place.[1][2] Wendell Scott would retire after this race; making a 12th place finish in this event.[1][2] Buddy Baker would become the last-place finisher here due to a disqualification on lap 228.[1][2][3] What made this race extra important to drivers that $100 was given out for every lap that a driver led ($539.51 in today's money). 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."

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1973 National 500 information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "1973 National 500 information (second reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1973 National 500 information (third reference)". Stat Sheet. Retrieved 2011-02-28. 
  4. ^ "1973 National 500 weather information". Almanac.com. Retrieved 2011-02-28. 
  5. ^ "Yarborough's and Petty's struggle for the flag". How Stuff Works. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
Preceded by
1973 Old Dominion 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1973
Succeeded by
1973 American 500