1973 Winston 500

Auto race held at Talladega Superspeedway in 1973 February 2025 1973 Winston 500 Weather information for the 1973 Winston 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac NASWINSTON 10 28 1973_Winston_500_program_cover_and_logo.png 1973 Winston 500 program cover 1973 05 6 Winston 500 Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama 2.660 4.281 188 500.080 804.801 74.8 F C; wind speeds up to 5.9 mph km/h 131.956 mi/h 77,000http://racing-reference.info/race/1973_Winston_500/W 1973 Winston 500 - Racing-Reference.info racing-reference.info 2016-03-22 Buddy Baker Nord Krauskopf 49.505 193.435 mph David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing 111 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing The 1973 Winston 500 was the tenth round of the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, which was held on May 6, 1973, at Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) – now Talladega Superspeedway – in Talladega, Alabama. The race was won by David Pearson, with his car being the only one on the lead lap at the end of the race. Also notable was a fourth-place finish by Clarence Lovell, This was Lovell's best career finish and his only finish in the top five of a NASCAR Cup race. Lovell would die five days later on May 11, in a single vehicle truck accident.https://www.newspapers.com/image/46619973 The Lowell Sun Page 7319 - at Newspapers.com 1973-05-12 Race Driver Killed 2016-03-29 Eddie Yarboro fell out of this race with a mechanical issue in the opening laps before the "Big One." This was Yarboro's only Cup start of the season and his last in the series.Driver Eddie Yarboro 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results at Racing Reference Background For the 1973 Winston 500 race, the usual starting field of 50 was expanded to 60 by track management, and this would later prove controversial due to events in the race. Factions in the NASCAR management wanted to have a larger field that'd attract more fans to watch the races, and that a larger field with a bigger purse would catch the eyes of more teams. Of course, they were warned that starting 60 cars would be a strain at the track, and might be potentially hazardous for drivers (even when compared to NASCAR in the 21st century), but the NASCAR management ignored it, and, it resulted in this infamous race. Summary Pre-race ceremonies Then Alabama governor George Wallace would be named the grand marshal for the event, while his wife Cornelia Wallace would drive the pace car. Before the race, George, who ten years earlier had tried to lead the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, put out his hand to the only black driver racing that day, Wendell Scott. The two shook hands, and a photographer took a picture. Scott succinctly said, "Times change."Circle Track magazine article, Aug. 1987 "The Big One" thumb|The aftermath of "The Big One" On lap 9, Ramo Stott's engine let go, dumping oil onto the speedway's asphalt. Wendell Scott, behind him, spun out, and both cars skidded into Talladega's infield, creating a massive cloud of dirt and dust. The combination of oil on the track and suddenly limited visibility caused a massive pileup. 23 cars were involved. One contemporary recorded film account called it "The worst accident in NASCAR history", in terms of the number of cars involved. All drivers were able to leave their cars under their own power. Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough were eliminated, and when they got out of their cars they had to dodge additional cars crashing around them. Some drivers did have injuries. Several received lacerations; Earl Brooks had a broken hand, Joe Frasson had shoulder injuries, and Slick Gardner suffered a knee injury. Wendell Scott, who was covered in blood everywhere on his body, would suffer the worst injuries: a fractured left leg, fractured pelvis in numerous places, broke three ribs, ripped most of the skin from his left forearm, and would seriously injure his right kidney. His arm bone was also visible and poking out, according to Frank Scott, Wendell's son. The crash would ultimately lead to Scott's retirement.Donovan Brian Hard Driving: The Wendell Scott Story Steerforth Press 2008 978-1-58642-144-1 243 Bobby Allison, one of the drivers eliminated in the lap 9/10 wreck, later ripped the track's management for the field size of 60 set by track management - "They (filled the field) all right, all over the backstretch." Joe Frasson, already bloodied said "I hope to hell France is happy. NASCAR had no business starting 60 cars." Cleanup from the wreck proceeded under 37 laps of a yellow flag, lasting one hour and five minutes. 19 cars were eliminated outright. A few others, including that of Richard Petty, were repaired and eventually ran more laps. David Pearson lost the lead draft and Buddy Baker said that Pearson fouled out the spark plugs on his Mercury and then got them replaced under the lengthy yellow. After the wreck On lap 73, the engine of D. K. Ulrich's car dumped oil onto the track and caused another caution. Before this caution was over, Darrell Waltrip's car was retired due to a blown piston. Pearson's number 21 car had little competition after the large lap 9 accident. He stretched out a very wide lead by the end of the race. On lap 185, Vic Parsons' engine failed, and his car slipped in the dumped oil, causing a crash, with the race ending under yellow. Pearson was the only car on the lead lap at the end of the 500 miles. Race results Cautions: 4 for 54 laps Margin of victory: 1 lap + Lead changes: 13 Pos Grid No. Car number Driver Team ManufacturerLaps Status Pointshttp://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/NASCAR-Points-System Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - NASCAR Current Points System and History www.jayski.com 2016-03-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20160308033728/http://www.jayski.com/news/pages/story/_/page/NASCAR-Points-System 2016-03-08 dead 1221USA David PearsonWood Brothers RacingMercury188 3:47:23 360 21708USA Donnie AllisonDiGard MotorsportsChevrolet187 +1 lap 331.75 32072USA Benny ParsonsDeWitt RacingChevrolet187 +1 lap 329.75 41261USA Clarence LovellB & B RacingChevrolet185 +3 laps 325.25 51924USA Cecil GordonR. W. Hill & SonsChevrolet184 +4 laps 322 61814USA Coo Coo MarlinH. B. CunninghamChevrolet183+5 laps318.75 7525USA Dick SimonFaustina RacingDodge182+6 laps315.5 81631USA Jim VandiverO. L. Nixon RacingDodge182+6 laps313.5 93345CAN Vic ParsonsSiefert RacingMercury180Crash309 103009USA Charles BarrettElliott RacingFord180+8 laps307 11298USA Ed NegreNegre RacingDodge176+12 laps300 12240USA Eddie BondBond RacingDodge175+13 laps296.75 133803USA Tommy GaleGale RacingMercury172+16 laps291 144652CAN Earl RossBrooke RacingChevrolet167Ignition282.75 155125USA Jabe ThomasRobertson RacingDodge167+21 laps280.75 16417USA Dean DaltonDalton RacingMercury163+25 laps273.75 17492USA Dave MarcisMarcis RacingDodge152+36 laps258 183170USA J. D. McDuffieMcDuffie RacingChevrolet147Oil pan249.75 193764USA Elmo LangleyLangley RacingFord142+46 laps241.5 20474USA John SearsJ. Marvin Mills RacingDodge141+47 laps238.25 215635USA Dick MayWalter Ballard RacingMercury139Engine233.75 222596USA Richard ChildressGarn RacingChevrolet109Engine194.25 234822USA Dick BrooksCrawford (Brothers) RacingPlymouth107Rear end189.75 243279USA Frank WarrenWarren RacingDodge107Engine187.75 251483USA Paul TylerReed RacingMercury90Engine164.5 26715USA Bobby IsaacMoore RacingFord89Engine161.25 273989USA Johnny BarnesHopper-Crews RacingMercury89Engine159.25 284447USA Raymond WilliamsWilliams RacingFord84Engine151 294398USA Mel LarsonLarson RacingChevrolet84Overheating149 304038USA Tony Bettenhausen Jr.Van Liew RacingChevrolet79Windshield140.75 31895USA Darrell WaltripWaltrip RacingMercury77Oil leak136.25 321597USA Red FarmerHumphries RacingFord76Engine133 334240USA D. K. UlrichUlrich RacingFord73Engine127.25 345019USA Henley GrayGray RacingMercury68Clutch119 35343USA Richard PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge51Crash95.75 362705USA David SiscoSisco RacingChevrolet49Engine91.25 372610USA Bill ChampionChampion RacingMercury32Engine68 38628USA Gordon JohncockEllington RacingChevrolet23Crash54.75 39543USA Alton JonesHawkersmith RacingChevrolet14No tires41.5 40171USA Buddy BakerKrauskopf RacingDodge10Crash34.541411USA Cale YarboroughHoward RacingChevrolet10Crash32.542512USA Bobby AllisonAllison RacingChevrolet10Crash30.543918USA Joe FrassonFrasson RacingDodge10Crash28.5441390USA Ramo StottDonlavey RacingMercury9Engine25.25453448USA James HyltonJames Hylton MotorsportsMercury9Crash23.25462354USA Lennie PondElder RacingChevrolet9Crash21.25471175USA Slick GardnerGardner RacingMercury9Crash19.25483530USA Walter BallardVic Ballard RacingMercury9Crash17.25492167USA Buddy ArringtonArrington RacingPlymouth9Crash15.25502288USA Ron KeselowskiLubinski RacingDodge9Crash13.25511082USA Bill WardBennett RacingChevrolet9Crash11.25525376USA Ben ArnoldArnold RacingMercury9Crash11.25535977USA Charlie RobertsRoberts RacingFord9Crash11.25546053USA Bobby MausgroverHopper-Crews RacingFord9Crash11.25555834USA Wendell ScottScott RacingMercury8Crash10565526USA Earl BrooksBrooks RacingFord8Crash10575785USA Ronnie DanielDaniel RacingChevrolet8Crash10583692USA Larry SmithCarling (Black Label) RacingMercury8Crash1059286USA Eddie YarboroYarboro RacingDodge4Vibration5604544USA Richard D. BrownBrown RacingChevrolet1Windshield1.25DNQ -1USA Neil BonnettKrauskopf RacingDodge -DNQ -49USA John UtsmanSpencer RacingDodge -DNQ -84USA Bob DavisDavis RacingDodge -Source: References NASCAR Winston Cup Season 1973 1973 Virginia 500 1973 Music City USA 420 Talladega spring race 1973 1972 Winston 500 1974 Winston 500 Winston 500 Winston 500 Winston 500 Category:NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway