1977 Nashville 420

February 2025 NAS Nashville 420 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/TN/Nashville/1977-07-16 1977 Nashville 420 temperature information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2011-03-01 http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1977-17/W 1977 Nashville 420 racing results Racing Reference 2010-11-21 1977 07 16 1977 17 30 NashvilleSpeedwayMap.svg Nashville 420 Nashville Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee 0.596 0.959 420 250.3 402.8 78.999 mph km/h Hot with temperature approaching 98.1 F C; wind speeds up to 8 mph km/h Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports 300 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports untelevised none The 1977 Nashville 420 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place on July 16, 1977, at Nashville Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee. Background Nashville Speedway was converted to a half-mile paved oval in 1957, when it began to be a NASCAR series track. The speedway was lengthened between the 1969 and 1970 seasons. The corners were cut down from 35 degrees to their present 18 degrees in 1972.August 2016 Summary Four hundred and twenty laps were done on a paved oval track spanning .596 mi km for a grand total of 250.3 mi km. The race took three hours, ten minutes, and nine seconds to successfully complete. Darrell Waltrip defeated Bobby Allison by more than one lap http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1977017 1977 Nashville 420 racing results (fourth reference) Driver Averages 2010-11-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20111005053648/http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1977017 2011-10-05 dead in front of seventeen thousand and five hundred people. This race was important to Waltrip as this track was considered his "local" Winston Cup Series track at the time. Ten cautions were given for fifty-four laps. Notable speeds were: 78.999 mi/h as the average speed http://www.nashville420.com/Races.htm 1977 Nashville 420 racing results (second reference) Nashville420.com 2010-11-27 and 104.21 mi/h as the pole position speed. Total winnings for this race were $56,175 ($ when adjusted for inflation) and the winner walked away with $9,415 of that amount ($ when adjusted for inflation). Waltrip was overcome by the excessive heat shortly after the race. As a result, he took oxygen while on top of his vehicle's hood and wasn't lucid enough to give a post-race interview. Ronnie Thomas was supposed to make his debut on this track but got into a wreck and didn't get it fixed in time to qualify. He would make his debut in the 1977 running of the Old Dominion 500 (now Tums Fast Relief 500) instead. Mike Kempton made his official NASCAR debut in this event while Henley Gray would retire from professional stock car racing as a driver after this event. http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1977&race=17&series_id=2 1977 Nashville 420 racing results (fifth reference) Race Database 2012-10-24 Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer 1 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 2 5 Neil Bonnett Dodge 3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 4 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet 5 12 Bobby Allison Matador 6 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 7 43 Richard Petty Dodge 8 15 Buddy Baker Ford 9 90 Dick Brooks Ford 10 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet 11 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet 12 48 James Hylton Chevrolet 13 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet 14 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet 15 68 Janet Guthrie Chevrolet 16 64 Elmo Langley Ford 17 22 Ricky Rudd Chevrolet 18 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge 19 41 Grant Adcox Chevrolet 20 40 D.K. Ulrich Chevrolet Finishers 22em Darrell Waltrip (drove a 1977 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna vehicle) Bobby Allison (drove a 1977 Matador vehicle) Richard Petty (originally scored in second but was later dropped to third http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1977-nascar.htm Richard Petty scoring enigma How Stuff Works 2010-11-28 2011-07-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20110712225917/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1977-nascar.htm dead) Cale Yarborough Dick Brooks† Buddy Baker† Skip Manning J.D. McDuffie† Buddy Arrington Ricky Rudd Coo Coo Marlin† Frank Warren† Tighe Scott D. K. Ulrich Janet Guthrie Baxter Price Henley Gray Benny Parsons*† James Hylton† Cecil Gordon† Neil Bonnett*† David Sisco*† Ralph Jones* Sam Sommers* Grant Adcox*† Gary Myers* Richard Childress* Elmo Langley*† Jimmy Means* Mike Kempton* † signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race Timeline Section reference: Start: Benny Parsons was leading the racing grid as the green flag was waved in the air. Lap 12: Mike Kempton overheated his vehicle, making him the last-place finisher. Lap 15: Ignition problems knocked Jimmy Means out of the race. Lap 18: Elmo Langley blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 30: Richard Childress had a terminal crash. Lap 33: Neil Bonnett took over the lead from Benny Parsons. Lap 37: The rear end of Gary Myers' vehicle came off in an unsafe manner. Lap 71: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Neil Bonnett. Lap 80: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 122: Grant Adcox blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 128: The rear end of Sam Sommers' vehicle came off in an unsafe manner. Lap 129: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 131: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 137: Ralph Jones managed to ruin his vehicle's brakes while driving at high speeds. Lap 141: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 146: David Sisco blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 170: Darrell Waltrip took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 187: Neil Bonnett blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Lap 381: Benny Parsons blew his engine while driving at high speeds. Finish: Darrell Waltrip was officially declared the winner of the race. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Cale Yarborough 2795 0 2 10px Richard Petty 2738 -12 3 10px Benny Parsons 2538 -257 4 10px Darrell Waltrip 2500 -295 5 10px Buddy Baker 2346 -449 6 10px Dick Brooks 2147 -648 7 10px Cecil Gordon 2036 -759 8 10px Richard Childress 1933 -862 9 Bobby Allison 1870 -925 10 10px James Hylton 1832 -963 References 1977 Firecracker 400 1977 Coca-Cola 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1977 Nashville 420 Nashville 420 Category:NASCAR races at Fairgrounds Speedway Category:1970s in Nashville, Tennessee Category:July 1977 sports events in the United States