1974 Southern 500

Auto race held at Darlington Raceway in 1974 February 2025 34 17 50.5 N 79 54 18.4 W title CUST Race 23 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Southern 500 Weather information for the 1974 Southern 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1974 09 2 1974 23 30 1974_Southern_500_program_cover_and_logo.jpg 1974 Southern 500 program cover Southern 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina 1.375 2.212 367 500.5 805.4 Extremely hot with temperatures of 91.9 F C; wind speeds of 8.9 mph km/h 111.075 mph on 65,000 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 32.755 seconds Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates 159 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates n/a n/a The 1974 Southern 500, the 25th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on September 2, 1974, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Richard Petty started on pole but Cale Yarborough led the most laps and won the event by a full lap ahead of second-place finisher Darrell Waltrip. Jerry Schild would score his only top-ten finish at this event, and David Sisco finished a career-best third place. Background Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends. The track is a four-turn 1.366 mi km oval.http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/darlington/darlington-raceway Darlington Raceway CBS Sports 2013-05-07 2012-10-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20121019184749/http://www.cbssports.com/nascar/tracks/page/darlington/darlington-raceway dead The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people. Darlington has something of a legendary quality among drivers and older fans; this is probably due to its long track length relative to other NASCAR speedways of its era and hence the first venue where many of them became cognizant of the truly high speeds that stock cars could achieve on a long track. The track allegedly earned the moniker The Lady in Black because the night before the race the track maintenance crew would cover the entire track with fresh asphalt sealant, in the early years of the speedway, thus making the racing surface dark black. Darlington is also known as "The Track Too Tough to Tame" because drivers can run lap after lap without a problem and then bounce off of the wall the following lap. Racers will frequently explain that they have to race the racetrack, not their competition. Drivers hitting the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington Stripe" thanks to the missing paint on the right side of the car. Race report A crowd of 65,000 people would see a race lasting four hours and thirty minutes. There were eleven cautions for 101 laps; which has become the longest duration under the yellow flag in Darlington Raceway history.NASCAR picks pack: Darlington always a rough one to predict at CBS Sports The race itself lasted 367 laps on the paved track spanning 1.366 mi km in distance. Richard Petty was the pole winner at a speed of 150.132 mph km/h. There were 39 Americans and one Canadian competitor in the race; Earl Ross.1974 Southern 500 racing information at Racing Reference Roy Mayne and Jerry Hansen would make their respective exits from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.Retirements after the 1974 Southern 500 at Race Database Bobby Allison climbed into the No. 24 Cecil Gordon car after falling out early and substituted for Gordon until his car fell out also. He did not want to blow the engine and possibly crash Cecil's only car. Only twelve vehicles finished the race; Cale Yarborough defeated Darrell Waltrip by one lap. Yarborough was able to successfully spin his vehicle trying to avoid a crash involving Bobby Allison, Bob Burcham, and Richie Panch early in the race, becoming a three-time Southern 500 winner. Petty didn't score more points than Waltrip during the race; however, the overall standings after each race were made by multiplying each driver's points tally with the number of races he started. Thus, it became possible for Petty to increase his lead by finishing behind. This was the best career finish for Pee Wee Wentz. Last-place finisher Earl Brooks had a water pump issue on the first lap of the race, earning $1,100 ($ when adjusted for inflation) while the race winner went home $28,000 richer ($ when adjusted for inflation). Chevrolet and Dodge vehicles were the mainstay of the racing lineup; with racing models varying from 1972 to 1974. The average speed of the race was 111.075 mph km/h; with speeds improving measurably since the 1964 Southern 500. Not counting bonus money, this race counted as $15,000 to win and $10,000 for second. Petty had about $200,000 in season winnings and Cale was closer to accumulating $175,000 in his 1974 NASCAR season. Notable crew chiefs for this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, and Bud Moore, among others.1974 Southern 500 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference A lot of veterans might do well to take driving lessons from teen-aged Jerry Schild. Cale Yarborough Thirteen of the 40 drivers on the starting grid would see their race end prematurely due to engine failures, and eight crashes were recorded by NASCAR. This resulted in a majority of the starting grid not finishing the race. The total prize purse for this event was $132,435 ($ when adjusted for inflation).1974 Southern 500 information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Speed Speed in miles per hourQualifying information for the 1974 Southern 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142220/http://racing-reference.info/getqualify/1974-23/W March 29, 2017 at Racing Reference Qualifying time Qualifying time in seconds Owner 1 43 Richard Petty '74 Dodge 150.132 32.755 Petty Enterprises 2 15 Buddy Baker '73 Ford 150.096 32.763 Bud Moore 3 21 David Pearson '73 Mercury 149.552 32.882 Wood Brothers 4 11 Cale Yarborough '74 Chevrolet 148.991 33.006 Junior Johnson 5 12 Bobby Allison '74 AMC Matador 148.842 33.039 Roger Penske 6 95 Darrell Waltrip '74 Chevrolet 148.388 33.140 Darrell Waltrip 7 90 Charlie Glotzbach '72 Ford 148.071 33.211 Junie Donlavey 8 72 Benny Parsons '74 Chevrolet 147.312 33.382 L.G. DeWitt 9 83 Ramo Stott '74 Chevrolet 146.469 33.574 Norris Reed 10 52 Earl Ross '74 Chevrolet 146.052 33.670 Junior Johnson Failed to qualify: Rick Newsom (#20) Withdrew from race: Dick Skillen (#78) Top 10 finishers Pos Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Money Amount of money earned Laps Laps completed Laps led Laps as the lead driver Time/Status 1 4 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet $28,000 367 159 4:30:48 2 6 95 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet $11,000 366 44 +1 lap 3 21 05 David Sisco Chevrolet $7,575 365 24 +2 laps 4 14 2 Dave Marcis Dodge $5,850 362 0 +5 laps 5 31 48 James Hylton Chevrolet $4,650 360 2 +7 laps 6 12 49 G.C. Spencer Dodge $3,750 358 3 +9 laps 7 13 93 Jackie Rogers Chevrolet $3,025 358 0 +9 laps 8 26 07 Jerry Schild Chevrolet $3,100 354 0 +13 laps 9 16 18 Joe Frasson Dodge $2,850 353 0 +14 laps 10 38 67 Pee Wee Wentz Plymouth $2,500 342 0 +25 laps References 1974 Yankee 400 1974 Capital City 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1974 1973 1975 Southern 500 races 1974 Southern 500 Southern 500 Southern 500 Category:NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway