1972 American 500

Auto race held at North Carolina Motor Speedway in 1972 February 2025 CUST Race 30 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season American 500 Weather information for the 1972 American 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 1972 10 22 1972 30 31 Rockingham Speedway.svg Layout of Rockingham Speedway American 500 North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina 1.017 1.636 492 500 804 Mild with temperatures of 71.1 F C; wind speeds of 5.1 mph km/h 118.245 mi/h 42,000 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing 26.621 Bobby Allison Howard & Egerton Racing 217 12 Bobby Allison Howard & Egerton Racing untelevised none The 1972 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on October 22, 1972, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. While not televised, the 1972 American 500 was covered by local radio stations WAYN-AM (900 AM) and WEEB-AM (990 AM). Race report 40 American-born drivers qualified for the race. Drivers who failed to qualify were David Ray Boggs, Jimmy Crawford and Elmo Langley. Forty-two thousand people attended. The race's average speed was 118.275 mph km/h in this 253-minute race. David Pearson's qualifying speed of 137.258 mph km/h or won the pole position. There were four cautions for a of 35 laps. 20 different drivers lead the race. Bobby Allison would defeat Richard Petty by two laps; resulting in Richard Petty's 100th runner up finish.1972 American 500 racing information at Racing Reference Ron Hutcherson was the last-place finisher of this event; with a racing accident on lap 29 out of 492. Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and David Pearson dominated the closing laps of this race. Pete Hamilton scored his final top-5 finish. This was his final start of 1972 and he would only make two further starts in 1973, both of which ended in DNFs Hutcherson's racing career would last throughout the course of the 1970s; ending only after the 1979 running of the World 600. Notable crew chiefs for this race were Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, Vic Ballard, and Herb Nab.1972 American 500 crew chiefs information at Racing Reference Rewards for this race were $19,400 for the winner ($ when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher brought home $550 ($ when adjusted for inflation). A grand total of $89,450 was offered to the race. ($ when adjusted for inflation).1972 American 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Bobby Allison's win at this event would become the tenth win of the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.1972 American 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20090603100110/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/season-recaps/1970s/1972-nascar.htm 2009-06-03 at How Stuff Works Due to the cash crunch of the 1970s, only five individual owners could afford to employ a NASCAR Cup Series driver for the rest; the rest were all "proper" NASCAR teams with more than one person running them.1972 American 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20140827131744/http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1972030 2014-08-27 racing information at Driver Averages Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Qualifying speed Speed in miles per hour1972 American 500 https://web.archive.org/web/20170429000300/http://www.racing-reference.info/getqualify/1972-30/W April 29, 2017 qualifying information at Racing Reference Qualifying time Qualifying time in seconds Owner 1 21 David Pearson '71 Mercury 137.528 26.621 Wood Brothers 2 71 Buddy Baker '72 Dodge 136.202 26.881 Nord Krauskopf 3 43 Richard Petty '72 Plymouth 136.157 26.889 Petty Enterprises 4 9 Pete Hamilton '72 Plymouth 135.678 26.984 Jack Housby 5 12 Bobby Allison '72 Chevrolet 135.467 27.026 Richard Howard 6 28 Cale Yarborough '72 Chevrolet 134.664 27.188 Hoss Ellington 7 15 Dick Brooks '72 Ford 134.491 27.223 Bud Moore 8 17 Bill Dennis '72 Chevrolet 133.730 27.377 H.J. Brooking 9 27 Bobby Isaac '71 Chevrolet 133.045 27.518 Banjo Matthews 10 16 Dave Marcis '72 AMC Matador 132.837 27.561 Roger Penske Finishing order 30em Bobby Allison Richard Petty Buddy Baker David Pearson Pete Hamilton Cale Yarborough Dave Marcis Larry Smith David Sisco Buddy Arrington John Sears Clarence Lovell Elmo Langley Ben Arnold Walter Ballard Dean Dalton Ed Negre Charlie Roberts James Hylton Cecil Gordon Joe Frasson Raymond Williams Jabe Thomas J.D. McDuffie Frank Warren Marty Robbins Coo Coo Marlin Bill Champion Roy Mayne Jim Vandiver Neil Castles Bill Dennis Ron Keselowski Dick Brooks Benny Parsons Bobby Isaac Henley Gray Tiny Lund Tommy Gale Ron Hutcherson Timeline Section reference: Start: David Pearson was the first driver to leave the start/finish line as the green flag was waved in the air. Lap 32: First caution due to Ron Hutcherson's accident on turn 4, ended on lap 42. Lap 33: Bill Dennis took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 34: Bobby Isaac took over the lead from Bill Dennis. Lap 35: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Bobby Isaac. Lap 42: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 51: Buddy Baker took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 66: Second caution due to Henley Gray's engine failure, ended on lap 75. Lap 67: Dick Brooks took over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 68: Bill Dennis took over the lead from Dick Brooks. Lap 69: David Pearson took over the lead from Bill Dennis. Lap 91: The third caution started due to Benny Parson's accident on turn 1, ended on lap 101. Lap 92: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 97: David Pearson took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 100: Buddy Baker took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 167: David Pearson took over the lead from Buddy Baker. Lap 187: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 213: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 250: The fourth caution started due to debris, ended on lap 256. Lap 251: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 252: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 259: Bobby Allison took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 261: Richard Petty took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 269: David Pearson took over the lead from Richard Petty. Lap 317: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 418: Jabe Thomas' engine stopped functioning in a normal manner. Lap 428: The rear end of James Hylton's vehicle was removed in an unsafe manner. Finish: Bobby Allison was officially declared the winner of the event. References 1972 National 500 1972 Texas 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1972 1971 1973 American 500 races 1972 American 500 American 500 Category:NASCAR races at Rockingham Speedway