1977 Old Dominion 500

Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1977 February 2025 CUST Race 25 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season Old Dominion 500 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/VA/Martinsville/1977-09-25 1977 Old Dominion 500 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2011-03-03 1977 09 25 1977 25 30 Martinsville Speedway track map.png 200px A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway Old Dominion 500 Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia 0.525 0.844 500 262.5 442.4 73.440 mi/h Average temperature of 76.2 F C; wind speeds of 9.9 mph km/h 33,000 Neil Bonnett Jim Stacy Racing 87.637 seconds Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates 352 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates untelevised none The 1977 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 25, 1977, at the historic Martinsville Speedway; http://racing-reference.info/race/1977_Old_Dominion_500/W 1977 Old Dominion 500 racing results Racing Reference 2011-03-02 a race track that has enjoyed the presence of NASCAR since its first sanctioned race on July 4, 1948. Cup Series races are still held on the track today in addition to the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (started in 1982) and Craftsman Truck Series (started in 1995). Since the track was repaved back in 1976, http://www.circletrack.com/thehistoryof/1794/index.html Martinsville Speedway surface information Circle Track 2011-03-05 2011-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20110708154940/http://www.circletrack.com/thehistoryof/1794/index.html dead the one-year-old concrete surface allowed cars to travel at relatively fast speeds for a short track during the 1970s. Background Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.NASCAR Race Tracks http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ October 26, 2012 NASCAR dead https://web.archive.org/web/20100912133620/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ September 12, 2010 The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 mi km long.NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com/About-The-Track/About-The-Track.aspx Martinsville Speedway October 26, 2012 October 7, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101007095733/http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com/About-The-Track/About-The-Track.aspx dead The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking. Race report It took three hours and thirty-four minutes for the race to completely progress from the first green flag to the checkered flag. Had the race been held on this day in the year 2010, temperatures would have reached 93.0 F C - an increase of 16.8 degrees Fahrenheit from the temperatures of 1977. http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/VA/Martinsville/2010-09-25 2010 Martinsville, Virginia temperatures (for comparison purposes only) The Old Farmers' Almanac 2011-03-05 Five hundred laps on a paved oval track spanning 0.252 mi km per lap was the official distance of the race dictated by NASCAR. A grand total of 262.5 mi km was calculated from all the laps of the race. Thirteen lead changes were made as a part of the racing action. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/1977/25/data/results_official.html 1977 Old Dominion 500 lead change information NASCAR.com 2011-03-06 Despite popular knowledge shared by non-NASCAR fans, the "500" number that was in the event's title indicated the number of laps that were in the race; as opposed to the number of kilometers or miles that the drivers had to finish. All Martinsville races traditionally advertised the number of laps that a race had because it is a very short track. Cale Yarborough managed to defeat Benny Parsons by 8/10ths of a second in front of 33000 live spectators; nine cautions slowed the race for 57 laps. Neil Bonnett would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 87.637 mph km/h on - which would be the equivalent of 87.637 seconds. http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=9915 1977 Old Dominion 500 qualifying time (in seconds) Ultimate Racing History 2011-03-06 However, Yarborough would average a speed of 73.447 mph km/h on during the entire race. This happens to be the race that Darrell Waltrip got the engine change from his team in 10 minutes, he claimed during the 2001 Winston that Digard his team led by Buddy Parrot was able to change an engine in 10 minutes and he still finished 10th. Yarborough would retain his championship hopes after this race; being 219 points ahead of Richard Petty in the 1977 NASCAR Cup Series standings. http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1977025 Cale Yarborough's championship hopes Driver Averages 2011-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20111005053756/http://www.driveraverages.com/nascar_stats/race.php?sked_id=1977025 2011-10-05 dead The other top ten finishers were: David Pearson, Richard Petty, Sam Sommers, Jimmy Hensley, Buddy Arrington, James Hylton, Jimmy Means, and Darrell Waltrip. Baxter Price would become the event's last-place finisher with an oil leak on the fourth lap of the race. http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com/News-and-Media/Results-Archive/1977-Old-Dominion-F.aspx 1977 Old Dominion 500 racing results (last-place driver information) Martinsville Speedway 2011-03-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20110714042529/http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com/News-and-Media/Results-Archive/1977-Old-Dominion-F.aspx 2011-07-14 dead Chevrolet vehicles would make up the majority of the grid with Ford, Dodge, Mercury, and Matador holding a sizeable minority of the vehicles that would compete in this event. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 5 Neil Bonnett Dodge Jim Stacy 2 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet DiGard Racing 3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet Junior Johnson 4 43 Richard Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises 5 12 Bobby Allison Matador Bobby Allison 6 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet L.G. DeWitt 7 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet Hoss Ellington 8 63 Jimmy Hensley Chevrolet Jimmy Hensley 9 15 Buddy Baker Ford Bud Moore 10 21 David Pearson Mercury Wood Brothers 11 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet Billy Hagan 12 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet J.D. McDuffie 13 54 Lennie Pond Chevrolet Ronnie Elder 14 22 Ricky Rudd Chevrolet Al Rudd 15 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet M.C. Anderson Technological concerns Improvements in tire and engine technology in the early 1970s had made NASCAR Cup Series vehicles overpowered compared to the limited space that Martinsville Speedway had for breathing space. Further technological advancements by 2013 have caused further concern for driver safety at Martinsville; indicating that the Cup Series may have to use restrictor plates in Martinsville if tire/engine technology keeps its current pace of development. Top 10 finishers Pos Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps completed Laps led Laps as the lead driver Points Number of points earned towards championship standings Time/Status 1 3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 500 352 185 3:34:40 2 6 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 500 73 175 +0.8 seconds 3 10 21 David Pearson Mercury 500 35 170 Lead lap under green flag 4 4 43 Richard Petty Dodge 499 0 165 +1 lap 5 15 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet 491 0 155 +9 laps 6 8 63 Jimmy Hensley Chevrolet 491 0 150 +9 laps 7 19 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge 487 0 146 +13 laps 8 24 48 James Hylton Chevrolet 483 0 142 +17 laps 9 21 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet 482 0 138 +18 laps 10 2 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 472 36 139 Missing rear end Timeline Section reference: Start of race: Darrell Waltrip had the pole position as the green flag was waved. Lap 4: An oil leak in Baxter Price's vehicle forced him out of the race. Lap 8: Radiator issues managed to end Travis Tiller's day on the track. Lap 37: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip. Lap 40: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 42: Donnie Allison suddenly lost the use of his vehicle's brakes. Lap 84: Ricky Rudd suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 95: Dick Brooks suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 96: David Pearson took over the lead from Benny Parsons. Lap 97: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 101: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 103: Ed Negre's vehicle developed a problematic oil pump. Lap 179: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 181: David Pearson took over the lead from Benny Parsons. Lap 206: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 216: Bobby Allison suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 304: Neil Bonnett suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 336: Buddy Baker suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Lap 351: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Bobby Allison. Lap 360: Tighe Scott fell out with engine failure. Lap 366: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Benny Parsons. Lap 373: Ronnie Thomas fell out with engine failure. Lap 387: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough. Lap 396: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from David Pearson. Lap 472: Darrell Waltrip suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle. Finish: Cale Yarborough was officially declared the winner of the event. Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Cale Yarborough 4155 0 2 10px Richard Petty 3936 -219 3 10px Benny Parsons 3782 -373 4 10px Darrell Waltrip 3727 -428 5 10px Buddy Baker 3276 -879 6 10px Dick Brooks 3088 -1067 7 James Hylton 2876 -1279 8 Cecil Gordon 2860 -1295 9 Richard Childress 2855 -1300 10 10px Bobby Allison 2873 -1372 References 2 1977 Delaware 500 1977 Wilkes 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1977 1976 1978 Old Dominion 500 races 1977 Old Dominion 500 Old Dominion Category:NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway