1972 Winston 500

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1972 Winston 500
Race details[1]
Race 11 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date May 7, 1972 (1972-May-07)
Official name Winston 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 75 °F (24 °C); wind speeds of 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 134.4 mph (216.3 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
K&K Insurance Racing
Time 49.764 seconds[2]
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 59
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Keith Jackson
Chris Economaki

The 1972 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on May 7, 1972, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Background[]

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Monster Energy Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators.[3]

Race report[]

The grand marshal for the event was Auburn football head coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan.

There were fifty drivers on the grid. It took three hours and forty-five minutes for 188 laps of racing. There were nine cautions for 62 laps with 53 lead changes. David Pearson defeated Bobby Isaac by almost five seconds. More than 71000 people would see 500.1 miles or 804.8 kilometres of racing action with an average speed of 134.4 miles per hour (216.3 km/h). [4]

Bobby Isaac would win the pole position at 192.498 miles per hour (309.796 km/h) during qualifying. There were many mechanical failures in the race including the rear end failures and an incident involving a windshield.[4] Marty Robbins, who was also a country music star, dropped out of the race after 179 laps; after his top speed proved to be substantially faster than that he achieved in qualifying and being in position to pass the leaders, he confessed to altering his restrictor plate and was disqualified and listed as finishing in last place, declining Rookie of the Race honors.[5] Other notable drivers were: Richard Petty, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Elmo Langley, Coo Coo Marlin, and Neil Castles. Darrell Waltrip would make his NASCAR debut in this race and finish in 38th after starting 25th.[4] would also make his introduction to NASCAR during this race.

Had Bobby Allison not had this one bad finish here at Talladega, he would've had 20 top-10 finishes in a row.[4] The only thing is, his cars had engine problems in the long races. All three engine failures occurred at the 500-mile races of Rockingham, Talladega, and Dover.[4] Even when his engines were being strained at the long races, he still did well, getting top-5 finishes at most of the 500+ mile races that season.

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Jake Elder, , Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and .[6] Inman, Hyde, and Wood would help maintain the vehicles for the winner, the runner-up, and the fifth-place finisher of this race.[7]

James Hylton would lose his points lead to Richard Petty after this race.[7] The winner of the race would receive $23,745 in total winnings ($146,909 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher won $745 for a disqualification ($4,609 when adjusted for inflation).[8]

Qualifying[]

Grid[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 71 Bobby Isaac '72 Dodge Nord Krauskopf
2 21 David Pearson '71 Mercury Wood Brothers
3 43 Richard Petty '72 Dodge Petty Enterprises
4 12 Bobby Allison '72 Chevrolet Richard Howard
5 11 Buddy Baker '72 Dodge Petty Enterprises
6 27 Donnie Allison '72 Chevrolet Monty Myers
7 97 Red Farmer '72 Ford Willie Humphries
8 79 Frank Warren '70 Dodge Frank Warren
9 42 Marty Robbins '72 Dodge Marty Robbins
10 30 Walter Ballard '71 Mercury Vic Ballard
11 3 Jimmy Crawford '72 Plymouth Crawford Brothers
12 31 Jim Vandiver '70 Dodge O.L. Nixon
13 05 David Sisco '72 Chevrolet Charlie McGee
14 24 Cecil Gordon '71 Mercury Cecil Gordon
15 8 Ed Negre '70 Dodge Ed Negre
16 76 Ben Arnold '71 Ford Ben Arnold
17 92 Larry Smith '71 Ford Harley Smith
18 91 Richard D. Brown '72 Chevrolet Ralph McNabb
19 7 Dean Dalton '71 Mercury Dean Dalton
20 93 Buck Baker '72 Chevrolet Harold Furr

Top 20 finishers[]

Pos[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Time/Status
1 21 David Pearson Mercury 188 59 3:43:15
2 71 Bobby Isaac Dodge 188 57 +4.9 seconds
3 11 Buddy Baker Dodge 188 32 Lead lap under green flag
4 28 Fred Lorenzen Ford 188 4 Lead lap under green flag
5 43 Richard Petty Dodge 187 14 +1 lap
6 18 Joe Frasson Dodge 186 0 +2 laps
7 45 LeeRoy Yarbrough Mercury 185 0 +3 laps
8 98 Dick Brooks Ford 185 0 +3 laps
9 79 Frank Warren Dodge 185 0 +3 laps
10 72 Benny Parsons Dodge 184 0 +4 laps
11 2 Dave Marcis Dodge 183 0 +5 laps
12 57 David Ray Boggs Dodge 182 0 +6 laps
13 25 Jabe Thomas Plymouth 182 0 +6 laps
14 24 Cecil Gordon Mercury 182 0 +6 laps
15 8 Ed Negre Plymouth 182 0 +6 laps
16 3 Jimmy Crawford Ford 181 0 Terminal vehicle damage
17 76 Ben Arnold Ford 180 0 Out of gas
18 88 Ron Keselowski Dodge 179 0 Running
19 30 Walter Ballard Mercury 179 0 Running
20 92 Larry Smith Ford 178 0 Running

References[]

  1. ^ Weather information for the 1972 Winston 500 at The Old Farmer's Almanac
  2. ^ Qualifying information for the 1972 Winston 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ^ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Racing information for the 1972 Winston 500 at Racing-Reference
  5. ^ Marty Robbins Talks: The difference between illegal and cheating at YouTube
  6. ^ 1972 Winston 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference
  7. ^ a b 1972 Winston 500 race information at Race-Database
  8. ^ 1972 Winston 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Preceded by
 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1972 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winston 500 races
1972 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""