1977 NAPA National 500

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1977 NAPA National 500
Race details[1][2]
Race 27 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date October 9, 1977 (1977-October-09)
Official name NAPA National 600
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (865 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds of 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed 142.780 miles per hour (229.782 km/h)
Attendance 79,400[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Most laps led
Driver Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing
Laps 250
Winner
No. 72 Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Al Michaels
Chris Economaki

The 1977 NAPA National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 9, 1977, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Race report[]

41 drivers competed at this event. Benny Parsons defeated Cale Yarborough by 19.2 seconds in front of 79,400 spectators.[2] Parsons scored a dominant Winston Cup victory, in terms of percentage of laps led.[2] There were 18 lead changes and four cautions; the race lasted three hours and thirty minutes.[2] Bruce Hill received the last-place finish due to engine problems on lap 15 of this 334-lap race.[2] David Pearson would win the pole position with a qualifying speed of 160.982 miles per hour (259.075 km/h) while the average race speed was 142.780 miles per hour (229.782 km/h).[2] By all evidence, this would be the last win for a Chevrolet Laguna in NASCAR Cup Series history.[2]

His next pole position would come at the 1978 World 600 where he would get his 10th consecutive pole position start at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[3] Pearson's final pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway would come at the 1978 NAPA National 500 - setting a record.[3] Other notable drivers at this event included: Bill Elliott, Janet Guthrie, Neil Bonnett, A. J. Foyt, Dick Brooks, Darrell Waltrip, and Buddy Baker.[2] Tom Sneva would make his NASCAR debut at this racing event. Dale Earnhardt would start his only race in 1977 driving for Henley Gray.

Individual earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $41,075 ($175,420 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $820 ($3,502 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this event was $223,530 ($954,636 when adjusted for inflation).[4]

Qualifying[]

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Speed[5] Qualifying time[5] Owner
1 21 David Pearson Mercury 160.982 33.544 Wood Brothers
2 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 159.848 33.782 Junior Johnson
3 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet 159.848 33.782 Hoss Ellington
4 15 Buddy Baker Ford 159.773 33.798 Bud Moore
5 43 Richard Petty Dodge 159.363 33.885 Petty Enterprises
6 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 158.810 34.003 DiGard Racing
7 5 Neil Bonnett Dodge 158.753 34.015 Jim Stacy
8 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 158.735 34.019 L.G. DeWitt
9 51 A.J. Foyt Chevrolet 158.158 34.143 A.J. Foyt
10 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet 158.094 34.157 Billy Hagan

Finishing order[]

Section reference: [2]

  1. Benny Parsons†
  2. Cale Yarborough
  3. David Pearson
  4. Buddy Baker
  5. Darrell Waltrip
  6. Dick Brooks†
  7. A.J. Foyt
  8. Neil Bonnett†
  9. Janet Guthrie
  10. Bill Elliott
  11. Ron Hutcherson
  12. Coo Coo Marlin†
  13. Dick May†
  14. James Hylton†
  15. J.D. McDuffie†
  16. Richard Childress
  17. Buddy Arrington
  18. G.C. Spencer†
  19. D.K. Ulrich
  21. Tommy Gale†
  22. Ed Negre†
  23. Dave Marcis*
  24. Ricky Rudd
  25. Tighe Scott*
  26. Bobby Allison*
  27. Tom Sneva*
  28. Jimmy Means*
  29. Dick Trickle*
  30. Lennie Pond*
  31. Butch Hartman*†
  32. Richard Petty*
  33. Frank Warren*
  34. Sam Sommers*
  35. Skip Manning*
  36. Donnie Allison*
  37. Cecil Gordon*†
  38. Dale Earnhardt*†
  39. Roland Wlodyka*
  40. *
  41. Bruce Hill*

* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased

Standings after the race[]

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Cale Yarborough 4505 0
2 Increase Benny Parsons 4127 -378
3 Decrease Richard Petty 4109 -396
4 1rightarrow.png Darrell Waltrip 4067 -438
5 1rightarrow.png Buddy Baker 3579 -926
6 1rightarrow.png Dick Brooks 3380 -1125
7 Increase James Hylton 3124 -1381
8 Decrease Richard Childress 3120 -1385
9 1rightarrow.png Cecil Gordon 3030 -1475
10 1rightarrow.png Bobby Allison 3028 -1477

References[]

  1. ^ "Weather information for the 1977 NAPA National 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "1977 NAPA National 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  3. ^ a b "David Pearson's pole position accomplishment". Scene Daily. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  4. ^ "1977 NAPA National 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  5. ^ a b "1977 NAPA National 500 qualifying information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by National 500/NAPA National 500 races
1977 		Succeeded by
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