1972 Daytona 500

The 1972 Daytona 500, the 14th running of the event, was held on February 20, 1972 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. A. J. Foyt, driving a 1971 Mercury, won the race.

1972 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 2 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Track map of Daytona International Speedway.
Date February 20, 1972 (1972-02-20)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 57 °F (14 °C); wind speeds approaching 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[1]
Average speed 161.55 miles per hour (259.99 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Nord Krauskopf
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Bobby Isaac Nord Krauskopf
Duel 2 Winner Bobby Allison Richard Howard
Most laps led
Driver A. J. Foyt Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 167
Winner
No. 21 A. J. Foyt Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC Wide World of Sports
Announcers Keith Jackson, Chris Economaki

First Daytona 500 starts for David Sisco and Walter Ballard.[2] Only Daytona 500 start for Richard D. Brown, George Altheide, David Ray Boggs, Ed Hessert, Larry Dickson, Jimmy Finger, Mark Donohue, and Raymond Williams.[2] Last Daytona 500 starts for Vic Elford, Henley Grey, Ben Arnold, Bill Seifert, Elmo Langley, and Bill Champion.[2]

Summary

Foyt drove his number 21 to victory after starting the race from the outside front-row position. There were three cautions flags which slowed the race for a total of 17 laps.[2] Foyt dominated the event, winning by almost two laps over his closest competitor.[3] The victory over Charlie Glotzbach was Foyt's first win of the season.[4]

The 1972 Daytona 500 has the distinction of being the event which had the fewest leaders for a NASCAR race held at Daytona International Speedway; with only Foyt, Richard Petty, and Bobby Allison recorded as leading a lap during the competition.[5] The Daytona 500 was the second event held during the 1972 season,[6] and completed in three hours and five minutes with an average speed of 161 mph. There were a total of 13 lead changes between Foyt, Allison, and Petty throughout the race.[7]

Foyt's victory would earn him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first time for a reigning Daytona 500 champion.

Walter Ballard had a huge crash in this race on lap 16 as a result of getting together with Buddy Baker in the tri-oval. Baker himself would disappear from the race on lap 18. Ballard hit the infield grass and 3 times near the pit road entrance in the tri-oval grass.[2]

Raymond Williams earned the dubious honor of being the only driver ever to both begin and finish in last-place in the same Daytona 500. Also, attrition was through the roof in this race, as only 26 cars even made it 200 miles, just 22 cars ran at least half the race, and just 19 made it 110 laps. Also, the distances between some of the leading finishers were just astounding. Third-place finisher Jim Vandiver (and fourth-place Benny Parsons) was six laps/15 miles behind the winner, fifth-place James Hylton was 9 laps/22.5 miles behind, sixth-place Cale Yarborough was 12 laps/30 miles or 6% of the race distance behind, and 10th-place finisher Vic Elford was 18 laps/45 miles or 9% of the race distance behind Foyt.[2]

Bobby Isaac won the pole but A.J. Foyt overtook him right at the start although the two fought for the lead on the first lap. As Foyt pulled away Issac's day turned out to be a short one as engine problems put the K&K Insurance Dodge on the trailer before the 10 percent mark of the race.[2]

Statistics

Reference:[2]

Finish Start Car no. Driver Owner/Sponsor Car make
1 2 21 A. J. Foyt Purolator (Wood Brothers) '71 Mercury
2 6 6 Charlie Glotzbach American Brakeblok / Signal Stat (Cotton Owens) '71 Dodge
3 8 31 Jim Vandiver O.L. Nixon 70 Dodge
4 33 72 Benny Parsons L.G. DeWitt '70 Mercury
5 35 48 James Hylton Pop Kola (James Hylton) '71 Ford
6 16 3 Cale Yarborough Ray Fox '71 Plymouth
7 23 5 David Sisco Charlie McGee '72 Chevrolet
8 21 25 Jabe Thomas Don Robertson '70 Plymouth
9 15 4 John Sears J. Marvin Mills Heating & Air (J. Marvin Mills) '70 Plymouth
10 13 23 Vic Elford Don Robertson '70 Plymouth
11 26 3 Tommy Gale Frank Vasko '71 Mercury
12 38 64 Elmo Langley Elmo Langley '71 Ford
13 5 91 Richard D. Brown Ralph McNabb '72 Chevrolet
14 37 19 Henley Gray Henley Gray '71 Ford
15 34 0 George Altheide George Altheide '70 Dodge
16 4 12 Bobby Allison Coca-Cola (Richard Howard) '72 Chevrolet
17 20 76 Ben Arnold Ben Arnold '71 Ford
18 7 79 Frank Warren Frank Warren '70 Dodge
19 25 57 David Ray Boggs David Ray Boggs '70 Dodge
20 27 86 Ed Hessert Neil Castles '70 Dodge
21 30 44 Larry Dickson Giachetti Brothers (Richard Giachetti) '71 Ford
22 9 56 Jim Hurtubise Richard Hammond '70 Chevrolet
23 14 90 Bill Dennis Junie Donlavey '72 Ford
24 19 70 J. D. McDuffie J. D. McDuffie '71 Chevrolet
25 3 14 Coo Coo Marlin Cunningham-Kelley (H.B. Cunningham) '72 Chevrolet
26 32 43 Richard Petty STP (Petty Enterprises) '72 Plymouth
27 12 2 Dave Marcis Dave Marcis '72 Dodge
28 28 88 Ron Keselowski Roger Lubinski '70 Dodge
29 36 45 Bill Seifert Bill Seifert '71 Ford
30 18 97 Red Farmer Willie Humphries '72 Ford
31 17 61 Jimmy Finger Bierschwale-Haverlah (Don Bierschwale) '71 Ford
32 22 67 Buddy Arrington Buddy Arrington '70 Plymouth
33 1 71 Bobby Isaac K & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf) '72 Dodge
34 31 11 Buddy Baker STP (Petty Enterprises) '72 Dodge
35 10 16 Mark Donohue American Motors (Roger Penske) '72 Matador
36 29 30 Walter Ballard Ballard Racing (Vic Ballard) '71 Ford
37 24 9 Ramo Stott Housby Racing (Jack Housby) '72 Dodge
38 39 10 Bill Champion Bill Champion '71 Ford
39 11 24 Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon 71 Mercury
40 40 47 Raymond Williams Raymond Williams '71 Ford

References
  1. "Weather of the 1972 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  2. "1972 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  3. Auto editors of Consumer Guide. "1972 NASCAR Grand National Recap". HowStuffWorks, Inc ; Publications International, Ltd. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  4. Fleischman, Bill; Al Pearce (2004). "Race Results: 1949–2002; 1960". The Unauthorized NASCAR Fan Guide: 2004. 2004 (10 ed.). Canton, MI: Checkered Flag Press; Visible Ink Press. pp. 229 of 576. ISBN 0-681-27587-1.
  5. DeHaven, Kim (February 16, 2007). "Frontstretch Folio: Daytona 500". The Frontstretch. Archived from the original on 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
  6. "1972 Winston Cup Results". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  7. "1972 Daytona 500 Results". Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
Preceded by
1971 Daytona 500		 Daytona 500 races
1959-present		 Succeeded by
1973 Daytona 500
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