1972 Winston 500

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

1972 Winston 500
Race details[1]
Race 11 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
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

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] Clarence Lovell 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, Steven Gray, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver and Herb Nab.[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 ($145,134 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher won $745 for a disqualification ($4,554 when adjusted for inflation).[8]

Qualifying

Grid[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Owner
1 71Bobby Isaac'72 DodgeNord Krauskopf
2 21David Pearson'71 MercuryWood Brothers
3 43Richard Petty'72 DodgePetty Enterprises
4 12Bobby Allison'72 ChevroletRichard Howard
5 11Buddy Baker'72 DodgePetty Enterprises
6 27Donnie Allison'72 ChevroletMonty Myers
7 97Red Farmer'72 FordWillie Humphries
8 79Frank Warren'70 DodgeFrank Warren
9 42Marty Robbins'72 DodgeMarty Robbins
10 30Walter Ballard'71 MercuryVic Ballard
11 3Jimmy Crawford'72 PlymouthCrawford Brothers
12 31Jim Vandiver'70 DodgeO.L. Nixon
13 05David Sisco'72 ChevroletCharlie McGee
14 24Cecil Gordon'71 MercuryCecil Gordon
15 8Ed Negre'70 DodgeEd Negre
16 76Ben Arnold'71 FordBen Arnold
17 92Larry Smith'71 FordHarley Smith
18 91Richard D. Brown'72 ChevroletRalph McNabb
19 7Dean Dalton'71 MercuryDean Dalton
20 93Buck Baker'72 ChevroletHarold Furr

Top 20 finishers

Pos[4] No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led Time/Status
1 21David PearsonMercury188593:43:15
2 71Bobby IsaacDodge18857+4.9 seconds
3 11Buddy BakerDodge18832Lead lap under green flag
4 28Fred LorenzenFord1884Lead lap under green flag
5 43Richard PettyDodge18714+1 lap
6 18Joe FrassonDodge1860+2 laps
7 45LeeRoy YarbroughMercury1850+3 laps
8 98Dick BrooksFord1850+3 laps
9 79Frank WarrenDodge1850+3 laps
10 72Benny ParsonsDodge1840+4 laps
11 2Dave MarcisDodge1830+5 laps
12 57David Ray BoggsDodge1820+6 laps
13 25Jabe ThomasPlymouth1820+6 laps
14 24Cecil GordonMercury1820+6 laps
15 8Ed NegrePlymouth1820+6 laps
16 3Jimmy CrawfordFord1810Terminal vehicle damage
17 76Ben ArnoldFord1800Out of gas
18 88Ron KeselowskiDodge1790Running
19 30Walter BallardMercury1790Running
20 92Larry SmithFord1780Running

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. 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. 1972 Winston 500 race information at Race-Database
  8. 1972 Winston 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
Preceded by
1972 Virginia 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1972
Succeeded by
1972 World 600
Preceded by
1971
Winston 500 races
1972
Succeeded by
1973
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