1973 Dixie 500

1973 Dixie 500
Race details[1]
Race 19 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Layout of Atlanta International Speedway, used until 1996
Date July 22, 1973 (1973-07-22)
Official name Dixie 500
Course 1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)
Average speed 130.211 miles per hour (209.554 km/h)
Attendance 30,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Petty Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers
Laps 178
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers

The 1973 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 22, 1973, at Atlanta International Raceway in the American community of Hampton, Georgia.[2]

Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[3] However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.[4]

Summary

It took three hours and fifty minutes for David Pearson to defeat Cale Yarborough by more than one lap on a paved track spanning 1.522 miles (2.449 km).[2] Competitors were given special permits to enter the motor pits of track; separate from the media and the general public.

Pearson would take home $16,650 in prize money ($88,754.24 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Charles Barrett would receive only $880 in take-home pay ($4,690.91 when adjusted for inflation).[5] Fourteen lead changes were exchanged amongst six leaders (Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bobby Isaac, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and David Pearson).[6] Six cautions were given out for 47 laps and the average speed of the race was 130.211 miles per hour or 209.554 kilometres per hour.[2] Thirty-thousand people would see a racing grid of 39 American drivers and one Canadian driver (Vic Parsons).[2] Richard Petty would gain the pole position with a speed of 157.163 miles per hour or 252.929 kilometres per hour.[2] Barrett would receive the last-place finish due to an engine difficult on lap 3 out of 328.[2]

Only the winner of the race would be on the lead lap by the end of the race.[2]

Finishing order

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

Timeline

References

  1. ↑ "1973 Dixie 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "1973 Dixie 500 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  3. ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  4. 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. ↑ "1973 Dixie 500 racing information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
  6. ↑ "1973 Dixie 500 racing information". Race Database. Retrieved 2012-03-24.
Preceded by
1973 Volunteer 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1973 		Succeeded by
1973 Talladega 500
Preceded by
1972		 Dixie 500 races
1973 		Succeeded by
1974
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