1974 Dixie 500
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Atlanta International Speedway, used until 1996 | |||
| Date | July 28, 1974 | ||
| Official name | Dixie 500 | ||
| Location | Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | ||
| Distance | 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 131.651 miles per hour (211.872 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 38,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Junior Johnson & Associates | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers | |
| Laps | 114 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1974 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on July 28, 1974, at Atlanta International Raceway in the American community of Hampton, Georgia.
Souvenir magazines for this event was generally handed out to people at a rate of $2 USD per copy ($9.6 when adjusted for inflation). 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
There were 36 drivers in this 328-lap racing event; Dan Daughtry was the unfortunate last-place finish due to troubles with his engine on lap 10. Cale Yarborough earned the pole position for driving speeds up to 156.75 miles per hour (252.26 km/h) during solo qualifying sessions. Earl Ross, a Canadian NASCAR driver, was the only foreigner on the starting grid. Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker and Richard Petty would dominate the opening laps of this event.[2]
Speeds at this event reached up to 131.651 miles per hour (211.872 km/h) throughout the entire three-hour-and-forty-two-minute spectacle. The green flag was officially waved at approximately 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time while the checkered flag was waved at approximately 4:42 PM EDST. Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Richard Petty would dominate the final laps of the race. In the end, Richard Petty went on to defeat David Pearson by exactly 21 seconds. 38,000 live spectators would see other notable drivers such as Elmo Langley, J.D. McDuffie, James Hylton, Donnie Allison and Bill Champion.[2]
Individual winnings ranged from the winner's share of $19,350 ($92,846.05 when adjusted for inflation) to a meager $875 for the last-place finisher ($4,198.46 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this racing event was $101,295 ($486,038.29 when adjusted for inflation).[5]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 43 | Richard Petty | Dodge | 328 |
| 2 | 8 | 21 | David Pearson | Mercury | 328 |
| 3 | 3 | 15 | Buddy Baker | Ford | 327 |
| 4 | 12 | 95 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet | 324 |
| 5 | 4 | 54 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet | 319 |
| 6 | 16 | 2 | Dave Marcis | Dodge | 317 |
| 7 | 32 | 18 | Joe Frasson | Dodge | 316 |
| 8 | 6 | 72 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet | 316 |
| 9 | 21 | 14 | Coo Coo Marlin | Chevrolet | 314 |
| 10 | 20 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet | 314 |
References
- ↑ Weather information for the 1974 Dixie 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
- 1 2 3 4 1974 Dixie 500 racing information at Racing Reference
- ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
- ↑ 1974 Dixie 500 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
| Preceded by 1973 |
Dixie 500 races 1974 |
Succeeded by 1975 |
| Preceded by 1974 Motor State 360 |
Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984 |
Succeeded by 1974 Purlator 500 |