1973 Rebel 500
Race details[1][2][3][4]
Race 8 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1973 Rebel 500 program cover
1973 Rebel 500 program cover
Date April 15, 1973 (1973-04-15)
Official name Rebel 500
Location Darlington Raceway (Darlington, South Carolina)
Course 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 367 laps, 501.3 mi (806.7 km)
Weather Temperatures of 68.9 °F (20.5 °C); wind speeds up to 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h)
Average speed 122.655 mph (197.394 km/h)
Attendance 48,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers
Laps 246
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers

The 1973 Rebel 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on April 15, 1973, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

Race report

Three hundred and sixty seven laps took place on the paved oval track spanning 1.366 miles (2.198 km) for a total of 501.3 miles (806.8 km).[2][3][4] The total time of the race was four hours and four minutes.[2][4] Speeds were: 122.655 miles per hour (197.394 km/h) for the average and 153.463 miles per hour (246.975 km/h) for the pole position.[2] There were eleven cautions for seventy-one laps.[2][3][4] David Pearson defeated Benny Parsons by thirteen laps in front of forty-eight thousand people.[2][3][4]

Early in the race on lap 2, a 5 car accident happened in Turn 2. Buddy Arrington, Richie Panch, Dave Marcis, Lennie Pond, and Dean Dalton were involved. Marcis and Pond would eventually go on to retire due to crash related problems.[5] Cale Yarborough would suffer a spin also early in the race. Paul Tyler and Bobby Issac would also spin in the race. James Hylton would smash into the wall, causing a caution. Charlie Roberts would also suffer engine failures, causing another caution. The 10th caution would come out with an accident including Cale Yarborough and G.C. Spencer. With Pearson leading the next restart, it only took one turn to turn Turn 1 into a "junkyard", with a 7 car crash, including Parsons, Petty, Arrington, Mayne, Brooks, and more involved, causing the 11th caution. Twelve cars finished this race out of the 40 starters.

This race stands as the second largest margin of victory in Cup history, falling just short of Ned Jarrett and his 14 lap differential in the 1965 Southern 500.[2][3][4]

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and Bud Moore.[6]

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21 David Pearson '71 Mercury
2 11 Cale Yarborough '73 Chevrolet
3 12 Bobby Allison '73 Chevrolet
4 15 Bobby Isaac '72 Ford
5 71 Bobby Baker '73 Dodge
6 72 Benny Parsons '72 Chevrolet
7 24 Cecil Gordon '72 Chevrolet
8 43 Richard Petty '73 Dodge
9 28 Charlie Glotzbach '72 Chevrolet
10 7 Dean Dalton '71 Mercury
11 48 James Hylton '71 Mercury
12 18 Joe Frasson '73 Dodge
13 95 Darrell Waltrip '71 Mercury
14 54 Lennie Pond '73 Chevrolet
15 2 Dave Marcis '71 Dodge
16 67 Buddy Arrington '72 Dodge
17 90 Richie Panch '71 Mercury
18 61 Clarence Lovell '73 Chevrolet
19 25 Roy Mayne '73 Dodge
20 83 Paul Tyler '71 Mercury
21 96 Richard Childress '73 Chevrolet
22 01 Earle Canavan '72 Plymouth
23 45 Vic Parsons '71 Ford
24 92 Larry Smith '71 Mercury
25 98 Dick Brooks '71 Ford
26 70 J.D. McDuffie '72 Chevrolet
27 30 Walter Ballard '71 Mercury
28 49 G.C. Spencer '72 Dodge
29 79 David Ray Boggs '73 Dodge
30 19 Jabe Thomas '71 Mercury

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

Fin St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status
1 1 21 David Pearson Purolator Special '71 Mercury 367 246 running
2 6 72 Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing '72 Chevrolet 354 12 running
3 3 12 Bobby Allison Coca-Cola '73 Chevrolet 349 96 engine
4 21 96 Richard Childress L.C. Newton Trucking '73 Chevrolet 346 0 running
5 26 70 J.D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing '72 Chevrolet 344 0 running
6 10 7 Dean Dalton Belden Asphalt '71 Mercury 341 0 running
7 8 43 Richard Petty STP '73 Dodge 340 4 crash
8 5 71 Buddy Baker K & K Insurance '73 Dodge 332 0 running
9 19 25 Roy Mayne Clyde Lynn Inc. '73 Dodge 331 0 running
10 33 47 Raymond Williams Jet Way Wax '72 Ford 330 0 running
11 25 98 Dick Brooks Truxmore Industries '71 Ford 328 0 crash
12 22 01 Earle Canavan Kosin's Auto Parts '72 Plymouth 326 0 running
13 16 67 Buddy Arrington KFC Bacon Center Fries Special '72 Dodge 324 0 crash
14 39 34 Wendell Scott Scott Racing '71 Ford 319 0 running
15 28 49 G.C. Spencer Sheffield Auto Mart '72 Dodge 317 0 crash
16 30 19 Jabe Thomas Gray Racing '71 Mercury 315 0 running
17 17 90 Richie Panch Truxmore Industries '71 Mercury 309 0 running
18 38 89 Johnny Barnes Hopper-Crews '71 Mercury 291 0 running
19 2 11 Cale Yarborough Kar-Kare '73 Chevrolet 275 0 engine
20 31 8 Ed Negre Clyde Lynn's Inc. '71 Mercury 256 0 oil line
21 7 24 Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon Racing '72 Chevrolet 251 0 engine
22 35 4 John Sears J. Marvin Mills Heating & Air '71 Dodge 250 0 engine
23 11 48 James Hylton Hylton Engineering '71 Mercury 250 0 running
24 13 95 Darrell Waltrip Terminal Transport '71 Mercury 199 9 engine
25 27 30 Walter Ballard Ballard Racing '71 Mercury 178 0 engine
26 34 77 Charlie Roberts Sunny King Ford '71 Ford 170 0 engine
27 20 83 Paul Tyler Smithville Farms '71 Mercury 159 0 overheating
28 23 45 Vic Parsons Seifert Rent-A-Racer '71 Ford 150 0 overheating
29 29 79 David Ray Boggs Winston 500 '73 Dodge 116 0 engine
30 18 61 Clarence Lovell B & B Racing '73 Chevrolet 95 0 engine
31 9 28 Charlie Glotzbach Ellington Racing '72 Chevrolet 86 0 engine
32 40 84 Frank Warren Davis Racing '71 Dodge 78 0 brakes
33 4 15 Bobby Isaac Sta-Power Industries '72 Ford 77 0 engine
34 12 18 Joe Frasson Frasson Cement '73 Dodge 67 0 engine
35 32 64 Elmo Langley Langley Racing '72 Ford 54 0 oil pan
36 14 54 Lennie Pond Master Chevy Sales '73 Chevrolet 39 0 crash
37 24 92 Larry Smith Carling Black Label '71 Mercury 23 0 overheating
38 36 26 Earl Brooks Brooks Racing '71 Ford 20 0 oil leak
39 37 10 Bill Champion Champion Racing '71 Mercury 18 0 engine
40 15 2 Dave Marcis Marcis Racing '71 Dodge 2 0 crash

References

  1. ^ "1973 Rebel 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "1973 Rebel 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e "1973 Rebel 500 racing results (third reference)". Database Racing. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "1973 Rebel 500 racing results (fourth reference)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2010-11-27.
  5. ^ 1973 Rebel 500, retrieved 2021-05-05
  6. ^ "1973 Rebel 500 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
Preceded by1973 Gwyn Staley 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1973 Succeeded by1973 Virginia 500
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