1975 National 500
Race details
Race 25 of 30 in the 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
The official race program from the 1975 running of the National 500 (now Bank of America Roval 400).
The official race program from the 1975 running of the National 500 (now Bank of America Roval 400).
Date October 5, 1975 (1975-October-05)
Official name National 500
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km)
Weather Temperatures of 72.0 °F (22.2 °C); wind speeds of 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)[1]
Average speed 132.209 miles per hour (212.770 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 168
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Chris Economaki

The 1975 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 5, 1975, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.[2][3][4]

The event was complemented by a Late Model Sportsman event that counted for points in the NASCAR-sanctioned World Service Life 300 (prior to 1982, drivers could drive as many Late Model Sportsman races combined on the short tracks and superspeedways) that, after NASCAR changed the format of the series in 1982, is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series after it became a touring format. Both of those races took place on the same race track.

ABC Sports provided delayed coverage of the race, one week later.

Race report

It took three hours and forty-seven seconds for the race from its 12:30 P.M. scheduled green flag time. The race ended at approximately 4:07 P.M.

After failing to finish the race at Martinsville, Richard Petty defeated David Pearson by 0.26 seconds for the 176th win of his career.[2][4] Richard Petty's championship lead over Benny Parsons would give him an 878-point advantage for the title; which was the largest points lead that anyone has ever accumulated in the Latford system used by NASCAR during the mid-1970s.[2][4] Bruce Hill was the most dominant rookie during the 1975 season; charging to a 27th-place finish.[2][4]

Pearson would win the pole position with a speed of 161.701 miles per hour (260.233 km/h) during qualifying;[2] his next pole position start would be at the 1976 World 600.[5] More than 61,000 spectators would attend with seven cautions for 53 laps.[2][3] The average speed was 132.209 miles per hour (212.770 km/h); over 334 laps on the oval track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[2][3] There were 42 drivers on the grid;[4] all of them were born in the United States of America.[2][3] Coo Coo Marlin was the last-place finisher due to an engine problem on lap 8 in his 1975 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna automobile.[2][4] Charlie Glotzbach led one lap early in this race before a transmission failure sidelined his one-off entry in the #3 Kmart Chevrolet. It was the last lap he ever led in Cup competition.[2][4]

Darel Dieringer would make his final NASCAR appearance in this race; finishing in seventh place in the process.[4]

Notable crew chiefs who in the race included Tim Brewer, Jake Elder, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, and Bud Moore.[6]

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21 David Pearson '73 Mercury
2 71 Dave Marcis '74 Dodge
3 28 A.J. Foyt '75 Chevrolet
4 88 Darrell Waltrip '75 Chevrolet
5 15 Buddy Baker '75 Ford
6 72 Benny Parsons '75 Chevrolet
7 11 Cale Yarborough '75 Chevrolet
8 16 Bobby Allison '75 AMC Matador
9 43 Richard Petty '74 Dodge
10 83 Johnny Rutherford '75 Chevrolet
11 54 Lennie Pond '75 Chevrolet
12 90 Dick Brooks '73 Ford
13 3 Charlie Glotzbach '75 Chevrolet
14 35 Darel Dieringer '73 Ford
15 27 Donnie Allison '75 Chevrolet

Timeline

Section reference:[2]

Finishing order

Section reference:[2]

  1. Richard Petty
  2. David Pearson (fourth consecutive pole position in his career[5])
  3. Buddy Baker
  4. Benny Parsons
  5. Cecil Gordon
  6. James Hylton
  7. Darel Dieringer
  8. Richard Childress
  9. J.D. McDuffie
  10. Elmo Langley
  11. Hershel McGriff*
  12. Chuck Bown
  13. Joe Frasson
  14. Frank Warren
  15. David Sisco*
  16. Grant Adcox
  17. Buddy Arrington*
  18. Bob Burcham*
  19. Cale Yarborough*
  20. Jabe Thomas*
  21. A. J. Foyt*
  22. Lennie Pond*
  23. Jim Vandiver*
  24. Darrell Waltrip*
  25. Richie Panch*
  26. Dave Marcis*
  27. Bruce Hill*
  28. Harry Jefferson*
  29. Jackie Rogers*
  30. Ed Negre*
  31. Bobby Allison*
  32. G.C. Spencer*
  33. Donnie Allison*
  34. Johnny Rutherford*
  35. Dick Brooks*
  36. Charlie Glotzbach*
  37. Bobby Isaac*
  38. Skip Manning*
  39. Jimmy Insolo*
  40. Neil Castles*
  41. Walter Ballard*
  42. Coo Coo Marlin*

Note: * denotes that the driver failed to finish the race.

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Richard Petty 4166 0
2 Increase Benny Parsons 3288 -878
3 Decrease Dave Marcis 3287 -879
4 James Hylton 3268 -898
5 Richard Childress 3233 -933
6 Cecil Gordon 3083 -1083
7 Darrell Waltrip 2990 -1176
8 Elmo Langley 2838 -1328
9 Cale Yarborough 2772 -1394
10 Buddy Baker 2695 -1471

References

  1. ^ "1975 National 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "1975 National 500 race information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
  3. ^ a b c d "1975 National 500 race information (second reference)". Database Racing. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "1975 National 500 race information (third reference)". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  5. ^ a b "David Pearson's pole position accomplishment". Scene Daily. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  6. ^ "1975 National 500 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
Preceded by1975 Old Dominion 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1975 Succeeded by1975 Capital City 500
Preceded by1975 Wilkes 400 Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960–1984 Succeeded by1975 Volunteer 500
Preceded by1974 National 500 races 1975 Succeeded by1976
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