1976 World 600
Race details[1]
Race 13 of 30 in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date May 30, 1976 (1976-May-30)
Official name World 600
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 137.352 mph (221.047 km/h)
Attendance 103,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers Racing
Time 33.9341 seconds
159.132 mph (256.098 km/h)
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 230
Winner
No. 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier

The 1976 World 600, the 17th running of the event, was a Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 30, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Race report

The five drivers that dominated the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season were David Pearson (average finish of 7th place), Cale Yarborough (average finish of 8th place), Richard Petty (average finish of 9th place), Benny Parsons (average finish of 10th place), and Bobby Allison (average finish 12th place).

Four hundred laps took place spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km).[2] It took four hours and twenty-two minutes for David Pearson to defeat Richard Petty under the race's final yellow flag in front of 103,000 spectators. [2]

Pearson would earn the pole position with a speed of 159.132 miles per hour (256.098 km/h) while the race's average speed would be 137.352 miles per hour (221.047 km/h); he would clinch his third career World 600 win at this event along with his final win ever at Charlotte.[2] Dale Earnhardt ran a #30 Army Special Chevrolet scheme at this event.[2] Terry Ryan was the last-place finisher due to a hub problem on lap 11. [2] Wisconsin short track ace Dick Trickle did a one-off in a second car, the #99 Ford, for the Junie Donlavey team, blew an engine and retired before halfway.[2] Seven cautions slowed the race for 38 laps (including the 400th lap of the race).[2]

For the first 245 laps the primary battle was between Pearson and Yarborough as the lead officially changed 33 times in that span and 37 in all. Yarborough cut a tire and finished a lap down in third.

David Pearson's next pole position would be at Riverside International Raceway two weeks later; he would win eight poles overall that year including at the 1976 National 500; which took place that October.[3]

Bobby Isaac blew his engine and spun at Lap 46; it would be his final Winston Cup start. It was ironic that Isaac’s career ended in the World 600, as his debut came fifteen years earlier when, as a favor, he started and parked Junior Johnson's car in the qualifying race for this historic event.

Janet Guthrie would make her debut here.[4] She was invited to attempt this race by Humpy Wheeler after failing to qualify for the 1976 Indianapolis 500. Guthrie finished her first stock car race in 15th place and drove well over 500 miles in the process, silencing some of the era's critics who thought women wouldn't be able to go the distance in long oval races.[2]

Notable crew chiefs who participated in this race included Junie Donlavey, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, and Bud Moore.[5]

Race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $49,990 ($257,083 when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's earnings of $885 ($4,551 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse sanctioned by NASCAR for this event was $225,025 ($1,157,234 when adjusted for inflation).[6]

Qualifying

Grid[2] No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21 David Pearson Mercury
2 43 Richard Petty Dodge
3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
4 2 Bobby Allison Mercury
5 71 Dave Marcis Dodge
6 15 Buddy Baker Ford
7 28 Donnie Allison Chevrolet
8 14 Charlie Glotzbach Chevrolet
9 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet
10 90 Dick Brooks Ford
11 18 Harry Gant Chevrolet
12 48 James Hylton Chevrolet
13 54 Lennie Pond Chevrolet
14 79 Frank Warren Dodge
15 99 Dick Trickle Ford
16 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet
17 19 Cecil Gordon Chevrolet
18 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet
19 47 Bruce Hill Chevrolet
20 41 Grant Adcox Chevrolet
21 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge
22 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet
23 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet
24 60 Jackie Rogers Chevrolet
25 30 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
26 9 Bill Elliott Ford
27 68 Janet Guthrie Chevrolet
28 8 Ed Negre Dodge
29 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet
30 50 Darrell Bryant Chevrolet
31 81 Terry Ryan Chevrolet
32 05 David Sisco Chevrolet
33 26 Bobby Wawak Chevrolet
34 6 Bobby Isaac Chevrolet
35 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet
36 25 Dick May Chevrolet
37 7 D.K. Ulrich Chevrolet
38 95 Gary Myers Chevrolet
39 29 Walter Ballard Chevrolet
40 91 Bob Burcham Chevrolet

Box Score

Cautions: 7 for 38 laps
Margin of victory: under caution

Fin Grid Car
# 		Driver Car Make Laps Status Laps
Led 		Points
1 1 21 David Pearson Mercury 400 4:22:06 230 185 (10)
2 2 43 Richard Petty Dodge 400 Running 56 175 (5)
3 3 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 399 Running 108 170 (5)
4 4 2 Bobby Allison Mercury 397 Running 0 160
5 16 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 396 Running 1 160 (5)
6 7 28 Donnie Allison Chevrolet 396 Running 0 150
7 10 90 Dick Brooks Ford 391 Crash 0 146
8 13 54 Lennie Pond Chevrolet 391 Running 0 142
9 11 18 Harry Gant Chevrolet 387 Running 0 138
10 32 05 David Sisco Chevrolet 386 Running 0 134
11 9 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 384 Running 0 130
12 20 41 Grant Adcox Chevrolet 383 Crash 0 127
13 12 48 James Hylton Chevrolet 383 Running 0 124
14 21 67 Buddy Arrington Dodge 379 Running 0 121
15 27 68 Janet Guthrie Chevrolet 379 Running 0 0
16 37 7 D.K. Ulrich Chevrolet 378 Running 0 115
17 18 3 Richard Childress Chevrolet 373 Running 0 112
18 14 79 Frank Warren Dodge 371 Running 0 109
19 30 50 Darrell Bryant Chevrolet 371 Running 0 106
20 17 19 Cecil Gordon Chevrolet 365 Running 0 103
21 36 25 Dick May Chevrolet 361 Running 0 100
22 39 29 Walter Ballard Chevrolet 356 Running 0 97
23 26 9 Bill Elliott Ford 343 Engine 0 94
24 23 27 Sam Sommers Chevrolet 343 Running 0 91
25 29 70 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet 303 Running 0 88
26 33 26 Bobby Wawak Chevrolet 276 Engine 0 85
27 28 8 Ed Negre Dodge 245 Running 0 82
28 6 15 Buddy Baker Ford 230 Crash 0 79
29 5 71 Dave Marcis Dodge 230 Engine 5 81 (5)
30 38 95 Gary Myers Chevrolet 164 Engine 0 73
31 25 30 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet 156 Engine 0 70
32 15 99 Dick Trickle Ford 142 Engine 0 67
33 22 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet 137 Engine 0 64
34 8 14 Charlie Glotzbach Chevrolet 121 Engine 0 61
35 40 91 Bob Burcham Chevrolet 99 Sway bar 0 58
36 24 60 Jackie Rogers Chevrolet 88 Steering 0 55
37 19 47 Bruce Hill Chevrolet 51 Transmission 0 52
38 34 6 Bobby Isaac Chevrolet 39 Engine 0 49
39 35 52 Jimmy Means Chevrolet 32 Engine 0 46
40 31 81 Terry Ryan Chevrolet 11 Hub 0 43

(5) Indicates 5 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap
(10) Indicates 10 bonus points added to normal race points scored for leading 1 lap & leading the most laps.

Lap Leader Breakdown

Lead changes: 37

Driver From
Lap 		To
Lap 		Number
of Laps
Cale Yarborough 1 1 1
David Pearson 2 3 2
Cale Yarborough 4 5 2
David Pearson 6 6 1
Cale Yarborough 7 46 40
Dave Marcis 47 48 2
Cale Yarborough 49 61 13
David Pearson 62 85 24
Benny Parsons 86 86 1
David Pearson 87 97 11
Cale Yarborough 98 104 7
David Pearson 105 117 13
Richard Petty 118 119 2
Cale Yarborough 120 126 7
David Pearson 127 145 19
Dave Marcis 146 147 2
David Pearson 148 150 3
Cale Yarborough 151 152 2
David Pearson 153 156 4
Cale Yarborough 157 162 6
David Pearson 163 169 7
Cale Yarborough 170 171 2
David Pearson 172 185 14
Cale Yarborough 186 196 11
Dave Marcis 197 197 1
Cale Yarborough 198 203 6
David Pearson 204 219 16
Cale Yarborough 220 220 1
David Pearson 221 221 1
Cale Yarborough 222 222 1
David Pearson 223 223 1
Cale Yarborough 224 232 9
David Pearson 233 251 19
Richard Petty 252 300 49
David Pearson 301 363 63
Richard Petty 364 368 5
David Pearson 369 400 32

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[2] Differential
1 Benny Parsons 1996 0
2 Cale Yarborough 1982 -14
3 Richard Petty 1898 -98
4 Bobby Allison 1816 -180
5 Increase Lennie Pond 1730 -266
6 Decrease Dave Marcis 1693 -303
7 Richard Childress 1628 -368
8 Increase Darrell Waltrip 1514 -482
9 Decrease Buddy Baker 1508 -488
10 Frank Warren 1480 -516

References

  1. ^ "1976 World 600 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "1976 World 600 race information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-04-04.
  3. ^ "David Pearson's pole position accomplishment". Scene Daily. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
  4. ^ "Janet Guthrie's NASCAR debut". How Stuff Works. Archived from the original on 2017-06-01. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
  5. ^ "1976 World 600 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
  6. ^ "1976 World 600 prize winnings information". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
Preceded by1976 Mason-Dixon 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Season 1976 Succeeded by1976 Riverside 400
Preceded by1975 World 600 races 1976 Succeeded by1977
Categories