1973 Talladega 500

1973 Talladega 500
Race details[1]
Race 20 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date August 12, 1973 (1973-August-12)
Official name Talladega 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course 2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Extremely hot with temperatures of 95.0 °F (35.0 °C); wind speeds up to 4.2 miles per hour (6.8 km/h)
Average speed 145.454 miles per hour (234.086 km/h)
Attendance 56,000
Pole position
Driver Allison Racing
Most laps led
Driver David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing
Laps 40
Winner
No. 22 Dick Brooks Crawford (Brothers) Racing
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Ken Squier
Turn Announcers Jim Fife, Tracy Dent, Barney Hall

The 1973 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was held on August 12, 1973, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama (AIMS).

The race, won by Dick Brooks, was his only NASCAR career win. It was also the last win recorded for Plymouth as a NASCAR manufacturer. A Plymouth car winning the 1973 Talledega 500 was considered an upset.

The race set AIMS racetrack records (at the time of the race) for number of drivers leading in a race (15), number of lead changes in a race (64), and number of caution laps in a race (52). It also was the first race at the track in which a driver was fatally injured (Larry Smith).

Legend

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This race is also remembered for Bobby Isaac retiring in the middle of the race, after the fatal accident of Larry Smith, because he stated "something told" him to quit. Media accounts at the time claimed he stated heard a voice telling him to get out of the car immediately or he would die. Talladega Super Speedway is rumored to be "haunted" due to the rumor that Talladega was built on top of a Native American burial ground. As soon as he got to a telephone after climbing from the car, he called his wife and told her about it. He said that everything got very quiet in the car. There was no wind noise or engine noise. He then heard a voice tell him to get out of the car and he did without hesitation. He did return to racing later in his life, in 1977, racing on short tracks.

Summary

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Larry Smith fatal crash

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On lap 13 of the race, the #92 car of Larry Smith (Carling Black Label Racing) struck the outside retaining wall of turn 1 at (by radio broadcast estimates) approximately 180 miles per hour.[2]

Smith was described on the radio broadcast as "(the car) coasting to a stop", and one commentator described the car being "driven down to the inside of turn number two" where the car was parked and track safety crews waited to meet it.

Two different commentators were under the initial belief that Smith had driven the car from the outside wall to the safety apron under his own power, and that the damage from the hit was sufficient to take him out of the race.[2] Damage to the car was described as the right front wheel having been sheared off, and the front end significantly damaged, with the windshield smashed out and glass on the track.

A preliminary report, given during lap 18, indicates that Smith "may have been injured". The caution put in place by Smith's crash was released on lap 27, after Smith's car was towed away and windshield glass from the car was cleared from the track.

By the end of the caution period, Smith's crash was described as a hard hit, with heavy damage to his car. Smith was taken by ambulance to the track's hospital on a stretcher, and further reports were awaited.

Larry Smith's death was confirmed to the race's radio broadcast audience at lap 51. He was described as having been dead on arrival to the track's hospital, after the hit his car took on turn 1 of the track. Smith's death was the first race fatality at Alabama International Motor Speedway.[2]

Track officials indicated that the headrest of Smith's car had been broken by the wall impact, and that he had died of massive head injuries. It was further reported that he had been running his car on a cut tire for two laps prior to the crash, with only the safety inner liner of the tire keeping the car rolling.[3]

Lap 174

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As a three way fight for the win between Dick Brooks, Buddy Baker, and David Pearson was in progress, Baker's car suddenly began smoking heavily. This was assumed to be a blown engine, and it brought out a caution. Baker circled to the pits and briefly stopped, to have a hole in his oil filter repaired, by having the filter replaced. Baker did not fall off the lead lap; at this point, only Brooks, Baker, and Pearson's cars remained on the lead lap.

Lap 180 and finish

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The race resumed under green on lap 180, with Brooks and Pearson battling for the lead. Pearson's car appeared to be lagging as of the restart, and he quickly fell back behind lapped cars to be passed by a still-smoking Buddy Baker car for second position.

Dick Brooks took the checkered flag for the win, with Buddy Baker keeping his heavily smoking car going to finish second. Pearson's pit crew reported that his car was 'missing badly', and he finished third on the lead lap, with a partially disabled engine.

Race results

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David Pearson's third-place finish was sufficient to make him the second NASCAR driver to reach the $1,000,000 purse earnings mark. The first to do this was Richard Petty.

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Status Points[4]
1 24 22 United States Dick Brooks Crawford (Brothers) Racing Plymouth 188 3:26:17 360
2 21 71 United States Buddy Baker Krauskopf Racing Dodge 188 +7.2 sec 333
3 2 21 United States David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 188 lead lap 331
4 25 48 United States James Hylton James Hylton Motorsports Mercury 186 +2 laps 326.5
5 13 05 United States David Sisco Sisco Racing Chevrolet 186 +2 laps 324.5
6 7 11 United States Cale Yarborough Howard Racing Chevrolet 185 +3 laps 321.25
7 27 95 United States Darrell Waltrip Waltrip Racing Mercury 184 +4 laps 318
8 9 24 United States Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Mercury 184 +4 laps 316
9 17 30 United States Walter Ballard Vic Ballard Racing Mercury 184 +4 laps 314
10 26 02 United States L. D. Ottinger Bryant Racing Chevrolet 183 +5 laps 310.75
11 23 70 United States J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Chevrolet 183 +5 laps 308.75
12 33 2 United States Dave Marcis Marcis Racing Dodge 183 +5 laps 306.75
13 4 15 United States Bobby Isaac Moore Racing Ford 182 +6 laps 303.5
14 3 43 United States Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 181 +7 laps 300.25
15 12 79 United States Frank Warren Warren Racing Dodge 181 +7 laps 298.25
16 37 25 United States Jabe Thomas Robertson Racing Dodge 180 +8 laps 295
17 46 7 United States Dean Dalton Dalton Racing Chevrolet 180 +8 laps 293
18 18 82 United States Bill Ward Bennett Racing Chevrolet 179 +9 laps 289.75
19 34 68 United States Alton Jones Hawkersmith Racing Chevrolet 178 +10 laps 286.5
20 38 74 United States Randy Tissot Tissot Racing Chevrolet 176 +12 laps 282
21 30 64 United States Elmo Langley Langley Racing Ford 175 +13 laps 278.85
22 40 10 United States Bill Champion Champion Racing Mercury 175 +13 laps 276.75
23 44 0 United States Eddie Bond Bond Racing Dodge 171 +17 laps 269.75
24 45 00 United States Bobby Mausgrover Mausgrover Racing Chevrolet 167 +21 laps 262.75
25 42 8 United States Ed Negre Negre Racing Dodge 166 +22 laps 259.5
26 5 88 United States Donnie Allison DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 157 Engine 246.25
27 20 67 United States Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Plymouth 156 Engine 243
28 47 19 United States Henley Gray Gray Racing Mercury 156 +32 laps 241
29 1 12 United States Bobby Allison Allison Racing Chevrolet 155 Crash 237.75
30 31 89 United States Johnny Barnes Hopper-Crews Racing Mercury 115 Rear end 185.75
31 14 96 United States Richard Childress Garn Racing Chevrolet 111 Throttle 178.75
32 19 97 United States Red Farmer Humphries Racing Ford 106 Engine 170.5
33 11 61 United States Ed Sczech Bierschwale Racing Chevrolet 94 Oil pump 153.5
34 41 84 United States Bob Davis Davis Racing Dodge 93 Ignition 150.25
35 39 4 United States Jim Vandiver Sears Racing Dodge 88 Engine 142
36 10 42 United States Marty Robbins Robbins Racing Dodge 80 Ignition 130
37 28 90 United States Jody Ridley Donlavey Racing Mercury 77 Transmission 124.25
38 6 72 United States Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing Chevrolet 74 Engine 118.5
39 48 40 United States D. K. Ulrich Ulrich Racing Ford 65 Ignition 105.25
40 22 14 United States Coo Coo Marlin H. B. Cunningham Chevrolet 58 Engine 94.5
41 43 80 United States Phil Finney Finney Racing Chevrolet 55 Oil leak 88.75
42 49 77 United States Charlie Roberts Roberts Racing Ford 52 Engine 83
43 15 18 United States Joe Frasson Frasson Racing Dodge 51 Engine 79.75
44 36 73 United States Mel Larson Larson Racing Dodge 51 Oil leak 77.75
45 8 28 United States Ramo Stott Ellington Racing Chevrolet 46 Transmission 69.5
46 50 47 United States Raymond Williams Williams Racing Ford 33 Engine 51.25
47 32 54 United States Lennie Pond Elder Racing Chevrolet 32 Engine 48
48 29 03 United States Tommy Gale Gale Racing Mercury 18 Ignition 28.5
49 35 92 United States Larry Smith Carling (Black Label) Racing Mercury 13 Fatal crash 20.25
50 16 83 United States Paul Tyler Reed Racing Mercury 10 Ignition 14.5
WD 39* United States Richard Brown Chevrolet Engine
WD 50* United States Ron Keselowski Dodge Not competitive
DNQ - United States Neil Bonnett
Source:[1]

* Qualifying position of the driver before withdrawing[5]

✝ Driver was fatally injured

Aftermath

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Plymouth (which had not won a NASCAR race in all of 1973) taking a win was considered a shock by contemporaries and by racing fans. While all cars on track at Talledega had to use restrictor plates (the Crawford Brothers Racing #22 included), it was revealed years later by team co-owner Jimmy Crawford that there was a mechanical reason for the Plymouth's unusual speed and power. His brother, Peter Crawford, designed an induction system to maximize airflow to the car's engine despite the mandatory restrictor plate.

Peter Crawford's mechanical work resulted in a custom intake manifold which fit the rule specifications for 1973 parts, and was approved by NASCAR for the race as long as similar manifolds were made available to other participating Plymouth teams. Privately, testing performed by the team demonstrated that the Peter Crawford's intake manifold allowed their engine to produce in excess of 600 horsepower even with the restrictor plate installed.

After the race and the runaway result from the Plymouth, AIMS track owner and then-NASCAR president Bill France Sr. called a meeting with the brothers.

The brothers were informed that Peter's intake manifold design was being outlawed according to the rule stating that "All parts must be NASCAR approved"; simply put, NASCAR was revoking their earlier approval to use it because of its raw effectiveness and the imbalance it introduced.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 1973 Talladega 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c "1973 Talladega 500". www.mrn.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  3. ^ "Tucson Daily Citizen Page 39 - at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 1973-08-13. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  4. ^ "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - NASCAR Current Points System and History". www.jayski.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  5. ^ "The Danville Register, Page 45 - at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 1973-08-12. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  6. ^ "Racin' Today  » Minter: Here Is The Rest Of The 1973 Story". www.racintoday.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Talladega 500 races
1973
Succeeded by