The race car drivers still had to commute to the races using the same stock cars that competed in a typical weekend's race through a policy of homologation (and under their own power). This policy was in effect until roughly 1975. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
Background
Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.[4]
Race report
Five hundred laps were done on a paved track spanning 0.525 miles (0.845km) in a time of three hours and forty-five minutes.[2]Richard Petty would defeat Bobby Allison by a time of six seconds in front of 31,000 live audience members; making this race the closest Bobby Allison ever came to winning at Martinsville.[2] Although Cecil Gordon had a competitive finish of 10th place during this event, his lackluster performance during the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season would eventually cost him a shot at winning the championship.[2]
Exactly ten minutes from the race along with a flyover by the local military jets were used in the 1973 American film The Last American Hero. While Richard Petty and Bobby Allison got filmed most of the time, a moment involving Ray Hendrick's #2 vehicle crashing on lap 311 was also a notable event during the filming.
Allison would earn the pole position with a speed of 85.89 miles per hour (138.23km/h).[2] The average speed of the race, however, would be a mere 69.989 miles per hour (112.636km/h).[2] Eight cautions slowed the race for 58 laps in the entire race.[2] All thirty-six of the qualifying drivers on the grid were male and born somewhere in the United States of America.[2] Originally, 56 drivers auditioned for this race; including Joe Frasson, who was one of the ones who failed to qualify. Bill Shirey would be the unfortunate last-place finisher due to an overheating issue on lap 19.[2]Fred Lorenzen would retire from NASCAR after this race.[5] This was also LeeRoy Yarbrough's last race, never to be heard from again until his death.[2] He ran most of the last two seasons in non-competitive cars yet he was one of the most fearless racers ever.
Richard Petty would go on to win the championship shortly after this race was over while Bobby Allison would find a new employer named Ralph Moody for the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[6] The total purse of this racing event was $46,650 ($339,799 when considering inflation); the first-place finisher received $7,350 ($53,537 when considering inflation) while the last-place finisher received $425 ($3,096 when considering inflation).[7]
Improvements in tire and engine technology in the early 1970s had made NASCAR Cup Series vehicles overpowered compared to the limited space that Martinsville Speedway had for breathing space. Further technological advancements by 2013 have caused further concern for driver safety at Martinsville; indicating that the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series may have to use restrictor plates in Martinsville if tire/engine technology keeps its current pace of development.
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