1973 Talladega 500

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1973 Talladega 500
Race details [1]
Race 20 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway.png
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date August 12, 1973 (1973-08-12)
Official name Talladega 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course length 4.280 km (2.660 miles)
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).

Contents

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

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

Larry Smith fatal crash

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

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

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

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.

PosGridNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatusPoints [4]
12422 Flag of the United States.svg Dick Brooks Crawford (Brothers) Racing Plymouth 1883:26:17360
22171 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Baker Krauskopf RacingDodge188+7.2 sec333
3221 Flag of the United States.svg David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 188lead lap331
42548 Flag of the United States.svg James Hylton James Hylton Motorsports Mercury186+2 laps326.5
51305 Flag of the United States.svg David Sisco Sisco RacingChevrolet186+2 laps324.5
6711 Flag of the United States.svg Cale Yarborough Howard RacingChevrolet185+3 laps321.25
72795 Flag of the United States.svg Darrell Waltrip Waltrip RacingMercury184+4 laps318
8924 Flag of the United States.svg Cecil Gordon Gordon RacingMercury184+4 laps316
91730 Flag of the United States.svg Walter Ballard Vic Ballard RacingMercury184+4 laps314
102602 Flag of the United States.svg L. D. Ottinger Bryant RacingChevrolet183+5 laps310.75
112370 Flag of the United States.svg J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Chevrolet183+5 laps308.75
12332 Flag of the United States.svg Dave Marcis Marcis RacingDodge183+5 laps306.75
13415 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Isaac Moore RacingFord182+6 laps303.5
14343 Flag of the United States.svg Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge181+7 laps300.25
151279 Flag of the United States.svg Frank Warren Warren RacingDodge181+7 laps298.25
163725 Flag of the United States.svg Jabe Thomas Robertson RacingDodge180+8 laps295
17467 Flag of the United States.svg Dean Dalton Dalton RacingChevrolet180+8 laps293
181882 Flag of the United States.svg Bill WardBennett RacingChevrolet179+9 laps289.75
193468 Flag of the United States.svg Alton JonesHawkersmith RacingChevrolet178+10 laps286.5
203874 Flag of the United States.svg Randy Tissot Tissot RacingChevrolet176+12 laps282
213064 Flag of the United States.svg Elmo Langley Langley Racing Ford175+13 laps278.85
224010 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Champion Champion Racing Mercury175+13 laps276.75
23440 Flag of the United States.svg Eddie BondBond RacingDodge171+17 laps269.75
244500 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Mausgrover Mausgrover RacingChevrolet167+21 laps262.75
25428 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Negre Negre RacingDodge166+22 laps259.5
26588 Flag of the United States.svg Donnie Allison DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 157Engine246.25
272067 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Arrington Arrington RacingPlymouth156Engine243
284719 Flag of the United States.svg Henley Gray Gray RacingMercury156+32 laps241
29112 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Allison Allison RacingChevrolet155Crash237.75
303189 Flag of the United States.svg Johnny BarnesHopper-Crews RacingMercury115Rear end185.75
311496 Flag of the United States.svg Richard Childress Garn RacingChevrolet111Throttle178.75
321997 Flag of the United States.svg Red Farmer Humphries RacingFord106Engine170.5
331161 Flag of the United States.svg Ed SczechBierschwale RacingChevrolet94Oil pump153.5
344184 Flag of the United States.svg Bob Davis Davis RacingDodge93Ignition150.25
35394 Flag of the United States.svg Jim Vandiver Sears RacingDodge88Engine142
361042 Flag of the United States.svg Marty Robbins Robbins RacingDodge80Ignition130
372890 Flag of the United States.svg Jody Ridley Donlavey RacingMercury77Transmission124.25
38672 Flag of the United States.svg Benny Parsons DeWitt Racing Chevrolet74Engine118.5
394840 Flag of the United States.svg D. K. Ulrich Ulrich Racing Ford65Ignition105.25
402214 Flag of the United States.svg Coo Coo Marlin H. B. CunninghamChevrolet58Engine94.5
414380 Flag of the United States.svg Phil FinneyFinney RacingChevrolet55Oil leak88.75
424977 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Roberts Roberts RacingFord52Engine83
431518 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Frasson Frasson RacingDodge51Engine79.75
443673 Flag of the United States.svg Mel Larson Larson RacingDodge51Oil leak77.75
45828 Flag of the United States.svg Ramo Stott Ellington Racing Chevrolet46Transmission69.5
465047 Flag of the United States.svg Raymond Williams Williams RacingFord33Engine51.25
473254 Flag of the United States.svg Lennie Pond Elder RacingChevrolet32Engine48
482903 Flag of the United States.svg Tommy Gale Gale RacingMercury18Ignition28.5
493592 Flag of the United States.svg Larry SmithCarling (Black Label) RacingMercury13Fatal crash20.25
501683 Flag of the United States.svg Paul TylerReed RacingMercury10Ignition14.5
WD39* Flag of the United States.svg Richard BrownChevroletEngine
WD50* Flag of the United States.svg Ron Keselowski DodgeNot competitive
DNQ- Flag of the United States.svg Neil Bonnett
Source:

* Qualifying position of the driver before withdrawing [5]

✝ Driver was fatally injured

Aftermath

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

  1. Weather information for the 1973 Talladega 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 "1973 Talladega 500". www.mrn.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  3. "Tucson Daily Citizen Page 39 - at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. August 13, 1973. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  4. "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - NASCAR Current Points System and History". www.jayski.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. "The Danville Register, Page 45 - at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. August 12, 1973. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
  6. "Racin' Today  » Minter: Here Is The Rest Of The 1973 Story". www.racintoday.com. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Talladega 500 races
1973
Succeeded by