1975 Winston Western 500

Last updated
1975 Winston Western 500
Race details [1]
Race 1 of 30 in the 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Riverside Raceway.JPG
Layout of Riverside International Raceway (1969-1988 version)
Date January 19, 1975 (1975-January-19)
Official name Winston Western 500
Location Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance 191 laps, 500.4 mi (805.3 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures of 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds of 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h)
Average speed 98.627 miles per hour (158.725 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
 Penske Racing South
Most laps led
DriverBobby AllisonPenske Racing South
Laps 173
Winner
No. 16Bobby AllisonPenske Racing South
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Buddy Baker
Ken Squier

The 1975 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 19, 1975, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. A companion race known as the Permatex 200, in the Late Model Sportsmen Series, would be held one day prior to this event on the same track.

Contents

The 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series would jump start Richard Petty into a different breed of stock car driver; even though his 1975 Dodge Charger muscle car vehicle would be as comfortable to drive on the race track as a boxcar on the railroad tracks. [2]

This was the first race that the vaunted Chevrolet Malibu Laguna S-3 was eligible for competition, although its use began in earnest at the 1975 Daytona 500.

Race report

35 drivers managed to qualify for this 191-lap race that spanned a total distance of 500.4 miles or 805.3 kilometres. Fifty-five thousand people would attend a live racing event that would last for five hours and four minutes. Ivan Baldwin would become the last-place finisher due to engine problems on the fourth lap. Bobby Allison and David Pearson both chased each other for the lead lap before Allison would win by nearly 23 seconds over Pearson. Other drivers who had the lead at certain points in the race were Sonny Easley and Ray Elder. More than half the field failed to finish the race due to problems ranging from engine difficulties to oil-related problems and even the occasional transmission problem. [3]

Only 13 cars were running at the end of the race; only Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Cecil Gordon, and Dave Marcis had a realistic shot of winning the race. Most of the teams were feeling their way through since it was the first race of the year and teams had to experiment with new strategies. [3] The broadcasting range provided by the network was questionable at best despite being televised specifically for cable television. Most of the Northern United States (including New Jersey) were nearly oblivious to the events that occurred. The results were shown primarily through tape-delayed highlight shows and amateurish NASCAR magazines. [4]

Speeds up to 110.382 miles per hour or 177.643 kilometres per hour were seen during solo qualifying runs while actual race speeds were merely 98.267 miles per hour or 158.145 kilometres per hour. [3] Richard Petty would spend 19 laps on pit road while the crew repaired the left front of his car; using a lot of Arno 200 MPH tape in the process. The car looked like a candidate for the junkyard but Petty later roared around the track faster than eventual race winner Bobby Allison. Petty even passed Allison a few times in the process. [3] [2] Attrition was considered to be a considerable issue at the race as only 13 cars were running at; with only one other car within 7 laps of the lead, at a track bigger than Watkins Glen. [3]

This would be the last NASCAR Winston Cup series race for G.T. Tallas. [3] He'd return to NASCAR 20 years later to run two races in the NASCAR Truck Series.

While multi-car teams were becoming the norm, a significant amount of "lone wolf" owners still were operating in 1975. [5]

Prize amounts earned for each driver ranged from $14,735 ($74,203.53 when adjusted for inflation) to $520 ($2,618.65 when adjusted for inflation); with a grand total of $97,075 being handed out by the official NASCAR treasurer ($488,856.97 when adjusted for inflation). [6] Ron Esau, Don Puskarich, and Bill Schmitt would make their introductions to NASCAR in this race while Dick Bown would hang up his racing gloves after this event. [7]

Qualifying

Grid [3] No.DriverManufacturer
116Bobby Allison'75 AMC Matador
221David Pearson'73 Mercury
343Richard Petty'74 Dodge
472Benny Parsons'75 Chevrolet
503WChuck Bown'74 Dodge
696WRay Elder'74 Dodge
726WDick Bown'75 Chevrolet
897WHarry Jefferson'72 Ford
938WJimmy Insolo'74 Chevrolet
1029WHershel McGriff'72 Chevrolet
1155WBill Osborne'72 Ford
1233WGlenn Francis'74 Chevrolet
1378WHugh Pearson'72 Chevrolet
147WIvan Baldwin'74 Dodge
1537WChuck Wahl'74 Chevrolet

Failed to qualify: Dennis Wilson (#61W) [8]

Finishing order

Section reference: [3]

  1. Bobby Allison
  2. David Pearson
  3. Cecil Gordon
  4. Dave Marcis
  5. Elmo Langley
  6. James Hylton
  7. Richard Petty
  8. Gary Matthews
  9. Ed Negre
  10. Hershel McGriff
  11. Richard Childress
  12. Don Puskarich
  13. Ray Elder
  14. J.D. McDuffie
  15. Larry Esau
  16. Bill Osborne
  17. Chuck Wahl
  18. Bill Schmitt
  19. Richard White
  20. Don Reynolds
  21. Sonny Easley
  22. Ron Esau
  23. Hugh Pearson
  24. Benny Parsons
  25. Glenn Francis
  26. Pete Torres
  27. Chuck Bown
  28. Chuck Little
  29. G.T. Tallas
  30. Dick Bown
  31. Walter Ballard
  32. Harry Jefferson
  33. Jimmy Insolo
  34. Carl Adams
  35. Ivan Baldwin

Timeline

Section reference: [3]

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [3] Differential
1 Bobby Allison 1850
2 David Pearson 175-10
3 Cecil Gordon 165-20
4 Dave Marcis 160-25
5 Elmo Langley 155-30
6 Richard Petty 151-34
7 James Hylton 150-35
8 Gary Matthews 142-43
9 Ed Negre 138-47
10 Hershel McGriff 134-51

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References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1975 Winston Western 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 Hard Charger Richard Petty at Google Books
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1975 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  4. ↑ Jayski's Mark Donohue Tribute Archived 2018-05-15 at the Wayback Machine at Jayski
  5. ↑ NASCAR team information Archived 2012-06-13 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  6. ↑ Winnings information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  7. ↑ 1975 Winston Western 500 race information at Race Database
  8. ↑ Qualifying information for the 1975 Winston Western 500 at Racing Reference
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1974-5		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winston Western 500 races
1975		Succeeded by
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