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).
Background
Nashville Speedway was converted to a half-mile paved oval in 1957, when it began to be a NASCAR series track. The speedway was lengthened between the 1969 and 1970 seasons. The corners were cut down from 35 degrees to their present 18 degrees in 1972.[citation needed]
Race report
It took two hours and fifty-seven minutes[4] for Cale Yarborough to defeat Richard Petty by 1.3 seconds in front of 16000 spectators.[2] Five cautions slowed the race for 33 laps along with 16 changes in the lead.[2]
Rick Newsom finished last due to an ignition problem on lap 22.[2][3] All of the 30 drivers on the grid were American-born.[2]Benny Parsons qualified for the pole position with a speed of 104.328 miles per hour (167.900km/h) while the average speed of the race was 84.512 miles per hour (136.009km/h).[2][4] The winner received $8,565 in winnings ($45,860.32 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher would win $305 ($1,633.09 when adjusted for inflation).[2]
19-year-old Sterling Marlin made NASCAR debut in his race; he started in 30th place and finished in 29th place.[2][3] Marlin filled in for his father Coo Coo while he was recovering from an injury.[5]
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