1976 Music City USA 420

Last updated
1976 Music City USA 420
Race details [1] [2] [3]
Race 11 of 30 in the 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
NashvilleSpeedwayMap.svg
Date May 8, 1976 (1976-May-08)
Official name Music City USA 420
Location Nashville Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
0.596 mi (0.959 km)
Distance 420 laps, 250.3 mi (402.8 km)
Weather Chilly with temperatures of 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 84.512 miles per hour (136.009 km/h)
Pole position
Driver DeWitt Racing
Most laps led
Driver Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps 398
Winner
No. 11Cale YarboroughJunior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network untelevised
Announcers none

The 1976 Music City USA 420 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 8, 1976, at Nashville Speedway (now Fairgrounds Speedway) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Contents

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 (167.900 km/h) while the average speed of the race was 84.512 miles per hour (136.009 km/h). [2] [4] The winner received $8,565 in winnings ($40,786.43 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher would win $305 ($1,452.41 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]

Notable crew chiefs for this race were Billy Hagan, Harry Hyde, Jake Elder, Dale Inman, Bud Moore, Coo Coo Marlin, Tim Brewer and Travis Carter. [6]

Qualifying

Grid [2] No.DriverManufacturer
172Benny ParsonsChevrolet
211Cale YarboroughChevrolet
371Dave MarcisDodge
42Bobby AllisonMercury
515Buddy BakerFord
688Darrell WaltripChevrolet
743Richard PettyDodge
854Lennie PondChevrolet
93Richard ChildressChevrolet
1005David SiscoChevrolet
1192Skip ManningChevrolet
1240D.K. UlrichChevrolet
1370J.D. McDuffieChevrolet
1430Walter BallardChevrolet
1579Frank WarrenDodge
1647Bruce HillChevrolet
1724Cecil GordonChevrolet
1845Baxter PriceChevrolet
1967Buddy ArringtonDodge
208Ed NegreDodge

Finishing order

  1. Cale Yarborough (No. 11)
  2. Richard Petty (No. 43)
  3. Benny Parsons (No. 72)
  4. Buddy Baker (No. 15)
  5. Bobby Allison (No. 2)
  6. Lennie Pond (No. 54)
  7. Dave Marcis (No. 71)
  8. Walter Ballard (No. 30)
  9. David Sisco (No. 05)
  10. Frank Warren (No. 79)
  11. D.K. Ulrich (No. 40)
  12. Darrell Waltrip* (No. 88)
  13. Elmo Langley (No. 64)
  14. Cecil Gordon (No. 24)
  15. Jimmy Means (No. 52)
  16. Buck Baker (No. 33)
  17. Richard Childress* (No. 3)
  18. James Hylton* (No. 48)
  19. Ed Negre* (No. 8)
  20. J.D. McDuffie* (No. 70)
  21. Jabe Thomas* (No. 25)
  22. Skip Manning* (No. 92)
  23. Bruce Hill* (No. 47)
  24. Baxter Price* (No. 45)
  25. Henley Gray* (No. 19)
  26. Buddy Arrington* (No. 67)
  27. Gary Myers* (No. 95)
  28. Walter Wallace* (No. 87)
  29. Sterling Marlin* (No. 14)
  30. Rick Newsom* (No. 20)

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [2] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Cale Yarborough 17200
2 1rightarrow.png Benny Parsons 1656-64
3 1rightarrow.png Richard Petty 1573-147
4 1rightarrow.png Bobby Allison 1491-229
5 1rightarrow.png Lennie Pond 1446-274
6 Decrease2.svg Dave Marcis 1442-278
7 1rightarrow.png Richard Childress 1382-338
8 1rightarrow.png Darrell Waltrip 1311-409
9 1rightarrow.png Cecil Gordon 1276-444
10 Increase2.svg Buddy Baker 1274-446

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References

Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1976
Succeeded by
Preceded by Music City USA 420 races
1976
Succeeded by