The 1977 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCARWinston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 25, 1977, at the historic Martinsville Speedway;[2] a race track that has enjoyed the presence of NASCAR since its first sanctioned race on July 4, 1948.
Cup Series races are still held on the track today in addition to the Xfinity Series (started in 1982) and Camping World Truck Series (started in 1995). Since the track was repaved back in 1976,[3] the one-year-old concrete surface allowed cars to travel at relatively fast speeds for a short track during the 1970s.
Background
Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.[4] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847km) long.[5] 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.[5]
Race report
It took three hours and thirty-four minutes for the race to completely progress from the first green flag to the checkered flag.[2] Had the race been held on this day in the year 2010, temperatures would have reached 93.0°F (33.9°C) - an increase of 16.8 degrees Fahrenheit from the temperatures of 1977.[6] Five hundred laps on a paved oval track spanning 0.252 miles (0.406km) per lap was the official distance of the race dictated by NASCAR.[2] A grand total of 262.5 miles (422.5km) was calculated from all the laps of the race.[2] Thirteen lead changes were made as a part of the racing action.[7]
Despite popular knowledge shared by non-NASCAR fans, the "500" number that was in the event's title indicated the number of laps that were in the race; as opposed to the number of kilometers or miles that the drivers had to finish.[2] All Martinsville races traditionally advertised the number of laps that a race had because it is a very short track. Cale Yarborough managed to defeat Benny Parsons by 8/10ths of a second in front of 33000 live spectators; nine cautions slowed the race for 57 laps.[2]Neil Bonnett would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 87.637 miles per hour (141.038km/h)[2] - which would be the equivalent of 87.637 seconds.[8] However, Yarborough would average a speed of 73.447 miles per hour (118.201km/h) during the entire race.[2]
This happens to be the race that Darrell Waltrip got the engine change from his team in 10 minutes, he claimed during the 2001 Winston that Digard his team led by Buddy Parrot was able to change an engine in 10 minutes and he still finished 10th.[2]
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 Cup Series may have to use restrictor plates in Martinsville if tire/engine technology keeps its current pace of development.
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