1974 Dixie 500

The 1974 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on July 28, 1974, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

1974 Dixie 500

Race details[1]
Race 19 of 30 in the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Atlanta International Speedway, used until 1996
Date	July 28, 1974 (1974-July-28)
Official name	Dixie 500
Location	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.522 mi (2.449 km)
Distance	328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km)
Weather	Temperatures of 88 °F (31 °C); wind speeds of 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h)
Average speed	131.651 miles per hour (211.872 km/h)
Attendance	38,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Most laps led
Driver	David Pearson	Wood Brothers
Laps	114
Winner
No. 43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

Souvenir programs of this event were $2 USD per copy ($12.36 when adjusted for inflation).

Background

Atlanta International Raceway (now Atlanta Motor Speedway) is one of ten current intermediate track to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.^[3] However, at the time, only Charlotte and Darlington were built.

The layout at Atlanta International Speedway at the time was a four-turn traditional oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.^[4] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.^[4]

Race report

There were 36 drivers in this 328-lap race; Dan Daughtry was the last-place finisher due to troubles with his engine on lap 10. Cale Yarborough earned the pole position at a speed of 156.75 miles per hour (252.26 km/h). Earl Ross, a Canadian NASCAR driver, was the only foreigner on the starting grid. Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker and Richard Petty would dominate the opening laps of this event. This would be the last time that a Winston Cup Atlanta race was run during the summer.^[2]

The average speed was 131.651 miles per hour (211.872 km/h) for three-hour-and-forty-two-minute race. Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Richard Petty would dominate the final laps of the race. In the end, Richard Petty went on to defeat David Pearson by exactly 21 seconds. 38,000 spectators would see other notable drivers such as Elmo Langley, J.D. McDuffie, James Hylton, Donnie Allison and Bill Champion.^[2]

Jimmy Crawford would make his final NASCAR Winston Cup Series start in this race; he finished in 31st place.^[2]

Individual winnings ranged from the winner's share of $19,350 ($119,547 when adjusted for inflation) to $875 for the last-place finisher ($5,406 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse was $101,295 ($625,814 when adjusted for inflation).^[5]

Qualifying

Grid[2]	No.	Driver	Manufacturer
1	11	Cale Yarborough	'74 Chevrolet
2	43	Richard Petty	'74 Dodge
3	15	Buddy Baker	'73 Ford
4	54	Lennie Pond	'74 Chevrolet
5	88	Donnie Allison	'74 Chevrolet
6	72	Benny Parsons	'74 Chevrolet
7	90	Charlie Glotzbach	'72 Ford
8	21	David Pearson	'73 Mercury
9	52	Earl Ross	'74 Chevrolet
10	12	Bobby Allison	'74 AMC Matador
11	93	Jackie Rogers	'74 Chevrolet
12	95	Darrell Waltrip	'74 Chevrolet
13	96	Richard Childress	'73 Chevrolet
14	98	Richie Panch	'72 Chevrolet
15	28	Bobby Isaac	'74 Chevrolet
16	2	Dave Marcis	'73 Dodge
17	35	Dan Daughtry	'72 Ford
18	48	James Hylton	'74 Chevrolet
19	30	Walter Ballard	'74 Chevrolet
20	24	Cecil Gordon	'72 Chevrolet
21	14	Coo Coo Marlin	'73 Chevrolet
22	49	G.C. Spencer	'74 Dodge
23	79	Frank Warren	'74 Dodge
24	70	J.D. McDuffie	'72 Chevrolet
25	7	Dean Dalton	'74 Chevrolet

Top 10 finishers

Pos[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Laps led	Time/Status
1	2	43	Richard Petty	Dodge	328	94	3:42:31
2	8	21	David Pearson	Mercury	328	114	+21 seconds
3	3	15	Buddy Baker	Ford	327	9	+1 lap
4	12	95	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	324	0	+4 laps
5	4	54	Lennie Pond	Chevrolet	319	0	+9 laps
6	16	2	Dave Marcis	Dodge	317	0	+11 laps
7	32	18	Joe Frasson	Dodge	316	0	+12 laps
8	6	72	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	316	0	+12 laps
9	21	14	Coo Coo Marlin	Chevrolet	314	0	+14 laps
10	20	24	Cecil Gordon	Chevrolet	314	0	+14 laps

References

1. Weather information for the 1974 Dixie 500 Archived 2015-07-24 at the Wayback Machine at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1974 Dixie 500 Archived 2012-11-19 at the Wayback Machine racing information at Racing Reference
3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
5. 1974 Dixie 500 Archived 2012-11-14 at the Wayback Machine racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Preceded by 1973	Dixie 500 races 1974	Succeeded by 1975

Preceded by 1974 Motor State 360	Richard Petty's Career Wins 1960-1984	Succeeded by 1974 Purlator 500