1972 American 500
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 31 in the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Rockingham Speedway | |||
| Date | October 22, 1972 | ||
| Official name | American 500 | ||
| Location | North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.636 km (1.017 miles) | ||
| Distance | 492 laps, 500 mi (804 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures of 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds of 5.1 miles per hour (8.2 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 118.245 miles per hour (190.297 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 42,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Wood Brothers Racing | ||
| Time | 26.621 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Laps | 217 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Bobby Allison | Howard & Egerton Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | untelevised | ||
| Announcers | none | ||
The 1972 American 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on October 22, 1972, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. While not televised, the 1972 American 500 was covered by local radio stations WAYN-AM (900 AM) and WEEB-AM (990 AM).
Qualifying
40 American-born drivers qualified for the race. Drivers who failed to qualify were David Ray Boggs, Jimmy Crawford and Elmo Langley. Forty-two thousand people attended. The race's average speed was 118.275 miles per hour (190.345 km/h) in this 253-minute race. David Pearson's qualifying speed of 137.258 miles per hour or 220.895 kilometres per hour won the pole position. There were four cautions for a of 35 laps. 20 different drivers lead the race. Bobby Allison would defeat Richard Petty by two laps; resulting in Richard Petty's 100th runner up finish.[2]
Ron Hutcherson was the last-place finisher of this event; with a racing accident on lap 29 out of 492. Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and David Pearson dominated the closing laps of this race.[2] Pete Hamilton scored his final top-5 finish.[2] This was his final start of 1972 and he would only make two further starts in 1973, both of which ended in DNFs
Hutcherson's racing career would last throughout the course of the 1970s; ending only after the 1979 running of the World 600. Notable crew chiefs for this race were Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, Vic Ballard, and Herb Nab.[3]
Rewards for this race were $19,400 for the winner ($145,832 when adjusted for inflation) while the last-place finisher brought home $550 ($4,134 when adjusted for inflation). A grand total of $89,450 was offered to the race. ($672,405 when adjusted for inflation).[4]
Bobby Allison's win at this event would become the tenth win of the 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.[5] Due to the cash crunch of the 1970s, only five individual owners could afford to employ a NASCAR Cup Series driver for the rest; the rest were all "proper" NASCAR teams with more than one person running them.[6]
| Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Qualifying speed[7] | Qualifying time[7] | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | David Pearson | '71 Mercury | 137.528 | 26.621 | Wood Brothers |
| 2 | 71 | Buddy Baker | '72 Dodge | 136.202 | 26.881 | Nord Krauskopf |
| 3 | 43 | Richard Petty | '72 Plymouth | 136.157 | 26.889 | Petty Enterprises |
| 4 | 9 | Pete Hamilton | '72 Plymouth | 135.678 | 26.984 | Jack Housby |
| 5 | 12 | Bobby Allison | '72 Chevrolet | 135.467 | 27.026 | Richard Howard |
| 6 | 28 | Cale Yarborough | '72 Chevrolet | 134.664 | 27.188 | Hoss Ellington |
| 7 | 15 | Dick Brooks | '72 Ford | 134.491 | 27.223 | Bud Moore |
| 8 | 17 | Bill Dennis | '72 Chevrolet | 133.730 | 27.377 | H.J. Brooking |
| 9 | 27 | Bobby Isaac | '71 Chevrolet | 133.045 | 27.518 | Banjo Matthews |
| 10 | 16 | Dave Marcis | '72 AMC Matador | 132.837 | 27.561 | Roger Penske |