Official name Dixie 500 | Course 1.522 mi (2.449 km) | |
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Date July 22, 1973 (1973-07-22) Distance 328 laps, 499.2 mi (803.3 km) Weather Temperatures up to 90 °F (32 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) Average speed 130.211 miles per hour (209.554 km/h) | ||
The 1973 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on July 22, 1973, at Atlanta International Raceway in the American community of Hampton, Georgia.
Contents
Only manual transmission vehicles were allowed to participate in this race; a policy that NASCAR has retained to the present day.
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. 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. 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.
Summary
It took three hours and fifty minutes for David Pearson to defeat Cale Yarborough by more than one lap on a paved track spanning 1.522 miles (2.449 km). Competitors were given special permits to enter the motor pits of track; separate from the media and the general public.
Pearson would take home $16,650 in prize money ($89,827.62 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place finisher Charles Barrett would receive only $880 in take-home pay ($4,747.65 when adjusted for inflation). Fourteen lead changes were exchanged amongst six leaders (Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Bobby Isaac, Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and David Pearson). Six cautions were given out for 47 laps and the average speed of the race was 130.211 miles per hour or 209.554 kilometres per hour. Thirty-thousand people would see a racing grid of 39 American drivers and one Canadian driver (Vic Parsons). Richard Petty would gain the pole position with a speed of 157.163 miles per hour or 252.929 kilometres per hour. Barrett would receive the last-place finish due to an engine difficult on lap 3 out of 328.
Only the winner of the race would be on the lead lap by the end of the race.
Finishing order
* Driver failed to finish race
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased