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1973 Gwyn Staley 400

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Official name
  
Gwyn Staley 400

Course
  
0.625 mi (1.005 km)

1973 Gwyn Staley 400

Date
  
April 8, 1973 (1973-April-08)

Location
  
North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina

Distance
  
400 laps, 250 mi (402 km)

Weather
  
Cold with temperatures approaching 59 °F (15 °C); wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)

The 1973 Gwyn Staley 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing event that took place at North Wilkesboro Speedway on April 8, 1973, in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Contents

Sixteen thousand people watched Richard Petty defeat Benny Parsons by at least four laps; resulting in his 151st NASCAR Winston Cup Series win. Due to haphazard adjustments to the vehicles' setup prior to qualifying, Junior Johnson failed to qualify at his home track and Cale Yarborough struggled the whole distance of the race; finishing in an unusually low sixth place.

A little known fact about this race was that Benny Parsons was the president of a Parent-Teacher Association (based out of an Ellerbe, North Carolina, elementary school) and a NASCAR champion at the same time. Out of the drivers in the 30-car grid, 28 of them were American-born while two were Canadian (Vic Parsons and Yvon Duhamel - a French Canadian from Quebec). Rick Newsom would end up being the last-place finisher with an engine problem on lap 2.

Finishing order

* Driver failed to finish race

Timeline

  • Start of race: Richard Petty started the race with the pole position
  • Lap 2: Rick Newsom blew his engine, becoming the race's last-place finisher
  • Lap 4: Bobby Allison takes over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 11: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Bobby Allison
  • Lap 85: Benny Parsons takes over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 91: Richard Petty takes over the lead from Benny Parsons
  • Lap 96: Jabe Thomas developed problems with his vehicle's axle
  • Lap 158: Bobby Isaac blew his engine, resulting in him getting a DNF for his efforts
  • Lap 165: Fuel pump problems forced Charlie Roberts off the track for the remainder of the race
  • Lap 166: Raymond Williams' brakes stopped working
  • Lap 202: Buddy Arrington lost the rear end of his vehicle; ending his day on the track with a meager 25th-place finish
  • Lap 211: Henley Gray's engine stopped working on this lap
  • Lap 215: J.D. McDuffie was involved in a terminal crash, causing him to acquire a 23rd-place finish
  • Lap 253: Neil Castles noticed that his ignition stopped working, forcing him to accept a humbling 22nd-place finish
  • Lap 383: Donnie Allison managed to blow an engine, forcing him to leave the race
  • Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event

    • References

    1973 Gwyn Staley 400 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA