Puneet Varma (Editor)

1976 Los Angeles Times 500

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Official name
  
Los Angeles Times 500

Date
  
November 21, 1976 (1976-November-21)

Location
  
Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California

Course
  
Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi (4.023 km)

Distance
  
200 laps, 500 mi (804 km)

Weather
  
Mild with temperatures reaching a high of 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h)

The 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on November 21, 1976, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Each copy of the souvenir magazine was an inexpensive $2 USD per copy ($8.42 when adjusted for inflation).

Contents

Summary

There were 40 drivers on the racing grid; 39 of them were born in the United States of America while Roy Smith was born in Canada. Darrell Waltrip would earn the last-place finish of the race due to an engine issue on lap 10 out of 200. A grand total of $155,639 was handed out after this race was over ($655,049.05 in when adjusted for inflation); Pearson received a handsome $27,715 ($116,646.11 when adjusted for inflation) while Waltrip walked away only $3,660 wealthier ($15,404.11 when adjusted for inflation).

David Pearson managed to defeat Lennie Pond by at least one lap in front of 44,702 people. There were four lead changes and two cautions for 19 laps in this three-hour-and-thirty-eight-minute race. Pearson would earn the pole position with a top speed of 153.964 miles per hour (247.781 km/h) while the average speed of the race would only be 137.101 miles per hour (220.643 km/h).

Former IndyCar driver Mike Hiss would make his only NASCAR start here. This race helped to revitalize the state of California (and the spirit of American motorsports) after the 1976 swine flu outbreak ended. What started out as a strain of the H1N1 influenza virus found inside Fort Dix resulted in mass immunization even as far away as California. Since the previous race at Ontario Motor Speedway took place the year prior to the influenza outbreak, none of the drivers were affected by the illness.

Top ten finishers

  1. David Pearson (No. 21)
  2. Lennie Pond (No. 54), 1 lap behind
  3. Benny Parsons (No. 72), 2 laps behind
  4. Dick Brooks (No. 90), 2 laps behind
  5. James Hylton (No. 48), 4 laps behind
  6. Bobby Wawak (No. 36), 4 laps behind
  7. Terry Bivins (No. 50), 6 laps behind
  8. Skip Manning (No. 92), 8 laps behind
  9. Terry Ryan (No. 81), 8 laps behind
  10. Bruce Hill (No. 47), 8 laps behind

Timeline

  • Start of race: David Pearson started the race but Cale Yarborough quickly overtook him
  • Lap 10: Darrell Waltrip managed to blow his engine while racing
  • Lap 12: Buddy Baker managed to wreck his vehicle's transmission
  • Lap 23: Roy Smith managed to blow an engine while racing
  • Lap 24: Richard Petty took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
  • Lap 35: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Richard Petty
  • Lap 48: Henley Gray suffered through some transmission issues with forced him out of the race
  • Lap 54: Richard Childress managed to overheat his vehicle
  • Lap 80: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough
  • Lap 111: Carl Joiner, Jr. had a terminal crash, forcing him to exit the race
  • Lap 168: Cale Yarborough had troubles dealing with his vehicle's clutch
  • Lap 171: The battery inside Jimmy Insolo's vehicle no longer worked properly
  • Lap 177: Janet Guthrie experiences problems with her vehicle's hub
  • Lap 178: Chuck Bown managed to blow an engine while racing
  • Finish: Cale Yarborough was officially declared the winner of the event

    • References

    1976 Los Angeles Times 500 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA