Official name National 500 | ||
Date October 10, 1976 (1976-October-10) Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km) Distance 334 laps, 500 mi (804 km) Weather Temperature reaching a maximum of 64.9 °F (18.3 °C); wind speeds up to 10.1 miles per hour (16.3 km/h) | ||
The 1976 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 10, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the American community of Concord, North Carolina.
Contents
By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.
Summary
A souvenir magazine was offered to the spectators at a cost of $3 USD per copy ($12.63 when adjusted for inflation). Another race took place the previous day known as the World Service Life 300; a companion race that accompanied the National 500 during the course of the 1970s.
Forty American-born drivers competed at this race; the winner received $22,435 out of the total prize purse ($94,423.80 when adjusted for inflation). Last-place finisher Al Holbert received only $855 for his engine problem of lap 7 out of the scheduled 334 laps of the race ($3,598.50 in when adjusted for inflation). Janet Guthrie was the only female competitor in this three-hour-and-thirty-two-minute race. After three cautions for eighteen laps and 26 lead changes, Donnie Allison defeated Cale Yarborough in front of 74500 other people. David Pearson qualified for the pole position with a top speed of 161.223 miles per hour (259.463 km/h) while the average racing speed was 141.226 miles per hour (227.281 km/h). His next pole position achievement would be at the 1977 World 600.
Buck Baker would make his last NASCAR start here before retiring with a 34th-place finish in the books. He would go on to tutor an adolescent Jeff Gordon; who would go on to become one of the best NASCAR drivers in the "modern" era of NASCAR. Hoss Ellington would make his first win as a NASCAR owner while bending the rules so that both his vehicles could compete. Gordon Johncock would also retire from NASCAR after this race.