Official name Riverside 400 | ||
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Date June 13, 1976 (1976-June-13) Course Permanent racing facility2.620 mi (4.216 km) Distance 153 laps, 400.9 mi (645.1 km) Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); winds reaching a maximum of 11.8 miles per hour (19.0 km/h) | ||
The 1976 Riverside 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 13, 1976, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.
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Most of the vehicles that raced in this event had Chevrolet as their manufacturer. Roy Smith was the only Canadian competitor out of the 35-driver grid; the rest of them were American-born males.
Summary
Pearson's qualifying speed of 114.437 miles per hour (184.168 km/h) would earn him the pole position while the average speed of the actual race was 106.279 miles per hour (171.039 km/h). Richard Petty would become proficient on turn 6 throughout the race; despite ending the race outside of the "top five."
David Pearson managed to defeat Bobby Allison by a time of 1.6 seconds in front of 29,500 people. The race took two hours and twenty minutes to complete; with the event's only caution flag lasting for a duration of four laps. The victor would take home $15,150 in winnings ($63,762.89 when adjusted for inflation) while last-place paid a meager $665 ($2,798.83 when adjusted for inflation). Ron Esau would acquire the last-place finish due to a clutch problem on lap 6 out of the 95 that made up the regulation length of the course. Safe driving habits and remarkable efforts with keeping the oil products away from the track helped to keep most of the race under the green flag.
John Dineen and Ernie Stierly would make their NASCAR Cup Series debut at this racing event. Final NASCAR appearances by Jim Danielson, Bill Polich, and Don Reynolds were also memorable moments from this racing event. A little known fact was that Darrell Waltrip was listed down as a resident of Daytona Beach, Florida for the purpose of tracking the starting grid instead of using his home town of Owensboro, Kentucky. A race that Waltrip would end up winning later in his career would have him as listed as a resident Franklin, Tennessee - which is located exactly 127 miles (204 km) to the south of Owensboro.
Top ten finishers
- David Pearson (No. 21)
- Bobby Allison (No. 2)
- Benny Parsons (No. 72), 1 lap behind
- Ray Elder (No. 96), 1 lap behind
- Buddy Baker (No. 15), 1 lap behind
- Darrell Waltrip (No. 88), 2 laps behind
- Cale Yarborough (No. 11), 2 laps behind
- Jimmy Insolo (No. 38), 3 laps behind
- Richard Petty (No. 43), 3 laps behind
- Dave Marcis (No. 71), 3 laps behind