Official name World 600 | ||
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Date May 30, 1976 (1976-May-30) Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km) Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km) Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
The 1976 World 600, the 17th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 30, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
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
Four hundred laps took place on a paved track spanning 1.500 miles (2.414 km). It took four hours and twenty-two minutes for David Pearson to defeat Richard Petty under the race's final yellow flag in front of 103,000 live audience members. Pearson would earn the pole position with a speed of 159.132 miles per hour (256.098 km/h) while the race's average speed would be 137.352 miles per hour (221.047 km/h). Seven cautions were given out for 38 laps (including the 400th lap of the race). His next pole position run would be at the 1976 National 500; which took place in the fall of that year. Terry Ryan was the last-place finisher in the race due to a hub problem on lap 11 that occurred in his Chevrolet vehicle.
Bobby Isaac retired from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race. Janet Guthrie would make her debut here.
Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $49,990 ($210,396.51 when adjusted for inflation) to the meager last-place finisher's earnings of $885 ($3,724.76 when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse sanctioned by NASCAR for this event was a then-incredible $225,025 ($947,078.90 when adjusted for inflation).