1977 NAPA National 500 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1977 NAPA National 500
Name of Track:	Lowe's Motor Speedway
Date:	October 9th

Lowe's Motor Speedway

Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a superspeedway in Concord, North Carolina, a few miles north of Charlotte.

First NASCAR Night Race

It features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. Constructed in 1959, it was the first speedway to host nighttime racing (in 1992) and to offer year-round residences (in 1984) with 52 condominiums now available over turn one. It is presently owned by, and is the main facility of, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.,/p> The Center Of NASCAR

The speedway is considered the center of NASCAR, with 90% of NASCAR teams being based within 50 miles.

Along with the main oval, the speedway also has a 2.25 mile road course in the infield, an 0.6 mile kart course in the infield, a quarter-mile oval using part of the front stretch and pit road, and an 0.2 mile oval outside turn three. Also, across U.S. Highway 29 from the speedway is a 0.4 mile dirt track, opened in May 2000.

Levigation

The surface of the circuit had started to wear from its last paving in mid-1994, resulting in the track's treatment in a diamond-grinding process to smooth out bumps in 2005 and caused major tire problems during both NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events there, with a record 22 cautions at the showcase Coca-Cola 600, making it the first Nextel Cup Series event to go more than five hours (excluding red flags) in 25 years. Speed increases were also a result of the repaving. After the problem with the tires, speedway officials promptly announced that they plan to repave with a new generation asphalt.

Lowes Motor Speedway The Busiest Venue

The facility is considered one of the busiest sports venues in the country, with typically over 380 events a year. Along with many races, the speedway also hosts the Food Lion Auto Fair twice a year, one of the nation's largest car shows. Movies and commercials are filmed there, like Days of Thunder, and it is a popular tourist stop and testing grounds.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

1977 NAPA National 500 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1977 NAPA National 500, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Benny Parsons	72	8	$41,075	334	running	1st National City Travelers Checks
2	Cale Yarborough	11	2	$25,900	333	running	Holly Farms
3	David Pearson	21	1	$22,500	333	running	Purolator
4	Buddy Baker	15	4	$12,100	333	running	Norris Industries
5	Darrell Waltrip	88	6	$10,250	333	running	Gatorade
6	Dick Brooks	90	13	$8,225	332	running	Truxmore
7	A.J. Foyt	51	9	$5,175	329	running	Gilmore
8	Neil Bonnett	5	7	$7,350	329	running	Jim Stacy
9	Janet Guthrie	68	27	$5,125	326	running	Kelly Girl
10	Bill Elliott	9	20	$3,975	326	running	Dahlonega Ford Sales
11	Ron Hutcherson	36	16	$6,025	326	running	Encyclopedia Britannica
14	James Hylton	48	33	$5,405	324	running	Hylton Engineering
16	Richard Childress	3	22	$4,960	321	running	Kansas Jack
17	Buddy Arrington	67	30	$4,765	318	running	Mistec Transmission
20	Peter Knab	5	34	$2,775	286	running	Bearfinder
21	Tommy Gale	64	28	$2,895	286	running	Sunny King Ford & Honda
23	Dave Marcis	2	14	$1,875	237	engine	CAM 2
24	Ricky Rudd	22	21	$1,750	232	running	NAPA
26	Bobby Allison	12	15	$1,305	195	engine	1st National City Travelers Checks
29	Dick Trickle	99	31	$1,100	141	crash	Joe Frasson
30	Lennie Pond	54	19	$1,675	131	engine	Ronnie Elder
31	Butch Hartman	75	37	$965	120	engine	Hartman Autocar
32	Richard Petty	43	5	$4,415	107	suspension	STP
35	Skip Manning	92	10	$2,395	66	engine	1st National City Travelers Checks
36	Donnie Allison	1	3	$5,655	27	engine	Hawaiian Tropic
37	Cecil Gordon	24	40	$1,365	26	rear end	Transmissions Unlimited
38	Dale Earnhardt	19	36	$1,375	25	rear end	Belden Asphalt
41	Bruce Hill	47	26	$820	15	engine	Bruce Hill