1976 National 500 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1976 National 500
Name of Track:	Lowe's Motor Speedway
Date:	October 10th

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.

1976 National 500 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1976 National 500, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Donnie Allison	1	15	$22,435	334	running	Ellington Insulation
2	Cale Yarborough	11	4	$22,955	334	running	Holly Farms
3	Bobby Allison	2	5	$17,069	334	running	CAM 2
4	Buddy Baker	15	2	$17,710	334	running	Norris Industries
5	Benny Parsons	72	14	$9,279	333	running	1st National City Travelers Checks
6	David Pearson	21	1	$20,040	331	running	Purolator
7	Lennie Pond	54	10	$6,695	329	running	Pepsi-Cola
8	Richard Petty	43	3	$9,049	328	running	STP
9	Dick Brooks	90	12	$5,575	328	running	Truxmore
11	Darrell Waltrip	88	7	$5,755	325	running	Gatorade
12	Buddy Arrington	67	31	$4,345	323	running	Sub-Tropic
13	Skip Manning	92	13	$3,520	322	running	Stratagraph
14	Grant Adcox	41	28	$2,195	319	running	Adcox-Kirby
15	Richard Childress	3	32	$3,835	319	running	Kansas Jack
16	Ricky Rudd	22	33	$1,995	318	running	Al Rudd Auto Parts
18	James Hylton	48	36	$3,425	315	running	Nakato
20	Earl Brooks	33	34	$1,595	314	running	Perfection Auto Body
21	Bill Dennis	19	21	$1,385	313	running	Belden Asphalt
22	Janet Guthrie	68	26	$1,335	313	running	Kelly Girl
24	Buck Baker	59	38	$1,235	301	running	Hadacol
25	Terry Bivins	30	25	$2,085	299	running	Baby Tenda
27	Bruce Jacobi	63	39	$1,080	291	running	Billy Moyer
28	Cecil Gordon	24	27	$1,555	268	rear end	Transmissions Unlimited
29	Dave Marcis	71	8	$4,080	262	valve	K & K Insurance
31	Johnny Rutherford	77	18	$1,005	208	engine	Hy Gain
33	Sonny Easley	55	35	$950	148	valve	Haddick's Towing
34	Bruce Hill	47	29	$1,435	144	engine	Bruce Hill
35	Neil Bonnett	12	20	$945	126	engine	Hawaiian Tropic
38	A.J. Foyt	28	11	$885	59	quit	Gilmore
39	Gordon Johncock	17	9	$870	41	valve	Sharpstown
40	Al Holbert	9	19	$855	7	engine	Days Inn