1973 Southern 500 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1973 Southern 500
Name of Track:	Darlington Raceway
Date:	September 3rd

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina.

Looks Like An Egg

It was the first superspeedway built with NASCAR racing in mind and is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that will be effective at both ends.

Largest Field of Racers

Darlington has an interesting history. When the 1.366 mile long track first opened over a half-century ago, it was not uncommon for there to be 80 or more entrants in a race; this was curtailed over the years as NASCAR adopted a more uniform set of guidelines with regard to the number of cars which could qualify for a race.

Flip-Flop

In recent years the track has been reconfigured; what was the front stretch is now the back stretch, and the turns have been renumbered accordingly. Seating has been increased to approximately 60,000; it has been limited by the proximity of a railroad track to the facility, a highway behind the back stretch, and the still-present pond.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

1973 Southern 500 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1973 Southern 500, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Cale Yarborough	11	8	$23,140	367	running	Kar-Kare
2	David Pearson	21	1	$12,130	367	running	Purolator
3	Buddy Baker	71	5	$8,585	366	running	K & K Insurance
4	Richard Petty	43	3	$7,510	361	running	STP
5	Benny Parsons	72	7	$4,685	360	running	DeWitt Racing
6	Bobby Allison	12	2	$5,930	355	running	Coca-Cola
8	Darrell Waltrip	15	4	$5,180	351	running	Sta-Power Industries
9	Dick Brooks	61	22	$2,880	351	running	B & B Racing
11	Cecil Gordon	24	13	$2,805	343	running	Gordon Racing
12	James Hylton	48	20	$2,780	340	running	Hylton Engineering
14	Buddy Arrington	67	12	$2,380	338	running	Cherokee Construction
17	Walter Ballard	30	28	$1,880	328	running	Ballard Racing
19	Dean Dalton	7	26	$2,055	323	running	Belden Asphalt
20	Henley Gray	19	21	$1,625	320	running	Warren Lindsey
21	Mel Larson	73	40	$1,675	309	running	ThermaSol
22	Bill Champion	10	25	$2,575	305	running	Earl Powell Auto Parts
23	Joe Frasson	18	11	$1,450	304	engine	Frasson Cement
30	Charlie Glotzbach	28	6	$950	152	rear end	Pylon Wiper Blades
31	Elmo Langley	64	17	$1,875	139	engine	Langley Racing
35	Johnny Barnes	89	37	$925	45	engine	Hopper-Crews
36	Tommy Gale	3	18	$1,315	41	engine	Gale Racing
37	Lennie Pond	54	9	$1,305	34	engine	Master Chevy Sales
38	Richard D. Brown	44	35	$1,095	30	quit	Brown Racing
40	Richard Childress	96	29	$1,700	19	engine	L.C. Newton Trucking