1973 Southern 500

Background

Darlington Raceway, nicknamed by many NASCAR fans and drivers as "The Lady in Black" or "The Track Too Tough to Tame" and advertised as a "NASCAR Tradition", is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It 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.

The track is a four-turn 1.366 mi oval. The track's first two turns are banked at twenty-five degrees, while the final two turns are banked two degrees lower at twenty-three degrees. The front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch is banked at six degrees. Darlington Raceway can seat up to 60,000 people.

Summary

Before race weekend

Jim Vandiver, who was dealing with a child custody case with his first wife, was to appear in a Greenville, South Carolina court on Friday, August 31 for a hearing. He was assured by his lawyer that appearing would not be necessary because he was expected in Darlington. The judge at the hearing did not consider this grounds for absence, and found Vandiver in contempt of court. An arrest warrant was issued.

Qualifying

Pole position for the Southern 500 was taken by David Pearson, of Wood Brothers Racing.

Race

Neil Castles, who qualified 38th in a Dodge, withdrew before the race. First alternate Mel Larson took his place, 40th on the grid.

Two Greenville County sheriff's deputies arrived at Darlington on race day. In Darlington Raceway president Barney Wallace's office, they informed him of their intent to arrest Vandiver on the contempt charge. Wallace convinced them to make their arrest after the race. Neil Castles had been in Wallace's office at the time, overheard this conversation, and informed Vandiver before the race.

Early in the race, Roy Mayne relieved Jabe Thomas in his car. NASCAR points structure meant that Thomas would receive the points for Mayne's finish. Other drivers took advantage of a relief driver, in part because of the very hot day. Richard Petty was one of these utilizing Lennie Pond to make it through the rest of his race due to his relatively stronger physical endurance and mental endurance.

40 drivers competed in this race; only one foreigner competed - Canadian-born Vic Parsons. This event took three hours and forty-four minutes to complete 367 laps. Richard Childress was credited as the last-place finisher due to a problem with his engine on lap 19. Frank Warren was the lowest-finishing driver to complete the event while being nearly 100 laps behind the lead lap cars.

Jim Vandiver, who was already nursing a problematic engine, would deliberately spin his car on lap 223, on Darlington's backstretch. This caused a caution, and in a break in race traffic, Vandiver jumped the back fence and left raceway property. From there, he hitchhiked home to Monroe, North Carolina, and thus avoided arrest on race day.

Joe Frasson's problematic engine on lap 304 would force him to finish in the middle of the pack.

Cale Yarborough defeated David Pearson under caution in front 70,000 fans. Pearson would qualify for the pole position at 150.366 mph during the solo qualifying sessions. Average race speed was 134.033 mph due to the seven yellow flags for 37 laps. Chevrolet and Ford were the dominant manufacturers at this race. Richard D. Brown quit this race on lap 30 for no apparent reason. Cale Yarborough made quite a comeback at the end of the race while Charlie Glotzbach was really strong during the middle of the race; he dropped out with vehicle problems on lap 152.

Notable crew chiefs in this race were Tim Brewer, Travis Carter, Harry Hyde, Dale Inman, Tom Vandiver, and Jake Elder.

Race earnings ranged from the winner's portion of $23,140 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's portion of $1,700 ($ when adjusted for inflation) from a total prize of $126,725. ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Finishing order

Section reference:

1. Cale Yarborough (No. 11)
2. David Pearson (No. 21)
3. Buddy Baker (No. 71)
4. Richard Petty (No. 43)
5. Benny Parsons (No. 72)
6. Bobby Allison (No. 12)
7. Coo Coo Marlin (No. 14)
8. Darrell Waltrip (No. 15)
9. Dick Brooks (No. 61)
10. J.D. McDuffie (No. 70)
11. Cecil Gordon (No. 24)
12. James Hylton (No. 48)
13. Jabe Thomas (No. 25)
14. Buddy Arrington (No. 67)
15. Randy Tissot (No. 74)
16. Charlie Roberts (No. 77)
17. Walter Ballard (No. 30)
18. D.K. Ulrich (No. 40)
19. Dean Dalton (No. 7)
20. Henley Gray (No. 19)
21. Mel Larson (No. 73)
22. Bill Champion (No. 10)
23. Joe Frasson* (No. 18)
24. Frank Warren (No. 79)
25. Raymond Williams* (No. 47)
26. Ed Negre* (No. 4)
27. Jim Vandiver* (No. 31)
28. David Sisco* (No. 05)
29. Bud Moore* (No. 90)
30. Charlie Glotzbach* (No. 28)
31. Elmo Langley* (No. 64)
32. Dick May* (No. 29)
33. Richie Panch* (No. 98)
34. Vic Parsons* (No. 45)
35. Johnny Barnes* (No. 89)
36. Tommy Gale* (No. 03)
37. Lennie Pond* (No. 54)
38. Richard D. Brown* (No. 44)
39. G.C. Spencer* (No. 49)
40. Richard Childress* (No. 36) ** Driver failed to finish race*

References

before = 1973 Nashville 420 | after = 1973 Capital City 500 | title = Winston Cup Series races| years = 1971–2004 |

References

1. [https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KFLO/1973/9/3/DailyHistory.html Weather information for the ''1973 Southern 500'' at Weather Underground (Florence, S.C.)]
2. [http://www.race-database.com/results/results.php?year=1973&race=22&series_id=2 Results of the ''1973 Southern 500''] at Race Database
3. "Original Race Broadcast by Motor Racing Network on iTunes".
4. "Darlington Raceway". CBS Sports.
5. (1973-09-03). "Beckley Post-Herald, Page 2 - at Newspapers.com".
6. [http://bleacherreport.com/articles/189007-a-sit-down-with-jim-vandiver-a-true-pioneer-of-nascar ''A Sit Down With Jim Vandiver; A True Pioneer Of NASCAR''] at Bleacher Report
7. [http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1973-22&series=W ''1973 Southern 500''] racing information at Racing Reference
8. [https://www.racing-reference.info/entrylist/1973-22/W/C 1973 Southern 500 crew chiefs information] at Racing Reference
9. [http://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar/races/results/1973/darlington-raceway/southern-500/1312 Winnings information for the ''1973 Southern 500''] at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet