1977 Old Dominion 500

1977 Old Dominion 500

Race details[1]
Race 25 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
A map showing the layout of Martinsville Speedway
Date	September 25, 1977 (1977-September-25)
Official name	Old Dominion 500
Location	Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.525 mi (0.844 km)
Distance	500 laps, 262.5 mi (442.4 km)
Weather	Average temperature of 76.2 °F (24.6 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed	73.440 miles per hour (118.190 km/h)
Attendance	33,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Neil Bonnett	Jim Stacy Racing
Time	87.637 seconds
Most laps led
Driver	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Laps	352
Winner
No. 11	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson & Associates
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1977 Old Dominion 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 25, 1977, at the historic Martinsville Speedway;^[2] a race track that has enjoyed the presence of NASCAR since its first sanctioned race on July 4, 1948.

Cup Series races are still held on the track today in addition to the Xfinity Series (started in 1982) and Camping World Truck Series (started in 1995). Since the track was repaved back in 1976,^[3] the one-year-old concrete surface allowed cars to travel at relatively fast speeds for a short track during the 1970s.

Background

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races.^[4] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.^[5] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has a zero degree banking.^[5]

Race report

It took three hours and thirty-four minutes for the race to completely progress from the first green flag to the checkered flag.^[2] Had the race been held on this day in the year 2010, temperatures would have reached 93.0 °F (33.9 °C) - an increase of 16.8 degrees Fahrenheit from the temperatures of 1977.^[6] Five hundred laps on a paved oval track spanning 0.252 miles (0.406 km) per lap was the official distance of the race dictated by NASCAR.^[2] A grand total of 262.5 miles (422.5 km) was calculated from all the laps of the race.^[2] Thirteen lead changes were made as a part of the racing action.^[7]

Despite popular knowledge shared by non-NASCAR fans, the "500" number that was in the event's title indicated the number of laps that were in the race; as opposed to the number of kilometers or miles that the drivers had to finish.^[2] All Martinsville races traditionally advertised the number of laps that a race had because it is a very short track. Cale Yarborough managed to defeat Benny Parsons by 8/10ths of a second in front of 33000 live spectators; nine cautions slowed the race for 57 laps.^[2] Neil Bonnett would qualify for the pole position with a speed of 87.637 miles per hour (141.038 km/h)^[2] - which would be the equivalent of 87.637 seconds.^[8] However, Yarborough would average a speed of 73.447 miles per hour (118.201 km/h) during the entire race.^[2]

This happens to be the race that Darrell Waltrip got the engine change from his team in 10 minutes, he claimed during the 2001 Winston that Digard his team led by Buddy Parrot was able to change an engine in 10 minutes and he still finished 10th.^[2]

Yarborough would retain his championship hopes after this race; being 219 points ahead of Richard Petty in the 1977 NASCAR Cup Series standings.^[9] The other top ten finishers were: David Pearson, Richard Petty, Sam Sommers, Jimmy Hensley, Buddy Arrington, James Hylton, Jimmy Means, and Darrell Waltrip.^[2] Baxter Price would become the event's last-place finisher with an oil leak on the fourth lap of the race.^[2][10] Chevrolet vehicles would make up the majority of the grid with Ford, Dodge, Mercury, and Matador holding a sizeable minority of the vehicles that would compete in this event.^[2]

Qualifying

Grid[2]	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Owner
1	5	Neil Bonnett	Dodge	Jim Stacy
2	88	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	DiGard Racing
3	11	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	Junior Johnson
4	43	Richard Petty	Dodge	Petty Enterprises
5	12	Bobby Allison	Matador	Bobby Allison
6	72	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	L.G. DeWitt
7	1	Donnie Allison	Chevrolet	Hoss Ellington
8	63	Jimmy Hensley	Chevrolet	Jimmy Hensley
9	15	Buddy Baker	Ford	Bud Moore
10	21	David Pearson	Mercury	Wood Brothers
11	92	Skip Manning	Chevrolet	Billy Hagan
12	70	J.D. McDuffie	Chevrolet	J.D. McDuffie
13	54	Lennie Pond	Chevrolet	Ronnie Elder
14	22	Ricky Rudd	Chevrolet	Al Rudd
15	27	Sam Sommers	Chevrolet	M.C. Anderson

Technological concerns

Improvements in tire and engine technology in the early 1970s had made NASCAR Cup Series vehicles overpowered compared to the limited space that Martinsville Speedway had for breathing space. Further technological advancements by 2013 have caused further concern for driver safety at Martinsville; indicating that the Cup Series may have to use restrictor plates in Martinsville if tire/engine technology keeps its current pace of development.

Top 10 finishers

Pos[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Laps led	Points	Time/Status
1	3	11	Cale Yarborough	Chevrolet	500	352	185	3:34:40
2	6	72	Benny Parsons	Chevrolet	500	73	175	+0.8 seconds
3	10	21	David Pearson	Mercury	500	35	170	Lead lap under green flag
4	4	43	Richard Petty	Dodge	499	0	165	+1 lap
5	15	27	Sam Sommers	Chevrolet	491	0	155	+9 laps
6	8	63	Jimmy Hensley	Chevrolet	491	0	150	+9 laps
7	19	67	Buddy Arrington	Dodge	487	0	146	+13 laps
8	24	48	James Hylton	Chevrolet	483	0	142	+17 laps
9	21	52	Jimmy Means	Chevrolet	482	0	138	+18 laps
10	2	88	Darrell Waltrip	Chevrolet	472	36	139	Missing rear end

Timeline

Section reference:^[2]

• Start of race: Darrell Waltrip had the pole position as the green flag was waved.
• Lap 4: An oil leak in Baxter Price's vehicle forced him out of the race.
• Lap 8: Radiator issues managed to end Travis Tiller's day on the track.
• Lap 37: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Darrell Waltrip.
• Lap 40: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
• Lap 42: Donnie Allison suddenly lost the use of his vehicle's brakes.
• Lap 84: Ricky Rudd suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 95: Dick Brooks suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 96: David Pearson took over the lead from Benny Parsons.
• Lap 97: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson.
• Lap 101: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
• Lap 103: Ed Negre's vehicle developed a problematic oil pump.
• Lap 179: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
• Lap 181: David Pearson took over the lead from Benny Parsons.
• Lap 206: Bobby Allison took over the lead from David Pearson.
• Lap 216: Bobby Allison suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 304: Neil Bonnett suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 336: Buddy Baker suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Lap 351: Benny Parsons took over the lead from Bobby Allison.
• Lap 360: Tighe Scott fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 366: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from Benny Parsons.
• Lap 373: Ronnie Thomas fell out with engine failure.
• Lap 387: David Pearson took over the lead from Cale Yarborough.
• Lap 396: Cale Yarborough took over the lead from David Pearson.
• Lap 472: Darrell Waltrip suddenly lost the rear end of his vehicle.
• Finish: Cale Yarborough was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]	Differential
1	Cale Yarborough	4155	0
2	Richard Petty	3936	-219
3	Benny Parsons	3782	-373
4	Darrell Waltrip	3727	-428
5	Buddy Baker	3276	-879
6	Dick Brooks	3088	-1067
7	James Hylton	2876	-1279
8	Cecil Gordon	2860	-1295
9	Richard Childress	2855	-1300
10	Bobby Allison	2873	-1372

References

1. "1977 Old Dominion 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
2. "1977 Old Dominion 500 racing results". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
3. "Martinsville Speedway surface information". Circle Track. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
4. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
5. "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
6. "2010 Martinsville, Virginia temperatures (for comparison purposes only)". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
7. "1977 Old Dominion 500 lead change information". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
8. "1977 Old Dominion 500 qualifying time (in seconds)". Ultimate Racing History. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
9. "Cale Yarborough's championship hopes". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
10. "1977 Old Dominion 500 racing results (last-place driver information)". Martinsville Speedway. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-03-02.

Preceded by 1977 Delaware 500

NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1977

Succeeded by 1977 Wilkes 400

Preceded by 1976

Old Dominion 500 races 1977

Succeeded by 1978