1975 Winston Western 500

1975 Winston Western 500
Race details[1]
Race 1 of 30 in the 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

Layout of Riverside International Raceway
Date January 19, 1975 (1975-January-19)
Official name Winston Western 500
Location Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.700 mi (4.345 km)
Distance 191 laps, 500.4 mi (805.3 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 10.9 miles per hour (17.5 km/h)
Average speed 98.627 miles per hour (158.725 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Penske Racing South
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Penske Racing South
Laps 173
Winner
No. 16 Bobby Allison Penske Racing South
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Buddy Baker
Ken Squier

The 1975 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 19, 1975, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. A companion race known as the Permatex 200, in the Late Model Sportsmen Series, would be held one day prior to this event on the same track.

The 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series would jump start Richard Petty into a different breed of stock car driver; even though his 1975 Dodge Charger muscle car vehicle would be as comfortable to drive on the race track as a boxcar on the railroad tracks.[2]

This was the first race that the vaunted Chevrolet Malibu Laguna S-3 was eligible for competition, although its use began in earnest at the 1975 Daytona 500.

Summary

35 drivers managed to qualify for this 191-lap race that spanned a total distance of 500.4 miles or 805.3 kilometres. Fifty-five thousand people would attend a live racing event that would last for five hours and four minutes. Ivan Baldwin would become the last-place finisher due to engine problems on the fourth lap. Bobby Allison and David Pearson both chased each other for the lead lap before Allison would win by nearly 23 seconds over Pearson. Other drivers who had the lead at certain points in the race were Sonny Easley and Ray Elder. More than half the field failed to finish the race due to problems ranging from engine difficulties to oil-related problems and even the occasional transmission problem.[3] Only 13 cars managed to finish the race. Since it was the first race of the year, most of the teams were feeling their way through.

The broadcasting range provided by the network was questionable at best despite being televised specifically for cable television. Most of the Northern United States (including New Jersey) were nearly oblivious to the events that occurred. The results were shown primarily through tape-delayed highlight shows and amateurish NASCAR magazines.[4]

Speeds up to 110.382 miles per hour or 177.643 kilometres per hour were seen during solo qualifying runs while actual race speeds were merely 98.267 miles per hour or 158.145 kilometres per hour.[3] Richard Petty would spend 19 laps on pit road because his delicate ride had a tendency to hit walls; faulty aerodynamics were considered to blame after the race was over.[2] While multi-car teams were becoming the norm, a significant amount of "lone wolf" owners still were operating in 1975.[5]

Prize amounts earned for each driver ranged from $14,735 ($64,908.72 when adjusted for inflation) to $520 ($2,290.64 when adjusted for inflation); with a grand total of $97,075 being handed out by the official NASCAR treasurer ($427,622.28 when adjusted for inflation).[6] Ron Esau, Don Puskarich, and Bill Schmitt would make their introductions to NASCAR in this race while Dick Bown would hang up his racing gloves after this event.[7]

Finishing order

  1. Bobby Allison
  2. David Pearson
  3. Cecil Gordon
  4. Dave Marcis
  5. Elmo Langley
  6. James Hylton
  7. Richard Petty
  8. Gary Matthews
  9. Ed Negre
  10. Hershel McGriff
  11. Richard Childress
  12. Don Puskarich
  13. Ray Elder
  14. J.D. McDuffie
  15. Larry Esau
  16. Bill Osborne
  17. Chuck Wahl
  18. Bill Schmitt
  19. Richard White
  20. Don Reynolds
  21. Sonny Easley
  22. Ron Esau
  23. Hugh Pearson
  24. Benny Parsons
  25. Glenn Francis
  26. Pete Torres
  27. Chuck Bown
  28. Chuck Little
  29. G.T. Tallas
  30. Dick Bown
  31. Walter Ballard
  32. Harry Jefferson
  33. Jimmy Insolo
  34. Carl Adams
  35. Ivan Baldwin

Timeline

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 Bobby Allison 185 0
2 David Pearson 175 -10
3 Cecil Gordon 165 -20
4 Dave Marcis 160 -25
5 Elmo Langley 155 -30
6 Richard Petty 151 -34
7 James Hylton 150 -35
8 Gary Matthews 142 -43
9 Ed Negre 138 -47
10 Hershel McGriff 134 -51

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1975 Winston Western 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 Hard Charger Richard Petty at Google Books
  3. 1 2 3 1975 Winston Western 500 racing information at Racing Reference
  4. ↑ Jayski's Mark Donohue Tribute at Jayski
  5. ↑ NASCAR team information at Driver Averages
  6. ↑ Winnings information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
  7. ↑ 1975 Winston Western 500 race information at Race Database
Preceded by
1974 Los Angeles Times 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1974-5 		Succeeded by
1975 Daytona 500
Preceded by
1974		 Winston Western 500 races
1975 		Succeeded by
1976
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