Richard Petty had an epic 1975 season with 13 wins in 30 races. The season ranks among his best along with 1967 and 1971. In 1976, his rivals took over the top rung on NASCARs ladder. Cale Yarborough notched 9 victories in 30 races and stacked up Top 5 finishes like cordwood 23 in all to claim his first of three championships. The seasons most dominant driver, however, was the Silver Fox. With a season that ranks right up there with some of the best ones by Petty, Cale, Waltrip and Gordon, David Pearson banked 10 wins in 22 starts with the Wood Brothers.
The Cup tour headed from east to west as it moved from the World 600 in Charlotte to the Riverside 400 on the legendary road course. For the first time in the tracks history, the 400 was to be measured in kilometers vs. miles. According to Greg Fielden in his book Forty Years of Stock Car Racing Vol 4 , the shortened race length was prompted by CBS television. The network filmed the race, edited it heavily Im sure, and aired it six days later. The editing-for-TV was going to happen regardless if the race was 500 miles or kilometers. Yet, the drivers seemed to appreciate the cut in distance. All future Riverside races were then measured as 500 and 400 km events. Motor Racing Programme Covers
The 21 Mercury was quickest from the time it crossed into PDT. Pearson was fastest in an abbreviated practice session, and he backed it up by winning the pole position in qualifying. Bobby Allison timed second. Benny Parsons, Buddy Baker and perennial Riverside competitor Jimmy Insolo rounded out the top 5 starters.
Pearson led the first few laps at the drop of the green. He then traded the lead with Allison and Yarborough until Cale took over for a 22 lap stint. Allison was able to regain the lead for 4 laps before Cale went back to the point for another 25-lap chunk.
With a third of the race to go, Pearson behind the wheel and the Woods in the pits knew it was go time. David put his Mercury in the wind, took over the lead from Cale, and led the remaining 36 laps to take his 5 th win of the season and 2 nd in a row having won the 600 in Charlotte.
Daniel Mensinger has some cool shots from the race on his [ Vintage Racing League ] page.
- The TV crew preparing for their filming session with broadcaster Ken Squire overseeing things.
- Bobby Allison's CAM2 Penske Mercury on the front row. Pearson's pole-winning 21 can barely be seen to Bobby's right.
- Benny Parsons and Buddy Baker on the starting grid.
- King Richard started 7 th alongside surprise qualifier Rusty Sanders in 8 th .
- Cale Yarborough started 6th in Junior Johnson's Holly Farms Chevy.
Richard Guido has a couple of good photos of King Richard from the race here at RR. Petty hung around the top 10 all day, but he was never a factor in the race.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald Journal
Pearson's win in Cup's 'first metric race' was featured in the November 1976 issue of Stock Car Racing magazine.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | David Pearson | Mercury |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | Mercury |
| 3 | Benny Parsons | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Ray Elder | Dodge |
| 5 | Buddy Baker | Ford |
| 6 | Darrell Waltrip | Chevrolet |
| 7 | Cale Yarborough | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Jimmy Insolo | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Richard Petty | Dodge |
| 10 | Dave Marcis | Dodge |
| 11 | Richard Childress | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Cecil Gordon | Chevrolet |
| 13 | Chuck Wahl | Chevrolet |
| 14 | J.D. McDuffie | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Eddie Bradshaw | Chevrolet |
| 16 | James Hylton | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Bill Polich | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Don Reynolds | Chevrolet |
| 19 | Chuck Bown | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Frank Warren | Dodge |
| 21 | Don Puskarich | Chevrolet |
| 22 | John Dineen | Ford |
| 23 | Gary Matthews | Chevrolet |
| 24 | Ed Negre | Dodge |
| 25 | Lennie Pond | Chevrolet |
| 26 | D.K. Ulrich | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Roy Smith | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Jim Danielson | Dodge |
| 29 | Neil Bonnett | Chevrolet |
| 30 | Hugh Pearson | Chevrolet |
| 31 | Rusty Sanders | Chevrolet |
| 32 | John Hamson | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Ernie Stierly | Chevrolet |
| 34 | Jim Thirkettle | Chevrolet |
| 35 | Ron Esau | Ford |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
