In the next to last race of the 1974 season, Richard Petty starts from the pole position in the American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway aka Rockingham.
Former Petty driver Buddy Baker started on the front row alongside the King in Bud Moore's RC Cola Ford. David Pearson and Cale Yarborough made up the second row. Petty Enterprises employee, Joe Millikan, made his Winston Cup debut in a #67 Plymouth fielded by Buddy Arrington. Marvin Panch's son, Richie Panch, qualified a respectable 12th.
And the late Dick Trickle qualified 23rd in his sixth Cup start in a Mercury entered under Dave Marcis' name. From Danny Quick collection.
The Petty team had to think hard about how the 43 could beat the Wood Brothers Mercury.
Donnie Allison and CooCoo Marlin stroll to their cars to get ready for the race.
The start!
Bobby Allison raced his Matador alongside Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. Bettenhausen raced the #40 Chevy fielded by D.K. Ulrich - whose initials were still on the door panel by the A-post.
Dave Marcis fielded a car for Trickle, but he also drove his regular ride - the #71 K&K Insurance Dodge. After racing for himself for much of the year, he was hired by Nord Krauskopf late in the year. He raced at Charlotte and Rockingham in the 71 to wind down 1974 and began a full season with the team in 1975. Here he is racing the reigning Cup champion, Benny Parsons.
Cale's Carling Beer Monte Carlo looks a bit worse for wear. But looks didn't mean much that day as Yarborough paced the field for much of the afternoon.
Petty, Pearson, and Cale led all but 13 laps of the race. Cale led the most with 231, and King paced the field for 79 laps. Pearson led 169 including 79 of the last 81 en route to a win. Pearson may have grimy when crawling from the Purolator 21, yet to the victor belonged the spoils.
The King's 3rd place finish was enough to secure his 5th NASCAR GN/Winston Cup title - even with one race remaining.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | David Pearson | '73 Mercury |
| 2 | Cale Yarborough | '74 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Richard Petty | '74 Dodge |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | '74 Matador |
| 5 | Darrell Waltrip | '72 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Donnie Allison | '74 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Dick Trickle | '73 Mercury |
| 8 | Earl Ross | '74 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Benny Parsons | '74 Chevrolet |
| 10 | Jackie Rogers | '74 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Lennie Pond | '74 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Coo Coo Marlin | '73 Chevrolet |
| 13 | Jerry Schild | '72 Chevrolet |
| 14 | Bob Burcham | '73 Chevrolet |
| 15 | Walter Ballard | '74 Chevrolet |
| 16 | Joe Mihalic | '74 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Joe Millikan | '72 Plymouth |
| 18 | James Hylton | '74 Chevrolet |
| 19 | J.D. McDuffie | '72 Chevrolet |
| 20 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr | '72 Chevrolet |
| 21 | Cecil Gordon | '72 Chevrolet |
| 22 | Bill Champion | '72 Ford |
| 23 | Frank Warren | '74 Dodge |
| 24 | Richard Childress | '73 Chevrolet |
| 25 | Elmo Langley | '72 Ford |
| 26 | David Sisco | '74 Chevrolet |
| 27 | Richie Panch | '72 Chevrolet |
| 28 | Ed Negre | '74 Dodge |
| 29 | Dave Marcis | '74 Dodge |
| 30 | Jody Ridley | '72 Ford |
| 31 | Dick Brooks | '74 Chevrolet |
| 32 | Harry Jefferson | '72 Ford |
| 33 | Neil Castles | '74 Dodge |
| 34 | Buddy Baker | '74 Ford |
| 35 | G.C. Spencer | '74 Dodge |
| 36 | Joe Frasson | '74 Dodge |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 06/30/18 12:17:25PM
