1977 World 600

1977 World 600
Race details[1]
Race 13 of 30 in the 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Charlotte Motor Speedway
Date May 29, 1977 (1977-May-29)
Official name World 600
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.500 mi (2.414 km)
Distance 400 laps, 600 mi (965 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)
Average speed 137.676 miles per hour (221.568 km/h)
Attendance 115,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
Wood Brothers
Most laps led
Driver Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Laps 311
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier

The 1977 World 600, the 18th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 29, 1977, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Jim Stacy would become the owner of Krauskopf's old NASCAR team after this event; with the famed red #71 Dodge getting repainted into the white #5. Neil Bonnett, however, would stay on the team as a driver. By 1980, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Manufacturer
1 21David PearsonMercury
2 43Richard PettyDodge
3 11Cale YarboroughChevrolet
4 88Darrell WaltripChevrolet
5 1Donnie AllisonChevrolet
6 15Buddy BakerFord
7 72Benny ParsonsChevrolet
8 27Sam SommersChevrolet
9 92Skip ManningChevrolet
10 36Ron HutchersonChevrolet
11 12Bobby AllisonAMC Matador
12 49G.C. SpencerDodge
13 14Coo Coo MarlinChevrolet
14 71Neil BonnettDodge
15 54Lennie PondChevrolet

Summary

Forty drivers competed here including Benny Parsons, Lennie Pond, Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip, and Neil Bonnett. After four hours and twenty-one minutes of racing action, Richard Petty defeated polesitter David Pearson by 30.8 seconds in front of an audience of 115000 people. There were 25 lead changes done in this race in addition to six cautions for 31 laps. While the qualifying top speed was 161.435 miles per hour (259.804 km/h), the average speed of the race was actually 136.676 miles per hour (219.959 km/h). Last-place finisher Ramo Stott would acquire engine trouble on lap 3 of the 400-lap race. The duration of the race was from 12:30 P.M. to 4:41 P.M.; allowing fans to drive to nearby restaurants for supper.[2]

On the day of the race, just 0.28 inches of rain were noticed around the speedway; not a significant amount of rain for the Charlotte area during the month of May.[3]

Drivers who failed to qualify for this race were Rick Newsom and Bruce Jacobi.[2]

Ricky Rudd would lead the first laps of his NASCAR Cup Series career during this race. Nord Krauskopf would retire as a NASCAR owner after this race;[4] he would sell his team to Jim Stacy and focus running on his insurance business (K&K Insurance) with his wife Theodora.

Pearson's next pole position start would be at the 1977 running of the National 500 (now Bank of America 500); which took place that October.[5]

Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in the race were Tex Powell, Buddy Parrott, Jake Elder, Harry Hyde, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Dale Inman, Tim Brewer, and Travis Carter.[6]

Timeline

Section reference: [2]

  • Start of race: David Pearson had an advantage over the rest of the starting grid as the green flag was waved
  • Lap 3: Oil pressure issues forced Ramo Stott to become the last-place finisher
  • Lap 63: Bobby Allison had to leave the race due to engine problems
  • Lap 64: Henley Grey had a terminal crash
  • Lap 87: Engine troubles eliminated Bobby Gale from the event
  • Lap 168: Dave Marcis would be sidelined due to a faulty vehicle engine
  • Lap 185: Ed Negre's vehicle developed engine problems
  • Lap 186: A faulty oil pump eliminated D.K. Ulrich from the race
  • Lap 219: Engine problems managed to knock Donnie Allison out of contention
  • Lap 240: David Sisco would see his race day end prematurely due to a nasty engine
  • Lap 266: Harry Gant's engine misbehaved on this lap, forcing his exit due to safety reasons
  • Lap 271: The axle on Terry Ryan's vehicle became unsafe, causing him to go DNF with a 29th-place finish
  • Lap 300: James Hylton's engine started acted nasty, causing him not to finish in the top-10
  • Lap 333: Harold Miller's vehicle developed nasty clutch issues, making him the final DNF of the event
  • Finish: Richard Petty was officially declared the winner of the event

Standings after the race

Pos Driver Points Differential
1 Cale Yarborough 2176 0
2 Richard Petty 2068 -108
3 Increase Benny Parsons 2002 -174
4 Decrease Darrell Waltrip 1987 -189
5 Buddy Baker 1745 -431
6 Increase Dick Brooks 1581 -595
7 Decrease Cecil Gordon 1565 -611
8 Increase Richard Childress 1542 -634
9 Decrease Dave Marcis 1520 -656
10 James Hylton 1429 -747

References

  1. ↑ "1977 World 600 weather information". The Old Farmers Almanac. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "1977 World 600 racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  3. ↑ "Charlotte NASCAR climatogy information" (PDF). SERCC. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  4. ↑ "The End of Nord Krauskopf's Career and his Death". Freewebs. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
  5. ↑ "David Pearson's pole position accomplishment". Scene Daily. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  6. ↑ "1977 World 600 crew chiefs information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
Preceded by
1977 Mason-Dixon 500		 NASCAR Winston Cup Season
1977		 Succeeded by
1977 NAPA 400
Preceded by
1977 Atlanta 500		 Richard Petty's Career Wins
1960–1984		 Succeeded by
1977 NAPA 400
Preceded by
1976		 World 600 races
1977		 Succeeded by
1978
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