The 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 25th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 2nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on Sunday January 21 and ended on Sunday October 21. 31 races were scheduled in the 1973 season. 28 were held.
Benny Parsons was crowned Winston Cup champion at the end of the season finishing 67 points ahead of Cale Yarborough. Lennie Pond was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, succeeding Larry Smith, who was fatally injured in the year's Talladega 500. David Pearson dominated the season winning 11 of the 18 races he entered. Of those wins, using modern NASCAR circuit classifications established in 2013 for age eligibility in tertiary series and expanded in 2026 for secondary series, five wins were on short tracks (two Rockingham, two Dover, and one Martinsville) , four were on intermediate circuits (Darlington, Michigan, and two Atlanta wins) , and two were on superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega).
Pre-season changes
Rule changes As part of the previously announced phasing out of the seven-litre formula to the 5833cc formula that will be completed at the end of this season, NASCAR after the end of the 1972 season announced adjusted maximum carburetor sleeve sizes depending upon the type of engine and manufacturer of a given car. As NASCAR President Bill France Jr. explained, the goal of the adjustments was to differentiate between engines manufactured specifically for racing, and "volume production" engines that came off a consumer assembly line. This was done "...so the events next year can continue to be representative of the type of the extremely close competition that has been typical of NASCAR racing."
In 1973, the NASCAR points system was changed. In 1972, only the number of laps completed in a race (regardless of position) counted toward the accumulation of points. In 1973, points were awarded both for the number of laps in a race completed, and for a finish in the top 50 in a race, a higher placing receiving more points. Additionally, the first-place finisher received a 25-point bonus.
Team changes Bobby Allison left Richard Howard's racing team, and would drive his own Chevrolet in 1973. Bobby Allison's team would also furnish a car for his brother, Donnie Allison and the new DiGard Racing team. Taking Bobby's place on the Howard racing team would be Cale Yarborough, returning from the USAC Stock Car division.
Richard Petty, driver and owner of Petty Enterprises, expected to be racing exclusively in Dodge automobiles in 1973 (rather than the mix of Dodge and Plymouth the team had been).
Buddy Baker, who took over at Krauskopf Racing after Bobby Isaac left that team after the 1972 Southern 500, now signed up with Krauskopf for the full 1973 season, driving Dodges.
Retirements Fred Lorenzen, a NASCAR notable, ended his career with the end of the 1972 season.
Schedule 31 Winston Cup races were scheduled for the 1973 season. In the end it had 28 races, as well as a non-championship qualifying race. The schedule also includes two 125 Mile Qualifying Races, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
Key changes from 1972 include:
Bristol and Atlanta swap their March/April race dates. The spring race at North Wilkesboro moved to the seventh race of the season. North Wilkesboro and Martinsville swap their September race dates. A second race at Fairgrounds Speedway returned to the Cup Series after a seven year absence, The race was held before the World 600 at Charlotte. The race at Texas World Speedway moved to round fourteen of the season. Riverside and Michigan swap their June race dates. Texas World Speedway's Texas 500 was removed after a single year. The Miller High Life 500 was set for March 4. Was not held because of financial difficulties (and an ownership change completed January 4, 1973) at Ontario Motor Speedway. The Northern 300 was Rained out on race day, then postponed until August 5 and finally cancelled at the request of the promoter on July 27 (insufficient time to promote the race). The Yankee 400 was cancelled on June 7 by track owner Roger Penske, citing the tight schedule of races the track had to accommodate in Summer 1973.
No. Race title Track Date 1 Winston Western 500 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside January 21 125 Mile Qualifying Races Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach February 15 2 Daytona 500 February 18 3 Richmond 500 Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond February 25 4 Southeastern 500 Bristol International Speedway, Bristol March 11–25 5 Carolina 500 North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham March 18 6 Atlanta 500 Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton April 1 7 Gwyn Staley 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro April 8 8 Rebel 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington April 15 9 Virginia 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway April 29 10 Winston 500 Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega May 6 11 Music City USA 420 Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville May 12 12 World 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord May 27 13 Mason-Dixon 500 Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover June 3 14 Alamo 500 Texas World Speedway, College Station June 10 15 Tuborg 400 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside June 17 16 Motor State 400 Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn June 24 17 Firecracker 400 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach July 4 18 Volunteer 500 Bristol International Speedway, Bristol July 8 19 Dixie 500 Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton July 22 20 Talladega 500 Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega August 12 21 Nashville 420 Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville August 25 22 Southern 500 Darlington Raceway, Darlington September 3 23 Capital City 500 Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, Richmond September 9 24 Delaware 500 Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover September 16 25 Wilkes 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro September 23 26 Old Dominion 500 Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway September 30 27 National 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord October 6 28 American 500 North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham October 20
Race recaps Winston Western 500 - In only his fifth NASCAR Cup start, Indycar and road racing star Mark Donohue drove an AMC Matador with a set of disc brakes - new for racing at the time - and led 138 laps en route to the win. David Pearson won the pole but never led and fell out with clutch failure, while Richard Petty started fifth and led 39 laps before his engine failed while leading on Lap 95. Bobby Allison finished second driving a self-fielded Chevrolet following a surprise divorce from the Richard Howard team. Cale Yarborough, new driver for Howard's team with the cars renumbered to #11, fell out with transmission failure.
16 - Mark Donohue 12 - Bobby Allison 96 - Ray Elder 41 - Bobby Unser 38 - Jimmy Insolo 7 - Jack McCoy 64 - Elmo Langley 24 - Richard White 84 - Jim Danielsen 19 - Henley Gray
Daytona 500 - Buddy Baker won the 500 pole in the Harry Hyde Dodge formerly driven by Bobby Isaac. Baker led 156 laps but was closely pursued by Cale Yarborough until his engine failure with 45 laps to go. Richard Petty, sporting a mustache called his Fu Manchu look, took up pursuit and grabbed the lead on a fast late pitstop; Baker blew his engine with six laps to go and finished a distant sixth as Petty grabbed his fourth 500 win.
43 - Richard Petty 15 - Bobby Isaac 6 - Dick Brooks 50 - A. J. Foyt 04 - Hershel McGriff 71 - Buddy Baker 48 - James Hylton 90 - Ramo Stott 67 - Buddy Arrington 45 - Vic Parsons
Richmond 500 - Petty and Yarborough combined to lead 378 laps at the Richmond Fairgrounds. Bobby Allison won the pole and led 66 laps but finished 49 laps down. Petty lost time when he ran into a backmarker's car under yellow and needed bumper repairs; he nonetheless rallied past Baker for the win.
43 - Richard Petty 71 - Buddy Baker 11 - Cale Yarborough 15 - Bobby Isaac 2 - Dave Marcis 17 - Bill Dennis 54 - Lennie Pond 24 - Cecil Gordon 48 - James Hylton 72 - Benny Parsons
Miller High Life 500 - Ownership changes at Ontario Motor Speedway led to cancellation of NASCAR's annual race in 1973, leading to an open date for March 4.
Southeastern 500 - Cale Yarborough won the pole and then led all 52 laps before rain scuttled the race on March 11. Inclement weather continued to plague the event, and after two more days of rain, the remaining 448 laps were rescheduled for the next open date, which was the week after the next race.
Carolina 500 - After two dismal races (he was not entered at Richmond, as the Wood Brothers only participated in races at circuits longer than one mile except for Martinsville) David Pearson began his record-setting assault on the 1973 season, leading 491 of 492 laps to easily win the Carolina 500.
21 - David Pearson 11 - Cale Yarborough 71 - Buddy Baker 12 - Bobby Allison 90 - Ramo Stott 95 - Darrell Waltrip 31 - Jim Vandiver 18 - Joe Frasson 96 - Richard Childress 17 - Bill Dennis
Southeastern 500 (continued) - The off-week for March 18 led to a continuation of the race that started on March 4. Cale Yarborough, who led all 52 laps before the race was scuttled, led all 448 laps of the second part for a two-lap win. Numerous crashes, notably a bad wreck to Buddy Baker's Dodge, thinned the field.
11 - Cale Yarborough 43 - Richard Petty 12 - Bobby Allison 2 - Dave Marcis 72 - Benny Parsons 54 - Lennie Pond 14 - Coo Coo Marlin 48 - James Hylton 45 - Vic Parsons 49 - John Utsman
Atlanta 500 - David Pearson and Cale Yarborough combined to lead 309 laps in a close battle before Pearson broke away for a two-lap win over Bobby Isaac. Cale finished seven laps down. It was the first time a pass for the lead occurred (excluding pit stops) since Richmond.
21 - David Pearson 15 - Bobby Isaac 72 - Benny Parsons 71 - Buddy Baker 11 - Cale Yarborough 14 - Coo Coo Marlin 90 - Ramo Stott 24 - Cecil Gordon 61 - Clarence Lovell 31 - Jim Vandiver
Gwyn Staley 400 - Bobby Allison and Richard Petty returned to the scene of their famed slugfest from the previous October, but this time Petty put the race away early, leading 387 laps and finishing at least four laps ahead of the field. Yvon Duhamel, the legendary Canadian motorcycle racer, finished tenth in his only NASCAR Cup Series start.
43 - Richard Petty 72 - Benny Parsons 71 - Buddy Baker 12 - Bobby Allison 24 - Cecil Gordon 11 - Cale Yarborough 54 - Lennie Pond 48 - James Hylton 59 - Donnie Allison 90 - Yvon Duhamel
Rebel 500 - Darlington Raceway's spring 400-miler was lengthened to 500 miles and David Pearson led the last 176 laps and grabbed his fourth career win in the event. Crashes permeated the race to where only twelve of forty entries finished. Second-place Benny Parsons was thirteen laps down, third-place Bobby Allison spent the last eighteen laps on pit road with engine failure, and seventh-place Richard Petty crashed out in a big melee in Turn One with 27 laps to go.
21 - David Pearson 72 - Benny Parsons 12 - Bobby Allison 96 - Richard Childress 70 - J. D. McDuffie 7 - Dean Dalton 43 - Richard Petty 71 - Buddy Baker 25 - Roy Mayne 47 - Raymond Williams
Virginia 500 - The Wood Brothers once again were entered in the only short track on their schedule, as it was closest to their Stuart shops. David Pearson made up a lap with just over 100 laps to go when a yellow flew for an infield spectator needing transport to a local hospital; with no tunnel the track needed the yellow for an ambulance to leave. Cale Yarborough had led 311 laps but Pearson would lead almost the entire final 106 laps after the yellow; the yellow angered team manager Junior Johnson.
21 - David Pearson 11 - Cale Yarborough 15 - Bobby Isaac 71 - Buddy Baker 24 - Cecil Gordon 72 - Benny Parsons 90 - Jimmy Hensley 30 - Walter Ballard 45 - Vic Parsons 48 - James Hylton