The 1977 NAPA National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 9, 1977, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
Race report 41 drivers competed at this event. Benny Parsons defeated Cale Yarborough by 19.2 seconds in front of 79,400 spectators. Parsons scored a dominant Winston Cup victory, in terms of percentage of laps led. There were 18 lead changes and four cautions; the race lasted three hours and thirty minutes. Bruce Hill received the last-place finish due to engine problems on lap 15 of this 334-lap race. David Pearson would win the pole position with a qualifying speed of while the average race speed was . By all evidence, this would be the last win for a Chevrolet Laguna in NASCAR Cup Series history.
His next pole position would come at the 1978 World 600 where he would get his 10th consecutive pole position start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Pearson's final pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway would come at the 1978 NAPA National 500 - setting a record. Other notable drivers at this event included: Bill Elliott, Janet Guthrie, Neil Bonnett, A. J. Foyt, Dick Brooks, Darrell Waltrip, and Buddy Baker. Tom Sneva would make his NASCAR debut at this racing event. Dale Earnhardt would start his only race in 1977 driving for Henley Gray.
Individual earnings for each driver ranged from the winner's share of $41,075 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to the last-place finisher's share of $820 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The total prize purse for this event was $223,530 ($ when adjusted for inflation).
Qualifying Grid Driver Manufacturer Owner 1 21 David Pearson Mercury 160.982 33.544 Wood Brothers 2 11 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet 159.848 33.782 Junior Johnson 3 1 Donnie Allison Chevrolet 159.848 33.782 Hoss Ellington 4 15 Buddy Baker Ford 159.773 33.798 Bud Moore 5 43 Richard Petty Dodge 159.363 33.885 Petty Enterprises 6 88 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 158.810 34.003 DiGard Racing 7 5 Neil Bonnett Dodge 158.753 34.015 Jim Stacy 8 72 Benny Parsons Chevrolet 158.735 34.019 L.G. DeWitt 9 51 A.J. Foyt Chevrolet 158.158 34.143 A.J. Foyt 10 92 Skip Manning Chevrolet 158.094 34.157 Billy Hagan
Finishing order Section reference:
Benny Parsons† Cale Yarborough† David Pearson† Buddy Baker† Darrell Waltrip Dick Brooks† A.J. Foyt Neil Bonnett† Janet Guthrie Bill Elliott Ron Hutcherson Coo Coo Marlin† Dick May† James Hylton† J.D. McDuffie† Richard Childress Buddy Arrington† G.C. Spencer† D.K. Ulrich Peter Knab Tommy Gale† Ed Negre† Dave Marcis* Ricky Rudd Tighe Scott* Bobby Allison* Tom Sneva* Jimmy Means* Dick Trickle* Lennie Pond* Butch Hartman*† Richard Petty* Frank Warren* Sam Sommers* Skip Manning* Donnie Allison* Cecil Gordon*† Dale Earnhardt*† Roland Wlodyka* Jim Raptis* Bruce Hill*†
* Driver failed to finish race † signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Cale Yarborough 4505 0 2 Benny Parsons 4127 -378 3 Richard Petty 4109 -396 4 Darrell Waltrip 4067 -438 5 Buddy Baker 3579 -926 6 Dick Brooks 3380 -1125 7 James Hylton 3124 -1381 8 Richard Childress 3120 -1385 9 Cecil Gordon 3030 -1475 10 Bobby Allison 3028 -1477
References