1973 Talladega 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 20 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
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| Date | August 12, 1973 | ||
| Official name | Talladega 500 | ||
| Location | Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama | ||
| Course | 2.660 mi (4.280 km) | ||
| Distance | 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Very warm with temperatures approaching 95.0 °F (35.0 °C); wind speeds up to 4.2 miles per hour (6.8 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 145.454 miles per hour (234.086 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 56,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Allison Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | David Pearson | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Laps | 40 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 22 | Dick Brooks | Crawford (Brothers) Racing | |
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Ken Squier | ||
| Turn Announcers | Jim Fife, Tracy Dent, Barney Hall | ||
The 1973 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on August 12, 1973, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama (AIMS).
The race, won by Dick Brooks, would prove to be his first and only NASCAR career win. It was also the last win recorded for Plymouth as a NASCAR manufacturer. A Plymouth car having won the 1973 Talledega 500 was considered a massive upset.
The race set AIMS racetrack records (at the time of the race) for number of drivers leading in a race (15), number of lead changes in a race (64), and number of caution laps in a race (52). It also was the first race at the track in which a driver was fatally injured (Larry Smith).
On lap 13 of the race, as race leaders were making their way around turn 4, the #92 car of Larry Smith (Carling Black Label Racing) struck the outside retaining wall of turn 1 at (by radio broadcast estimates) approximately 180 miles per hour.
The post collision movement of Smith's was described on the radio broadcast as "(the car) coasting to a stop", and one commentator described the car being "driven down to the inside of turn number two" where the car was parked and track safety crews waited to meet it.
Two different commentators were under the initial belief that Smith had driven the car from the outside wall to the safety apron under his own power, and that the damage from the hit was sufficient to take him out of the race. Damage to the car was described as the right front wheel having been completely sheared off, and the front end significantly damaged, with the windshield smashed out and glass on the track.
A preliminary report, given during lap 18, indicates that Smith "may have been injured". The caution put in place by Smith's crash was released on lap 27, after Smith's car was towed away and windshield glass from the car was completely cleared from the track.
By the end of the caution period, Smith's crash was described as a hard hit, with heavy damage to his car. Smith was taken by ambulance to the track's hospital on a stretcher, and further reports were awaited.
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